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Got to the conference thingie at about 11. Expo didn't open until 11:30, but we ran into some other DigiPen students outside. Our plans were quite tentative; we didn't set a meeting until 6:30, when the Expo was supposed to close. Many of them wanted to go off by themselves. Understandably; it's much easier to schmooze without other people hanging back waiting for you to finish. I guess maybe I'm not taking this seriously enough. I'm certainly not taking it as serious as everyone else.
We had a lecture at noon, and since my pass only gets me into 4 lectures all damn week, I figured I'd go, even though I don't really care about OpenMP. Instead, I wandered around the show room, then headed for the lecture. I got there a little late, but found a seat easily. I thought the speaker was decent; he presented his ideas and the topic clearly and really covered all of his bases. Even though I wasn't really interested in the topic (and found my thoughts drifting elsewhere), I can still respect someone who is capable of giving a competent lecture. This becomes important later; stay tuned.
Afterwards, I ran into two of my other friends who had also gone to the lecture, and we ended up trooping together the rest of the day. We went up and down every aisle, grabbing all the free stuff. Some if it is actually quite cool. I picked up a couple of magazines that I may have more than a reading interest in, but we'll see. I was really hoping more industry journalists would be onsite; I've been half considering looking into that field and thought maybe I could talk to somebody about it. But the conference really does seem to focus on programmers and designers, with a few things for artists.
I got to play 9-ball with a professional pool player at one point. Some gimmick to give your business card to the booth; I obviously didn't have a card and, I really had no interest in the company (it was some mobile developer, I think). Sometimes a game of pool is just a game of pool.
At 4, we had our second lecture of the day. It was on making games in a 40 hour work week. This is actually a topic I was somewhat interested in because a primary reason I don't want to be a developer anymore is because I like doing things outside of work. The guy started off well enough, but there were several holes in his lecture. He cited lots of stuff about how work quality drops off after a certain point, how management needs to manage people, blah blah blah. It was mostly just an industry critique, and he really gave no suggestions on how to resolve the problem. Several people asked questions along this vein, but the fellow merely reiterated parts from his talk, not really answering the questions at all. Disappointing, I felt.
After that, we went back down to the show room. Lots of companies were giving out free stuff. Like beer. I got in line immediately. If they had been giving it out all day, I probably would have been drunk by 1. At any rate, I waited in line forever; about five people from the front, they ran out and we had to wait 20 minutes for the new keg. The beer was crappy, but it came in a cool plastic cup. Hopefully they'll do free beer again today.
At 6:30 was the Independent Games Festival and the Game Developer's Choice Awards. I have never seen such a poorly produced awards ceremony in my life. I hate awards ceremonies as is; this was no exception. And don't even get me started about the recipients. Of all the nominees, only one game I felt deserved to be there. The rest of the games were very meh. Just like regular gamers, the judges (who are developers) can't seem to get out of the hole of people who want to say Half-Life 2 is the greatest game ever. I will admit Half-Life 2 is awesome. It is, quite possibly, the finest sequel ever made. It incorporated enough new stuff to qualify it as a game in it's own right. But Best Game? I don't think so. The physics was awesome, and if any game deserved an award for technical excellence, that was it. But it also won for writing. Writing? Are you joking? There's nothing special about the story. Maybe because, at the end, you really have more questions than what you started with. Do people think that makes a good story? Frustrating. I disagreed with many of the results of the awards.
One game, Katumari Damacy, deserved everything it got and more, though. It was a game that was really unlike anything I had ever seen, and was fun. That should be the ideal for a developer's choice award, I think: a game that is unique, original, and fun, plays upon no existing licenses but expands the idea of games of it's own momentum.
After the ceremony, we ate at Mel's. It had been forever since I'd been to one. I love those old style diners; especially when they have those jukebox things at the tables. I put a quarter in and punched in You've Lost That Loving Feeling but nothing happened. Halfway through our meal, the thing started playing songs, but not the one I picked. I think it was mocking me.
Finally, we got back to the apartment, split our loot and I went up to go to bed. I was actually going to phone someone, now that I had some peace and quiet, but they were no longer at the number I tried, and I thought 11 would be a bit late to call. I have since found out, much to my dismay, that I was wrong. I uttered obscenities for about five minutes before I decided to do something to get my mind off it. And now look what I've done? I've come right back to it. Fuck it. I'm calling you today. But for now, I need to take a shower; we should be leaving soon.
