GDC 2012 Wrap Up
GDC is over and my feet are thankful. Game Developers Conference is when thousands of video game developer from around the world take over the Moscone Center in Downtown San Francisco for a week and share secrets, drink, pitch new games, and have a great time.
While I love going to GDC and catching up with friends and past co-workers, but this year was a little disappointing when it comes to the actual panels. Overall the panels fell into common sense, and there really wasn’t anything actionable to take away that will change the way you do business. While most panels content and presentations were excellent, you left thinking I already know that and are doing it or I’ve heard/seen this and I can’t afford to do it. There is always going to be a number of panels that are telling you things you already know, but this year seemed to be full of them. Additionally the amount of sponsored panels seemed to have increase. While watching a demo of some new tech is great, they seemed to be all over the place this year.
This year was the year that really made me think I should attempt to a panel next year. I’d be in a panel and think “Doesn’t every know this already?”. It wasn’t that the panel was bad, it just felt old or dated. It was also disappointing to see the limited number of social media or community panels this year. They don’t even have the Community Managers Roundtable anymore. I know that GDC Austin Online is where a lot of the online discussion is happening, but I’d like to see a little more next year.
Even with all of that, GDC 2012 was still a blast. Great time seeing old friends and making new ones. Looking forward to going next year and who knows you might be seeing me on stage.
