GDC: Day 2 Tuesday

Like Monday, most of my day was spent attending the Casual Games Summit. I also worked the Serious Games Summit and the Worlds in Motion summit. The last session of the CGS was especially awesome with three awesome postmortems and a game design challenge that was super funny. The contestants had to design a casual game about making casual games.  The three ideas were extremely clever and interesting.

That night I played in the ISM Invitation charity poker tournament for the second year in a row. It was really great I played some good and hands and beast some amazing (and famous) players.

Note: I am not going to cover all of the people, celebs, industry luminaries and nobodies I met throughout the week because it would take forever.

GDC: Day 1

Ok so I know these are a little late but the week was crazy busy. I wrote most of these while on the plane back from GDC.

Monday was the first day of the GDC, starting with the summits and tutorials. Generally Monday and Tuesday have fewer people because the summits and tutorials are all that is going on. So these days are a little easier on us CAs. I worked and attended the Casual Games Summit throughout the day, where the talk was mainly on standing out in the crowd and trying new things. It was really great with some really interesting design sessions, and some awesome postmortems. The last session was a fantastic recap of 2008 in casual games pointing out the key features of what made them great games.

Monday night was spent hanging out with the CAs playing Rock Band and witch hunt. I always like to spend some nights with the CAs because they are such amazingly fun people to be around.

GDC: Day 0

So this is a day late but day 0 was Sunday and it was pretty exciting. I went in to work at the center at 10:30am and spent the whole day at the center. I worked from 11-3 stuffing the bags for the attendees, this is always one of my favorite times because it doesn’t take a lot of thought so you get to meet a bunch of your fellow CAs. Sunday night was orientation where they teach everything going on this week, a little easier the second year but still lots to learn. All in all it was a fantastic first day even though it was 13hrs, got to hang out with a bunch of old and new friends. On to day 1!

GDC: Day -1

Made it to San Francisco two fantastic flights. I usually wouldn’t say anything about the flights but the flight attendants on my two Southwest flights were extremly kind and funny and gave us all the drinks and snacks we wanted, it was awesome. Getting ready for the start of working tomorrow I start work at 11am, it is gonna be awesome.

Also Ireland won the Grand Slam today and I was able to watch it in Denver during my layover, everyone around me was looking when I started randomly cheering in the airport.

GDC 09: Day -2

Alright everybody a few people have asked me if I can try and blog about GDC this year and I will try, but honestly with the CA work, the conference and parties each night I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it.

Anyways here we are GDC -2 (since I am a programmer GDC will begin on Day 0 for me, Sunday which is the first day for us CAs) and I am sitting here watching basketball while waiting for my laundry to dry. All I have left to do is pack my clothes then it is off to San Fran in the morning. I am super excited for the week and can’t wait to see what it holds.

I also need to add in some sports related stuff. WOOO XAVIER! Other than that my brackets are sucking. Also I am super excited for tomorrows conclusion to the 2009 Six Nations Rugby Tournament COME ON IRELAND! It has been 61 years since they won the grand slam. Sadly I will be on a plane during the final .

Alright See you at GDC!

Ten Things a student should do before and during GDC

After attending GDC last year as a student looking for a job I realized there are some things I could have done better to prepare myself. So I decided to compile a list of things that students should know when attending GDC. This list works for both those seeking jobs and those just attending to network.

1. Business Cards and Resumes

No matter if you are attending to just network or attending hoping to find a job these are the two must crucial things you must have ready. Business cards are crucial because they are one of your main tools for networking so be sure to have plenty of cards to hand out and make sure they fit your personality. Make sure your resume is up to date and proof read, and make sure you have plenty of printed copies to hand out.

2. Wear comfortable but nice clothing

One thing that I made a mistake with last year is the way I dressed; I wore nice clothes but not comfortable clothing. Jeans and T-shirt, as long as the jeans are not trashy and the shirt is not offensive or dirty, are fine if you are attending sessions or just walking around, but if you are walking around the career pavilion handing out resumes I would wear a polo and nicer jeans. But most importantly make sure you clothes are clean and you are not just wearing the same shirt every day.

Shoes are extremely important because you will be on your feet for most of the day. Once again wear something comfortable, tennis shoes are fine, but not trashy (dirty ratty tennis shoes).

3. Mind your health

Keep yourself healthy it can be a long week, make sure you are getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water (not soda or energy drinks) and eating at least 2 meals a day. You do not want to be burned out by Friday morning.

4. Prepare an introduction

This is something that can help you meeting people or when handing out your resumes in the all important career pavilion. Know what you are going to say. Here is one I used when handing out my resume last year.

Hi I’m Grant Shonkwiler. I’m an Audio Programmer with an interest in engine and gameplay programming. I will be graduating from Full Sail University in June and am currently working on a game called Smashout.

