PAX, GDC, Gamescom etc., which one to attend to?

wizo

HHHHHHey there,

Some of you were talking about pax, gamescom etc and how they went showing of their game! That sounds very cool.

I am curious to know who goes there/what happens at these events. I thought it was just PR and marketing, please share your experiences! As artists, which one would be the best to attend to? How is it possible to get free tickets? : )

thanks in advance for the info

Swizzle

PAX and Gamescom are more focused on showing off games and attracting players and press, whereas GDC is a lot more focused on developers networking with and educating each other. If you're looking for work as an artist, GDC is probably the place you want to go since it has a career fair and there are a lot of networking opportunities.

I don't know about free tickets, but I know you can get a significant discount on GDC tickets by buying them during early bird registration. The next GDC is less than six months away, so registration should open in a month or two.

EarthQuake

You can volunteer at GDC and get free or significantly reduced tickets (haven't done it myself but friends have), all access too I think, but not sure.

You can get the expo pass for $250 and see the expo floor and network and go to parties etc but you'll miss the talks.

Isaiah Sherman

But the talks at GDC is what makes it worth it. GDC without the talks is basically a really expensive job fair, in my opinion.

wizo

awesome guys, thats some really great info, many thanks! I'll try to make it next GDC then !

Neox

do you want to show off your game publically or are you on the hunt for a publishing deal? Or if its just about you being a artist, what do you expect from any of these?

wizo

neox - It was mostly related to networking opportunies, I've been living in a hole for too long : ) and also was curious about whats the best event to show off a game demo I ever come to make one.

ambershee

Isaiah Sherman wrote: »

But the talks at GDC is what makes it worth it. GDC without the talks is basically a really expensive job fair, in my opinion.

Yep. The talks is what GDC is. Not doing them seems kind of daft.

StephenWongTA

I vastly preferred my experience at GDC over PAX East because I actually got to talk to probably thousands of developers who were all passionate about their product. At PAX East, I mostly found myself wandering around in attempt to find devs to talk to (the indy booths were more beneficial as they weren't as crowded).

Jonathan_AV

StephenWongTA wrote: »

I vastly preferred my experience at GDC over PAX East because I actually got to talk to probably thousands of developers who were all passionate about their product. At PAX East, I mostly found myself wandering around in attempt to find devs to talk to (the indy booths were more beneficial as they weren't as crowded).

I've been to 2 GDC's so far and attended my first PAX East this year. I had a ton of excitement for PAX but was quite disappointed when I noticed everywhere I went was completely crowded.

I feel like GDC has a different desired audience compared to PAX. Considering this is polycount, I would highly recommend GDC as the supreme convention to attend.

EarthQuake

GDC is actually a conference for developers. From what I understand, E3 and PAX are marketing expos meant for press moreso than devs. So unless you want to learn about X new game or X new console, GDC will be your better bet.

Justin Meisse

Are the talks in the Main Conference, $995, or Summits & Tutorials, $795? I've thought about going it but that's a lot of money, especially factoring in travel and lodging.

almighty_gir

the only reason i'm not going for any of the talks passes is because this will be my first time in the states in around a decade, i've got a lot to see outside of GDC as well, and i'm not entirely sure what my timetable will be like... so i'd rather not drop a huge load of cash on something i might not even get a chance to appreciate.

however if i get to go to the next one i'll do the talks.

Jeff Parrott

GDC just to hang out with Swizzle, Sean Marino, VanGorder, and myself and a ton of other PCers.

Norron

Thinking about going again next year with just an expo pass myself. The talks are amazing but I'm really just going to be there for Swizzle

slipsius

And if you cant afford GDC, pick up a vault pass. It has all the talks, you just dont get the same networking. Definitely a cheaper alternative for the same knowledge though.

Isaiah Sherman

EarthQuake wrote: »

GDC is actually a conference for developers. From what I understand, E3 and PAX are marketing expos meant for press moreso than devs. So unless you want to learn about X new game or X new console, GDC will be your better bet.

GDC for devs
PAX for gamers
E3 for press

PAX is super fun to go and play new games and see hot cosplay.

Swizzle

Norron wrote: »

Thinking about going again next year with just an expo pass myself. The talks are amazing but I'm really just going to be there for Swizzle

I'm always here for you, baby gurl.

Norron

Swizzle wrote: »

I'm always here for you, baby gurl.

Oh stop it

ZacD

Isaiah Sherman wrote: »

E3 for press

E3 is also for business men and executives.

Justin Meisse

slipsius wrote: »

And if you cant afford GDC, pick up a vault pass. It has all the talks, you just dont get the same networking. Definitely a cheaper alternative for the same knowledge though.

That sounds like more my speed. I'm not going to walk up to some stranger and strike up a conversation. I've grown enough of a network through polycount and just working with people, networking just feels so phony to me - it's the dead "I don't really care what you do" eyes that give it away.

Meloncov

Justin Meisse wrote: »

= networking just feels so phony to me - it's the dead "I don't really care what you do" eyes that give it away.

If it feels like that, you (and/or they) are doing it wrong. The idea is to meet and hang out with people with similar interests and have a good time. If your first and foremost thought is "How can this person help my career?" your gonna be miserable, and probably not actually help your career.

Justin Meisse

Meloncov wrote: »

If it feels like that, you (and/or they) are doing it wrong. The idea is to meet and hang out with people with similar interests and have a good time. If your first and foremost thought is "How can this person help my career?" your gonna be miserable, and probably not actually help your career.

Yeah, I'm not doing that, I'm the one picking up on that.

Meloncov

Justin Meisse wrote: »

Yeah, I'm not doing that, I'm the one picking up on that.

In my experience, GDC is a much more friendly environment than any of the local networking meetups I'be been to (excepting the Polycount one).

wizo

I think its fair to say that its going to be a lousy conversation if both parties don't really connect... as in , "hey, nice to meet you...so can I haz a job now ?"

I am a strong believer that people who have common interests will make great conversations and possibly a great connection to have, not necessarily for a job opportunity but just to have a nice time.