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Game Developer’s Conference Roundup

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OK, the GDC, the Game Developer's conference is over, and it's time for my geek-career roundup.

Now a bit of a disclaimer – I went for half a day mostly to hit the trade floor.  I'm very busy right now and the management track panels weren't anything I hadn't already done or taken.  The panels there looked quite good, it's just I've been doing the IT PM thing for . . . about six or more years.  In fact one of my teachers was there anyway.

So I wandered around, got my impressions, and analyzed what was going on in gaming and peripheral tech.  You know me – business via naturalistic observation.  Here's what impressed me.

  • It was lower-key than last year.  I'm not sure why this is, but I'm pretty sure it's the economy.
  • I saw a lot of new companies, some 1-3 years old, who provided services to gaming companies.  Most of these impressed me, some quite a bit, and many had very young staff.  I think it's clear people get that gaming is an industry with a lot of opportunity for "service" – consulting, mocap, testing, etc.  This shows many opportunities – and the maturing of the gaming industry.
  • Sony 3D and Move.  The Move was OK, looked decent, and interfaced OK with a camera.  The PS3 3D actually looked really good.  Good for Sony.
  • Saw lots of indie games, but nothing really sent me this year.  I'm wondering if the indie/retro scene is burning itself out.
  • Aggressive recruiting by other countries looking for companies and/or individuals willing to relocate temporarily or permanently to work there in the gaming industry.  The Canadians of course had this down to a science, but Scotland's reps were really good and savvy.  Northern European countries also had a strong presence.  This seemed more aggressive than last year, and I think fits the theory that some countries realize America's economy leaves it vulnerable to a brain drain.
  • Recruiting was surprisingly active for companies – I think that's a good sign job-wise.
  • I ran into the person who manages Charisma Plus 2 Models – a company that provides models for game events.  By models they don't just mean pretty faces – they mean people who know gaming, performances, and cover the different looks and knowledge a presentation may need.

My overall impression was positive, with some up-and comers and savvy people looking to adapt and take advantages of the worldwide economic changes and changes in the game industry.  I especially believe in the next few years (especially with attempts to save money by outsourcing) that "game industry service companies" have a bright future – even more than I believed last year.

Though they may be in Scotland, Canada, or Sweden if those recruiters have any say.

– Steven Savage

Convention Idea: Make Something!

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The roundup of convention ideas is here.

So you want to do a professional event.  There's the speakers, the advice, the stories . . . but what about adding more oomph?  Some extra?

How about doing a pro-level project at the con?

Imagine a project that lasts the entire duration of the convention that involves people leveraging their professional skills to produce a complete work.  People would cooperate, work with pros (who would oversee it), and in the end have a result – and learn a lot from it.

Consider such possibilities as:

  1. A team-drawn and team-written manga or set of manga.
  2. Pro-level costumes made from scratch?
  3. A round-robin serious writing project?
  4. Creating a fan website from scratch?
  5. Actually creating a browser-based game?

Everyone participating gets some advantages:

  1. They make new friends.
  2. They have a piece of work to show off in a job search.
  3. They learn teamwork.
  4. They get to stretch their skills.

So how about it?  Want to jazz up your con's profan events?  How having your attendees sign on to make something . . .

– Steven Savage

Convention Idea: Retirees?

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The roundup of convention ideas is here.

When putting people on your career panels, you have many choices; the guest, the hip student, the hard working pro.  Once you start looking for potential guests you'll be amazed at the people you can call upon.

Have you thought about inviting people who are already done with their careers?  In short – have you looked at retirees?

Think of all the people you may know – or others may know – who have had long and successful careers.  Some of them may even be guests or the parents/grandparents of attendees.  Consider, just for a moment, how many people out there who have had amazing careers and lives that can share that information.

To give an example, I live in an area that has a Computer History Museum (http://www.computerhistory.org/).  The staff is largely volunteer, and I've met some who were completely or partially retired.  Imagine what they could say to a group of young potential programmers at a science fiction convention.

Or retired actors who may want to speak on the craft – seasoned enough to speak, but out of the spotlight to enjoy enough privacy.

Or writers . . . well, you get the idea.

Tapping into retirees gives you some special edges in events:

  • You have living examples of success.  People may not take the 20-something person who just broke into videogames seriously, but they're going to listen to someone who worked at IBM for 40 years.
  • You have people who understand the sweep of history, which is something that you have to live career-wise.
  • You have people who can speak to evolving technologies and their impact on careers.
  • The retirees can probably help connect you with even more resources.

So when you're thinking profan panels, don't forget those who have already had long careers.  They have a lot to say.

– Steven Savage