And now for part 2 of my report on SCAD’s GDX. This part covers the last two panels I attended as well as my final thoughts / opinions on this event. See the report after the jump.

The third panel of my day was with Greg Costikyan. His panel was The Fall and Rise of the Independent Developer. Greg went through the past state of the industry, an industry where companies like id can come out with Doom successfully as an independent because cost and work vs. profit evened out. Now with all of the advances in technology, it’s significantly harder, if not impossible, for a Independent to release a game that will make it. Factors contributing this are even related to the retail market. A market that says if a game doesn’t sell well in two weeks, it disappears from shelves. This panel covered a great deal of information but the best part about it was Greg’s attitude. Greg was very animated in his dislike of the state of the industry and it was highly entertaining. If you ever have the chance to see Greg talk, be sure you seize the opportunity.

My last panel for the day was perhaps the most entertaining. Brenda Brathwaite has a well known history in this industry. This has garnered the experience that enables her to do a panel called “100 Questions, 97 Answers, 56 Minutes (on 300 slides).” This covered a wealth of knowledge that is helpful for anyone looking to get into the gaming industry. Now for me to go back over them would be pretty absurd and take me way longer than the hour that she accomplished. Luckily, she’s promised to post it on her blog. It’s not up yet but check back soon and go through it. If only there was video of her panel, then you could experience how funny it was to watch her blitz through this huge amount of information.

There were closing ceremonies and an after party of sorts but I ended up having to go back to work so I didn’t hang around. GDX was a cool event, but I think it needs to focus a little less on students if it’s going to be open to the public. The people I met were cool and I came out of there with a few new contacts, but overall I didn’t feel like the conference would give much information to those not in school. It was also a little too targeted on one aspect of the industry. Development is great and all, but there were plenty of graphics people there, and at least one audio guy (me, ha!), that walked away from this event unfulfilled. I enjoyed the panels I went to and the people that were a part of them, but having a little more variety in the available panels would have been appreciated. Especially considering the fact that they seem to be pushing kids to be independent developers, instead of preparing them to work in the industry. Not everyone can get out there and start their own business, and even less will do it successfully. I feel this event might be giving students the confidence to do something that will most likely end badly for them.

My two cents: this industry is tough. No matter what aspect of it you go into. It’s important to never forget that. Even when you’re seemingly in the industry, it still takes a lot of work. You need to really have the drive to stay in it and succeed. Getting your reel done or a few minigames isn’t going to be the end of it. You need to get out there and literally attack every company you want to be a part of and every company you don’t want to be a part of as well. Getting real world experience is what’s going to land you your ideal job in the future. Sure some students might be bright enough and have the kind of capital necessary to start your own company, but odds are that the bulk of you will be in a larger company doing grunt work, and you need to be prepared for that. That all said, I am looking forward to the next GDX. As the event grows every year it will improve and evolve into a great well rounded conference. See you there next year.

posted by Juan Baez III on 04.12.08 @ 2:27 pm

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