Now this is a very formal version, and not all necessarily true (I fancied myself an Audio programmer till I met one), I would usually tailor it to fit the company and the vibe I was getting from them, if you are getting a good vibe add some humor; it will make you stand out.

5. Network/Meet people

Networking is one of the main reasons people attend this great event we call GDC. The good thing is that means industry professionals and students alike are trying to meet new people, so almost everyone is willing to talk. There are lots of opportunities to meet people at the conference and at night so take advantage of them. Some of the best times I found are: before and after sessions; waiting in lines; meals; at booths; parties; and even on flights to and from the conference. And remember always ask for a business card and follow up after the conference.

6. Eat Lunch

Lunch is not only extremely important for your health during the conference but is probably one of the best times to meet new people. The way that lunch works at GDC is everyone stands in a nice long line for a while, then walks up and grabs their food and has to find an empty spot to sit. Now here are two of the best times to network, the two “L’s “I call them, Lines and Lunch because everyone is willing to talk to pass the time. While waiting in line strike up a conversation with the person next to you ask them how their day is going, complain about the line anything to get the conversation going. After you have your lunch just pick any table where it looks like you can strike up or join a conversation and ask if you can sit there, it is that simple.

7. Don’t attend heavy sessions

Now one huge mistake I made last year is attended extremely heavy technical sessions, now I am a technical person and really enjoyed some of these sessions and did learn but most of them were over my head. Keep in mind these are veteran professionals speaking to their peers. If there is a technical session you really want to see think about purchasing the audio file after the conference so you can study and take notes while listening.

8. Go to the parties

Now as a student some parties will not be open to you, unless you can sneak in or get an invite. There are several though that are open to everyone such as the IGDA party and Suite night. The IGDA party is open to all IGDA members and Suite night is open to all conference attendees. These are great places to meet new people. Some tips for the parties, do not get drunk this is your time to meet people who are more relaxed don’t spoil your first impression. Don’t be shy everyone is there to have a good time and relax just strike up a conversation with someone and get the night rolling. Act like you belong even if you know you are under the “pay grade” of everyone else in the room, this doesn’t mean be fake and lie about yourself, just carry yourself like you belong and be yourself.

9. Spend time in the career pavilion

If you are looking for a job I would recommend spending at least half a day here and maybe a whole day. While it may not seem like the biggest part of the conference if you do it correctly it can take a long time to get through. If you know that there is going to be a company you want to apply to at the conference make sure you research that company and know what they are currently working on.

Be prepared before you start handing out resumes know your craft and know your resume, know what you have on there and be prepared to back it up. Preparation also goes back to having your introduction prepared. One comforting fact that you can have while approaching booths is “They are hiring and they want to like you.” that is why they have a booth in the first place, to hire new people.

While I was writing this I talked to Rob Coble, my Career Advisor from Full Sail, what advice he would give students trying to find jobs at GDC. One of the key things he said was, “Be yourself and find something to make you standout.” Remember it isn’t always about what you know but if the people like you. Rob said something that really stuck out to me and I agree is very true; “If you build the relationships the jobs will take care of themselves.” I can tell you from interviewing people myself this is huge, if I do not really like you and feel like you are someone I could not work with during crunch times; it is going to be very hard for you to work your way out of that and land the job.

10. Make a schedule

This is another mistake I made last year I did not really plan out my days. You want to make a schedule that is full but at the same time is open ended and able to be adjusted in case something important pops up, like talking to the head of your favorite studio, or the sessions change times. You are able to plan out your days ahead of time now using the GDC website; I would avoid any of the heavy technical sessions, as explained above, and any big name sessions because these will fill up quickly.

Here is a quick example of what my schedule would look like if I were attending as a student this year.

Wednesday:

Attend sessions in the morning.

Lunch

Walk around the expo floor.

Attend sessions.

Wednesday evening attend the Game Developers Choice Awards.

Attend party X and Y

Thursday:

Attend sessions in the morning

Lunch

Career pavilion

Thursday evening suite night.

Friday:

Game Career Seminar (Shameless plug)

Career pavilion

Hopefully you can put some of these things to use and make your GDC that much more successful. Have a great GDC and see you there.

Also Make sure to read Darius Kazemi Networking blog

Getting things done.

I am currently reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. This is a fantastic book about getting organized and being able to finish everything you need to finish. While the book is mostly aimed at CEOs and upper management I have still been able to work on a lot of the practices. I have started putting most of the theories and practices into um…practice and they are working phenomenally. I would highly recommend this book if you are constantly saying “I don’t have enough time”. Now hopefully that I am finishing up all of these other projects I’ll be able to get cracking on my side project. Here is hoping.

Leaving for GDC in one week!