As a first timer, GDC was a great experience. It was a little bit overwhelming at first and I think I honestly over prepared. As I attend Westwood College Online I met fellow classmates in person for the first time.With Business cards, portfolio, and resume everyone was there for the same reasons - building strong connections, finding work opportunities, and finding out what's next for the game industry. The setting made it easy to strike up conversations and get advice.
Before leaving for the convention, I literally looked up every single company on the list for GDC and their bios on Wikipedia. I also looked at their sites if there was one available. I bought the latest Edge magazine and read my old issues of Game Developer magazine. I read the Effective Networking section of http://tinysubversions.com/ in its entirety. When I got to GDC I was dissapointed when I didn't get a chance to talk to any artists from Zenimax or 38 Studios. Later on, I found out that the HR reps filter the candidates that were interested. All of my research was for nothing. Of all the companies there Naughty Dog impressed me most as they actually looked at my work. I never expected to be hired but it was nice to have someone invest that kind of time. I came home with about 52 new business contacts and more anxious to overcome adversity.
GDC 2011 is a year away
