The GDC Expo floor is always a developer's dream come true. Companies like Maya, Nvidia, ATI and Intel vie for the community's attention. They'll give away free frisbees, dress funny and even dance, just to stand out. This year's floor was no different.
To a gamer, it can be a bit of a letdown. Few upcoming games (or hardware) are displayed since the focus is on the developer and his/her needs, not the end user. Still, it's fascinating to see so much attention being paid to the talented minds behind your favorite titles.
The floor seemed small this year for some reason. It's a new venue (GDC is usually held in San Jose) so it may have been an optical illusion. But it felt like there were fewer booths to visit. There are usually a few AAA PC titles being shown somewhere, but this year I could only find STALKER and some video of Elder Scolls IV (well, actually it was a video of Elder Scolls IV's trees). Both of them look incredible up close and personal, by the way. Did I miss something? It's certainly possible. Let me know if something caught your eye.
The pace was frantic. The space was packed. Some people couldn 't hide their frustration at the slow herd. Where would
you like me to go, pushing-man? I can't climb over the crowd! For the most part, though, developers are a polite bunch.
They were only imagining sadistic, bloody ways to eliminate the guy in front of them.
Then, of course, everyone wants to appear important. Focused. That on-the-way-to-a-meeting look was etched on a lot of brows. Most of this is posing, of course. I know, because I follow people. One guy was speaking loudly on his cell about an inevitable deal signing, weaving his way through the job booths, on a mission. His loud voice let everyone know he was coming, so a nice tunnel of dirty carpet opened up for him. He got to the corner of the room quickly, slapped his phone shut and just stood there like someone flicked his off switch. Was he thinking? Was he plotting his next move? My sense is that the guy had a panic attack and put on an act to get people out of his way fast. I?ll have to try that at E3.
The floor may have been a bit of a disappointment to gamer, but there were the handhelds. Thank God for the handhelds. They added all the oomph the expo needed. Gamers/developers swarmed around the Nintendo and Sony booths (yes, in equal numbers) checking out the latest wares. I?ll have a separate post for each of their booths, but suffice it to say, neither side let us down.
Bow your heads, and pray to your PSPs.
This banner, while cool, has some seriously bad feng shui.
Dance! Dance for me!
The people who work the booths get tired after a full day of work. I?ve done it. I know how it is. You see someone
coming up to your booth and you hope they?ll think better of it and go away. Then, when it?s clear they want to ask you
a lot of questions you don?t know the answer to, you have to put on a smile and say ?I don?t know? in a dozen different
ways. Due to this experience I know it?s best to come up behind a booth worker and surprise them. It?s kind of
like a game of Thief.
I cornered a couple of PR people this way. I wanted to make some contacts with the vendors so Joystiq could just
maybe-possibly-hopefully get you guys some swag. We know you like swag. PR folks are really nice by nature. But they
have two traits that make them tough to track down:
1) They?re always busy
2) They have sonar like a dolphin. They know when you?re coming.
Suffice it to say that my Splinter Cell skills came in handy. I have a pile of business cards.
Let em in! Don?t get in between a developer and his swag.
There was a moment that kind of summed up the feeling of an Expo floor for me. I was frantically chasing after Nintendo?s Iwata for twenty minutes, hoping he would do something newsworthy (hell comment-worthy would have been welcome). When I finally gave up, I put my camera away, arched my back (POP!), exhaled and made eye contact with an attendee. He smiled. I shook my head, tired.
?I know,? he said.
