Seth's GDC Report (re-submit)

Post date: Mar 30, 2017 2:40:32 PM

Wednesday was a great opportunity to take in the expo and practice my networking skill, which is not something that comes naturally to me. At the Ringling Alumni party that night, me and my thesis partners were able to talk to some employees from a startup company about our upcoming thesis. I guess this was the first instance of the most unexpected aspect of the trip, thesis advice. I really never thought it would get brought up in conversations much, but it did, and the amount of information, advice and people interested in seeing it was one of the best takeaways from the trip. A great part about it is that it helped my partners and I get excited in our thesis' potential. Later in the week, we were able to tour a submarine, an experience that is proving to be very valuable to our games aesthetic. 

Thursday was a dud for me... While I made lots of connections, none of them seemed genuine. However that night, we attended the un-party and had a long conversation with some independent developers. Their lifestyles fascinated me, especially in contrast with the lifestyles of the companies on the main expo floor. Working at an indie studio is something I am interested in now. 

Friday I thoroughly explored the independent games area of the expo and this was great. I loved seeing all the stylized art for these games and I am now inspired to try my hand at some stylized 3D art. I also had some good portfolio reviews, making this day much more significant than the last. 

What I originally thought was that it might not have been worth the money and absences for me... Even though I got stuff of value out of the trip: All the great thesis advice, a small handful of connections and the exposure to independent games is something I was, and still am really excited about. However, given more time to reflect on the trip has shown me some of the more immediate value that I have gained from it. The most obvious being my new desire to embrace cutting edge technology, especially when it comes to VR. Being at school, I was perfectly content with using the same programs and techniques on every project. Perhaps my thinking was, as an artist, all I need to do is worry about my art and embracing new technology can come second to that. However, being exposed to all the cutting edge software and technologies present at GDC has open my eyes to the benefits of staying on top of what the industry is pushing. Software and services like Houdini and Github are not things I would have taken the time to understand before GDC, but seeing their importance in the industry has changed that for me and now I am making it a priority to learn them. 

When I wrote this report before, I was being a little selfish and thinking only about my own, personal benefits I could gain from the experience. Now I see that I want to be part of the industry, to help it grow and gain popularity. I want my art to bring more credibility to the artistic aspects of the industry and I want to use all the tools available to create the best work I possibly can... not just for my own portfolio, but fore other people to enjoy.  

Finally, three unique observations I gained from the trip are:

1. The importance of VR. I knew it was gaining popularity and I was excited about exploring it with my thesis. However, in the back of my mind, I think I still only saw it as something of a gimmick (like 3D movies). However, seeing its presence at the conference and experiencing VR for the first time has shown me that it is a whole new peripheral that is here to stay. 

2. Another observation is the size of the industry as represented through GDC. My dad is a landscape architect who regularly attends an architects conference. Hearing stories about the size of it all my life was always fascinating but if GDC's multiple building and floor scale might give it a run for its money. I heard stories and was expecting something pretty large but I was taken aback by how large it turned out to be. If the size of GDC is any representation of the size of the growing games industry, I see just how big and important it is. 

3. Another unique observation is the importance of the indie developer. The independent game venue might not be as big as the main showroom floor but it's not like it just a small area pushed to the corner. Instead it has its own separate wing in the main building. While the main floor was cutting edge and exciting, the indie area was fun and inviting. Before the trip I thought these two parts of the industry were worlds apart, but experiencing one after the other, I think they compliment each other quit nicely. There is no reason to pick one side over the other when both have unique things to offer.