Ruben Puccinelli GDC 2019

Post date: Apr 04, 2019 11:18:32 PM

This was my first time going to GDC and I went with the goal of seeing what the game dev community was like and see how people acted around their industry peers. Breaking it down into three subtypes, my experience was part expo, part portfolio review, and outside GDC. I  wasn’t sure how anything was going to work or feel since I have never really connected with people other than alumni I met at school. It goes without saying that if you want to go to GDC to learn and experience the brand new technology you’re in the right place. I instead wanted to focus on finding games and companies that I wasn’t even aware of. I was able to experience most of the expo because I spent most of my time on the floor. It felt like everywhere I went there was someone telling me they had jobs available and they were creating great things and their company was the second coming of Microsoft. The biggest take away from me was focusing on using the expo floor and the demonstrations to see the state of the industry. The recruiters and speakers from the bigger companies seemed to be there to collect resumes but they didn’t look at portfolios or seem to take too much interest in the individual. I quickly learned that the Expo floor was the glitz and glamour of GDC, for the most part. The seminars and the talks taking place were more specialized and focused on teaching and reaching out to people that shared an interest in their technology or product. I felt like the seminars were more accessible in terms of meeting people since you already have something to talk about once the seminar is over. I think the biggest take away I got from the expo floor was how everything is moving towards easier creation of content, with programs like instantLOD that produces LOD meshes easier and quicker for production. The expo is definitely tailored to showcasing technology to industry professionals so they can go back to their companies and report their findings.

The second part of the expo was sniping down a company I was interested in and asking them to review my portfolio. I had two reviews that I remember having a different outcome than I thought initially. One review was from Ryan Benno at Insomniac Games, the other was Brad Bowling from Rainbow Studios. The review with Ryan went great and we chatted about the company and how he enjoyed it and so forth. The part that struck me was after showing him my work and giving him my business card he specifically placed my card in his wallet. As to show some kind of special treatment than the people that showed him work right before me. This struck me because it was like looking behind the professionalism of the reviews. Obviously the company has them there to review potential employee portfolios and most of the time they are very courteous and give you a sense of validation. Seeing my card go into some special place made me feel as if every other review or meeting at the floor was forced in a way. This prompted me to really think about how the reviewers acted towards people in my situation, students showing their work, and how you have to be outstandingly charismatic or really skilled to make a lasting impression. Later at my review with Ringling alumni Brad Bowling a group of us all went to meet him together and I showed him my work. This was different than other reviews because it was coming from an alum that shows enthusiasm for Ringling students. I later followed up with Brad and thanked him for the review and hopefully we’ll keep in contact in the future. The thing that he said that struck me was how he noticed our group was not particularly jumping with joy at his studio’s work and he mentioned how he would go out of his way to help us with THQ positions in other studios. Since his company was bought out by THQ and they work under them. This was a palpable sense of comradery and it was the most reassuring feeling knowing alumni actively try to help current students.

The last part of the trip was outside GDC and meeting people at the after parties. I realized very quickly that devs already in the industry working somewhere nice go to GDC for completely different reasons. GDC served as a ground to reconnect with their old peers and catch up and have fun. The best part was meeting people under more relaxed circumstances. After GDC’s seminars and expo are done for the day everyone there want to relax and I found this was the best way to meet people. Specifically because the environment welcomes mingling and casual conversation. You aren’t there to show your work and beg for jobs but instead you get to meet the person behind the reviews and professionalism. I got to speak with two Ringling alums that work at a company I’ve had my eyes on and I never even mentioned my portfolio. I got to met them and enjoy a good time and naturally through conversation my work was mentioned and that’s when I was able to show them what I was into. The conversation lead to them highly advising me to apply for their company and gave me a confidence boost on the whole job searching subject.

In conclusion, I went to see what the game dev culture was like and I quickly realized how tightly knit the community can be. The expo demonstrations were the eye candy for the companies to sample, the reviews were better opportunities to get a grip on the work environment of the companies instead of scoring a job immediately. Then the mixers and parties served as a better way to casually meet people that share your same interests that you would otherwise have a hard time connecting with during the expo. I don’t think I will return yearly, unless I work for a company that sends me for some reason, but finding out the dev community was a fairly warm and welcoming network has eased my suspicions of the industry.