We had a lecture at noon, and since my pass only gets me into 4 lectures all damn week, I figured I'd go, even though I don't really care about OpenMP. Instead, I wandered around the show room, then headed for the lecture. I got there a little late, but found a seat easily. I thought the speaker was decent; he presented his ideas and the topic clearly and really covered all of his bases. Even though I wasn't really interested in the topic (and found my thoughts drifting elsewhere), I can still respect someone who is capable of giving a competent lecture. This becomes important later; stay tuned.
Afterwards, I ran into two of my other friends who had also gone to the lecture, and we ended up trooping together the rest of the day. We went up and down every aisle, grabbing all the free stuff. Some if it is actually quite cool. I picked up a couple of magazines that I may have more than a reading interest in, but we'll see. I was really hoping more industry journalists would be onsite; I've been half considering looking into that field and thought maybe I could talk to somebody about it. But the conference really does seem to focus on programmers and designers, with a few things for artists.
I got to play 9-ball with a professional pool player at one point. Some gimmick to give your business card to the booth; I obviously didn't have a card and, I really had no interest in the company (it was some mobile developer, I think). Sometimes a game of pool is just a game of pool.
At 4, we had our second lecture of the day. It was on making games in a 40 hour work week. This is actually a topic I was somewhat interested in because a primary reason I don't want to be a developer anymore is because I like doing things outside of work. The guy started off well enough, but there were several holes in his lecture. He cited lots of stuff about how work quality drops off after a certain point, how management needs to manage people, blah blah blah. It was mostly just an industry critique, and he really gave no suggestions on how to resolve the problem. Several people asked questions along this vein, but the fellow merely reiterated parts from his talk, not really answering the questions at all. Disappointing, I felt.
After that, we went back down to the show room. Lots of companies were giving out free stuff. Like beer. I got in line immediately. If they had been giving it out all day, I probably would have been drunk by 1. At any rate, I waited in line forever; about five people from the front, they ran out and we had to wait 20 minutes for the new keg. The beer was crappy, but it came in a cool plastic cup. Hopefully they'll do free beer again today.
At 6:30 was the Independent Games Festival and the Game Developer's Choice Awards. I have never seen such a poorly produced awards ceremony in my life. I hate awards ceremonies as is; this was no exception. And don't even get me started about the recipients. Of all the nominees, only one game I felt deserved to be there. The rest of the games were very meh. Just like regular gamers, the judges (who are developers) can't seem to get out of the hole of people who want to say Half-Life 2 is the greatest game ever. I will admit Half-Life 2 is awesome. It is, quite possibly, the finest sequel ever made. It incorporated enough new stuff to qualify it as a game in it's own right. But Best Game? I don't think so. The physics was awesome, and if any game deserved an award for technical excellence, that was it. But it also won for writing. Writing? Are you joking? There's nothing special about the story. Maybe because, at the end, you really have more questions than what you started with. Do people think that makes a good story? Frustrating. I disagreed with many of the results of the awards.
One game, Katumari Damacy, deserved everything it got and more, though. It was a game that was really unlike anything I had ever seen, and was fun. That should be the ideal for a developer's choice award, I think: a game that is unique, original, and fun, plays upon no existing licenses but expands the idea of games of it's own momentum.
After the ceremony, we ate at Mel's. It had been forever since I'd been to one. I love those old style diners; especially when they have those jukebox things at the tables. I put a quarter in and punched in You've Lost That Loving Feeling but nothing happened. Halfway through our meal, the thing started playing songs, but not the one I picked. I think it was mocking me.
Finally, we got back to the apartment, split our loot and I went up to go to bed. I was actually going to phone someone, now that I had some peace and quiet, but they were no longer at the number I tried, and I thought 11 would be a bit late to call. I have since found out, much to my dismay, that I was wrong. I uttered obscenities for about five minutes before I decided to do something to get my mind off it. And now look what I've done? I've come right back to it. Fuck it. I'm calling you today. But for now, I need to take a shower; we should be leaving soon.