London Heat
Goodness, what a hot week in London. The fact that GDC Europe was packed to the brim didn't help any...
Kudos to the American game group of CMP for reviving GDC Europe and putting on a great conference - especially under greater scrutiny given last year's mess... I particularly enjoyed all the non-conventional talks on stuff like government intervention, curriculum initiatives, global development hotspots, and designing games for grannies... And while my quality of life panel was well attended/received, I was a bit disappointed to discover that the IGDA's whitepaper and related QoL initiatives have not gotten the same exposure in UK/Europe...
As noted earlier, I kept pretty busy during my short stay. In particular, the Develop Industry Excellence Awards were quite enjoyable (with a wholly different, more social vibe, than the IGDA's Choice Awards). The IGDA's own members-only party was a blast and served an a good chance to unwind after the conference.
I'd write up a more complete set of notes, but I am sadly swamped with catch-up work. Besides, the folks at Gamasutra have done a great job at summarizing most of the sessions and news (and/or grabs bits from the proceedings page).
Here are some quick pics I snapped during the week:
The venerable Ernest Adams lectures on game design.
Simon Smith (Blitz), Andrew Oliver (Blitz) and Mark Baker (Climax) take some time out to orient the IGDA's student scholars to GDCe and the industry.
...Andrew and scholars move on to the pub for deeper discussion...
On the eve of GDCe, there was a serious games showcase at the very hip Dana Center.
GDCe conference director Jamil Moledina interviews Phil Harrison (SCEE) as the opening keynote (I'm guessing Phil was too busy to prep a formal presentation ;)
Develop Magazine's Owain Bennallack hard at work... Nice shirt.
Keita Takahashi's winning granny game design.
A very deserving David Braben (Frontier) picks up his Legend award.
Developer Chic: Jason and Chris Kingsley (Rebellion) and Miles Jacobson (Sports Interactive) admire each others formal developer attire.
EA Montreal studio head, Alain Tascan, gives an unbiased reportage of which cities are best for development and why (hint bad weather keeps coders indoors).
IGDA Party: Hugh Grimley and Thomas Howalt from IO-Interactive piece together the Ageia puzzle...
IGDA Party: Karl Reader, Michael McKinnon, Jane Barnett (Middlesex University) and Rohan Bangdiwala chilling.
IGDA Party: Carl Bateman, Christian West and Micah Rosenkind also chilling.
IGDA Party: Owain Bennallack (Develop), Ed Bartlett (IGA Partners) and Kathy Schoback (Ageia) chatting at the bar.
IGDA Party: Always playing... Dean Butcher (IdeaWorks3D!), Jane Barnett (Middlesex University) and Steven Goodwin (Criterion) playing some cards among the party noise.
IGDA Party: Lightweights... I enjoy a nice bottle of sparkling water with Daniel Boutros.
Posted on September 6, 2005 04:26 PM
Comments
Hey Jason,
Just thought I'd fill in a few photo blanks for you so your records are complete.
The first photo with moi in it, the people are "Karl Reader, Michael McKinnon and Jane Barnett."
The second photo (with Micah) - "Carl Bateman, Christian West, Micah Rosenkind"
We were all volunteers (or Conference Associates).
Had an absolutely brilliant time!! And it was great to meet you and Rudy!! Those small bite sized pieces of chocolate cake were rather nice - glad I found those (but was very reluctant to share ;) )
These are fantastic pix - thanks Jason
J :)
Posted by: Jane Barnett at September 7, 2005 10:16 AM
Sorry I missed it! Sounds like a great show!
Let me know if you'll be at TGS.
Posted by: kim at September 8, 2005 02:33 AM
Hey Jason
nice pictures would like to help in filling out one the ? on the pictures with Jane Barnet Micheal Mckinnon and Karl The last ? is Rohan.
By the way it was brillant fun at the party
Thanks
Posted by: Rohan at September 8, 2005 07:35 AM