Next week, GDC will return to the Moscone Convention Center.
The event officially runs from March 20 to March 24, although it stretches much beyond these dates and the convention centre’s borders. Gaming industry experts from all walks of life have already begun assembling and will take over San Francisco in the next two weeks for meet-ups.
GDC 2023 is projected to attract around 24,000 attendees in San Francisco, according to organizers in January.
GDC may be intimidating for first-timers: large event, large city, thousands of attendees, hundreds of sessions, and almost as many networking chances. How can you make the most of this massive event?
Then we have you covered! Here you will discover guidance from a dozen industry experts on how to organize your GDC 2023, how to network, where to meet people, where to eat, and how to just survive.
Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts at USC, chairman of the USC Games Bridge incubator, and CEO of LGBT Gaming Professionals is Gordon Bellamy.
Chase Bethea, music composer and creative/technical audio designer Guy “Yug” Blomberg, originator of the Games Industry Gathering, and business development on a number of other acronyms (E3, IGDA, etc.)
Wren Brier, director of creative operations at Witch Beam
Simon Carless, founder of GameDiscoverCo and former executive vice president of the Game Developers Conference
Dana Cowley, head of communications for technology at Epic Games.
CEO of Three of Cups Games and host of this year’s IGF Awards at GDC is Marina Dez.
Kate Edwards is the CEO of Geogrify and the Global Game Jam’s director.
4 Winds Entertainment’s director of communications and translations is Nazih Fares.
Senior producer at ProbablyMonsters, JC Lau
Caroline Miller is the CEO and owner of Indigo Pearl.
Alexander Sliwinski, chief operating officer of Bithell Games
Stephanie Tinsley Fitzwilliam is the founder of Tinsley Public Relations.
Victoria Tran, director of the community at Innersloth
For further GDC and San Francisco information, it’s worth mentioning that the Games Industry Gathering has a fantastic GDC guide that can be found on this website.
Additionally, keep a watch out for Thursday’s publication of our interview with GDC director of event production Stephenie Hawkins and senior conference manager Ashley Corrigan.
So, without further ado, here is our GDC 2023 survival guide.
Listing of contents:
Plan according to your own values
Tips for attending lectures Advice for networking Advice for meetings Advice for first-time visits from disadvantaged groups Help for Ramadan
Remember that we are currently in an outbreak.
Celebrate responsibly
Traveling to San Francisco
Places to dine and imbibe
Final strategies for surviving the GDC
Plan according to your own values
Nazih Fares
As with any large conference, the focus is on your individual objectives. Consider your own needs. Want to meet new people, discuss your work, and learn about the most recent developments in your field? While most conferences enable you to theoretically accomplish all three, setting priorities will help you determine where to focus… Otherwise, you would exhaust yourself going from one end to the other. If you purchased an All-Access card, you may view the majority of conference panels in the GDC Vault until March 1, 2019.
Victoria Tran
It is what you make of it, and I do not believe there is a universally applicable “optimal” option. Want to learn? Attend as many lectures as possible! Want to engage in networking? Contact individuals to schedule meetings! When you’re there, you may feel pressured to complete everything and jam your calendar to the point that you’re constantly traveling between sites. But, GDC is a marathon, not a sprint; it is OK to take your time and go at your own speed.
I always recommend attempting to develop genuine connections there, not just as business contacts but as actual friends. The profession may be challenging, but having people that care about you is always beneficial. The best part of GDC is that many developers anticipate engaging in casual interactions with new individuals. And if someone is impolite or cruel, it is OK to move on. There are many pleasant people in the area.
Marina Díez
I maximize my GDC experience by taking care of myself. Even if I suffer from a great deal of FOMO due to my inability to attend everything, it is impossible to attend everything. I prioritize what I believe may be of interest to me. I also take care not to schedule every hour of my day, since unscheduled time can provide many pleasant surprises. It is also essential to eat and sleep.