GDC: A Newbie's Perspective - Part 2
In part two, Erik speaks of the most popular area of the GDC, the Job Fair.
by Erik B. Zwerling
Photos from gamasutra.com

The foot traffic in the Job Fair area rivaled that of a shopping mall the first day after Thanksgiving, or a concert hall lobby after a show lets out. One could not walk five feet in the Job Fair section. without bumping into someone. A+ publishers and developers such as EA, Namco, THQ, 3DO, Midway, and Blizzard were there. But there were also recruiters present from all over the county, and even a few from England. For all the game industry professionals hit hard by the .com and game industry layoffs, this was the place to be. While all the recruiters and the companies' human resource representatives were accepting resumes and talking to people about possibilities within their companies, it remains to be seen how many of these opportunities become a reality for the perspective employees.

Another new experience for me attending the Game Developer's Conference for the first time was Friday night's Booth Crawl, hosted by companies such as Sony, GamaNetwork, GameSpy Industries, Intel, Interact, Namco, and nVidia. What betterway to meet fellow game industry professionals than while eating appetizers and beer? To break the ice even more, there are games in every booth for guests to play and rave party music playing on the hall's loudspeakers. Walking the floor with my blue Playstation beer stein in one hand, and greasy chicken fingers and dumplings in the other, I was ready to network. However, what you quickly learn is that everyone else is there to drink the beer, eat the appetizers, and play the games. At this point in the night, no one is in the mood to talk business. Don't get me wrong, with everyone relaxed from eating and drinking, one can meet many new people. But I do not think that deal making is a priority of the evening. Alas, another lesson about navigating the Game Developers Conference is learned.

"One could not walk five feet in the Job Fair section without bumping into someone."

Now the most important part of any convention is not which exhibitor's booth is the best, or which one is demonstrating the most ground-breaking technology or product. No, the deal breaker of all game industry conventions is the quality of the tchotchkes given. I have discovered from attending conventions, as well as speaking with family and friends that attend conventions, is that the success of a convention is directly related to the quality of tchotchkes given to the attendees. In past years attending E3 and other conventions, I have received free games, sweaters, pen and pencil sets, and hats, just to name a some of the precious booty I have received.

Click Here to go to Part 3 of the GDC Feature