GDC Online 2010! The Conclusion!

It took six hours of sitting in a car, almost sitting in the empty Ballroom A facility instead of the correct Ballroom C, and several cereal bars, but I made it to Austin and back home again without doing anything incredibly stupid and getting thrown out of GDC Online. As I mentioned in the previous post, I attended the Game Career Seminar, so I was only there for the one day. All of the talks were informative and relevant to a college student like myself, and I had a really great time. Hearing the sad end of Pandemic firsthand was fascinating and I learned a lot about networking. Turns out you're not supposed to show up at a dude's house, bang on the door, and demand a job. I've been doing it all wrong this whole time. I regret that I didn't get a chance to speak with any of the lecturers (I was so close, but the lines kept ending!), but I still got a lot of my questions answered. The exhibit halls was filled with booths about games, technology, and physics engines that I didn't understand. Again the lines thwarted me as I was forced to rush back to Ballroom C (not A) to catch the next sessions instead of dropping by the Bioware area. Lame.

My head was buzzing with information by the time it was all over and I hope to use my newfound knowledge for good and not evil. Everybody there seemed really into the whole gaming scene (imagine that at a video game conference) and I certainly got the same impression that I get from everyone who tells me stuff about the industry: it's difficult, hectic, and doesn't pay well. However, it's the passion and dedication of those involved that make it worthwhile. Will I graduate into that realm in the coming days? Only time will tell. For the time being, I'll continue to investigate the world of video games as I post reviews and other tidbits here. Oh, and one last thing: Blue Mage didn't want to come, but ended up sneaking into the exhibit hall without registering. He couldn't find Final Fantasy XIV Online, kicked over the 38 Studios booth, got arrested, and spent the remaining five hours sulking in a corner and muttering about some sort of Mario-related conspiracy. So, unlike me, he did do something stupid and got thrown out. Unfortunate, but not unforeseen.