Peyton Varney GDC 2018

Post date: Apr 06, 2018 1:55:50 AM

    This GDC experience was a bit different from last years. This is only my second year attending the conference but the feeling and energy between the two years was extremely different. Last year I was nervous and scrambling to meet for interviews for internships and trying to make connections and overall it was exhausting just trying to figure out how the industry works and how to be a part of it. Let alone see all the stuff at the actual conference and attend talks that I wanted to hear. This GDC I ended up going to it with a job already set for after school. I didn't know that would happen and probably wouldn't have gone if I would have known I would have things locked in a couple of days before the conference. I am glad I did though, the reason why is because I saw the conference and the connections in a completely different point of view. 

    I only went for the expo so my first full day there was on Wednesday. Walking into the conference with a job already was kind of hard to figure out what to do. The previous year I was going to all the portfolio reviews and getting as many interviews as possible but with this experience that wasn't really a thought to have. I had already signed up for the Crystal Dynamics student meet and so I went there first on Wednesday. The actual meet that they had set up for all these students seemed weird. I am not sure what there main goal was for it but when I got in and started talking to some of the developers at my assigned table, none of them were actually skilled in the type of stuff that I was doing. They just had random workers giving feedback or critique to things they didn't know what they were talking about. The first guy I talked to that couldn't offer feedback forwarded me to a technical artist which had previously been an environment artist. He didn't really have much to offer as well and just complemented my work. The technical artist then forwarded me to the lead environment artist which ended up turning into a short interview with him and we talked a while about my work. There wasn't ever a time I could just drop that I already had a job until the recruiter talked to me afterwords about an opportunity at the studio. I struggled with this because I realized that my recent job acceptance was causing me to lose some connections that I may have made without one. As always the "I would love to keep in touch for future opportunities" comment sometimes works but this meet was more about business and them connecting with people looking for jobs. That night I was able to meet up with some Ringling Alumni and their friends from the studios they are at and grab dinner. I have found over the two years that these types of experiences are the ones that bring the most value and connections as you make more friends in this field. The rest of Wednesday was about getting my bearings on this years GDC and how I could get the most out of the next two days that were to come on the expo floor.

    Wednesday I wanted to hit the expo hard and just try to learn as much and see as much as I could. I tried a bunch of demos of games from studios and software that could help me improve my artistic skills. This day I also had the opportunity to meet up with the recruiters from Naughty Dog. We first walked through the hall and they introduced me to a lot of artists and people that were very well known but blended into the crowd and other attendees. We left the floor and went to find a place to grab drinks and talk. Ended up going to the View (heads up but supposedly a lot of recruiters hang out at The W and The View throughout the day and also at nights) and we got drinks and just overall talked with them about the studio and moving to Los Angeles. It helped a lot to talk with them and kind of understand more about the culture at the studio as the move and all can be stressful so it was an ease to the nerves.

    Friday I'd say one of the coolest things I went and saw was the Siren live demo of the tracking a character real time into Unreal Engine 4. Seeing the quality of it and all made me think a lot about the potential that this software has. My thought about this was the ability when the software improves even more, to record experiences with this type of software. Experiences that some people may not be able to see in person, you could put them in a simulated version of it. For instance lets say that you recorded a life performance of a popular singer or musician playing or singing something. If you arent nearby or couldnt attend. Being able to record an experience of something like that and then be able to either have it play back in a VR space or AR space could be really cool. Having your favorite band three dimensional in your living room playing something.

This brings on the question with having problems with people not getting out and actually experiencing things in the real world which I find to be really important but I do think it has its pros that it could bring.

Overall GDC i'd say had less energy for me this year! Maybe it is because last year was my first taste of the industry and it was a lot to take in. Either way I have realized that most likely each time will be different. You will have different experiences and memories. You may get more out of one year than another. In the end I think it is a great place to facilitate art, creativity, tech, and all the great things that make up this industry!