[casual_games] GDC 2007 passes?

[Kirby, Neil A (Neil)]

>Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:47:00 -0800 (PST)

>From: Bret Terrill <base_taylor at yahoo.com>

>Subject: [casual_games] GDC 2007 passes?

>To: casual_games at igda.org

>Message-ID: <336326.62609.qm at web50104.mail.yahoo.com>

>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

>

>I'm hoping that somebody on this list might have an

>extra pass or two for the GDC that are going to go

>unused and might want to bequeath them onto a couple

>of impoverished game developers.  I'd really like to

>see the panel discussions, such as the one Margaret is

>moderating.  If not, hopefully, some one here can blog

>about the conference and give us poor suckers a taste

>of GDC knowledge.

>

>hanks,

>

>Bret


I have got to hand it to you for the "never hurts to ask" attitude.  At first I laughed out loud (very glad that I'd finished my morning tea).  I do actually wish you the best of luck.  I don't have a pass to give away.  I did have a pass to give away see http://foundation.igda.org/?p=7 but it has been awarded.

Here are some real ways to get into GDC without taking the financial spear to the chest and simply paying for it:

1) Be a speaker.  My personal favorite, it gets you a Giga pass and puts you next to some of the coolest people in the industry.  The speaker/VIP party rocks like nothing else.  And you can get papers published this way too.

2) Win a scholarship.  Good if you are a student. http://www.igda.org/scholarships/

3) Volunteer to be a Conference Associate.  The deadline for this is way over but the old URL is http://www.gdconf.com/register/caregistration.htm This is hard work, but the price is hard to beat.  I know a number of people who do the CA thing because it fits their nearly-non-existent budget.  I once said to my late friend Eric, "always be nice to the CAs, they could be your boss next year."  He replied, "Boss?  They could be your producer!"  This was actually the case for him.  To be a CA, you have to be able to work hard and keep a pleasant attitude, even if the people around you are not compelled to have a pleasant attitude.  See http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/25/gdc-conference-organizers-drop-the-ball/ to see how the CA staff can get caught in the middle.  If you can't do the "with a good attitude under pressure" part, please, do NOT pollute the ranks of the CA staff.  I turn in rude, sexist, un-helpful CAs to the two guys who run the whole CA staff.  I also, when I can,!
  point out to those same guys when I see a CA exceed my expectations.  Good CA staff members get to be CAs year after year.  Bad CAs tend to never make the cut again.  As a speaker, I know that my session could live or die based on whether a CA can get something done for me [this has happened more than once].  They are "I can help" and "I don't know how, but we can make that happen" kind of people. 


---
Neil Kirby              +1.614.367.5524        Hope is not a strategy
Bell Laboratories     nak at alcatel-lucent.com   Prayer is not a process
6200 E. Broad St.                              Tuning is not a plan
Columbus, OH 43213      USA                    Chaos does not scale