GDC: A Learning Experience (Wednesday)

I have some more tips for GDC!

The W
Last night I didn't have a good party to go to, so I followed a rumor Arisa Scott (DigiPen artist) found out: Hotel lobbies are hot spots for networking. It turns out the St. Regis, which is where I'm staying is known as the "lawyer hotel," so I went a couple blocks down to the W, which is apparently a hotel where game developers network. The rumor was more than right. The place was packed. The experienced GDC goers I talked to there told me the W lobby is the place for game developer networking and business meetings from about 11am to about midnight. They said you can spend all day there, and when the parties get out at around 9pm, most of the party goers come to the W and continue networking. Very good to know!

Body Language
Arisa and I have been putting her uncannily accurate F artist instincts and my T programmer brain together and figuring out some simple body language tells that indicate what kind of a role someone might have in the Industry. I'm absolutely certain I'm going to offend somebody here, but here goes:

Designers - tend to communicate with wild gestures. They're very physically active when they talk, as though their ideas can't be confined to words.

Artists - observe everything. The entire time they're conversing, they are looking, seeing, watching. Their energy is totally absorbent, like a sponge with eyes.

Programmers - are reserved and inward. They rarely make any superfluous movements. Almost like their body is just a shell for their mind, which is where all the real stuff happens.

Producers - see the big picture. They are focused on the room and how everyone interacts and fits together. Their energy is outward and encompassing.

Audio Technicians - are expressive and rhythmic. Their body language is very similar to designers', but every move they make and every word they say seems to follow a rhythm, like they are talking to a song you just can't hear.

Lawyers and Business People- are probably the most "normal" seeming people you will meet at GDC. Lawyers seem to genuinely enjoy the exercise of talking for its own sake, and business folk seem to be very linear and focused.

Of course, don't believe any of this. People are people, and everyone I've met has been unique. This was just a fun exercise, and a good conversation starter!

Talk to People In Suits
They are likely to be CEO's, Directors, Producers, Media, or Outsourcers. Even if they don't represent a company you want to work for, they are likely to be well connected. I spoke to several of the above tonight at various parties, and a couple of them even asked me what my dream company would be and told me they would see what they could do. You never know!