GDCE03 Student Scholarship Reports
Each scholarship recipient was asked to report on their GDCE adventure.
The reports describe favorites sessions and offer advice to GDCE first timers.
Enjoy!
Student Report Index
Student Reports
Umran Ali - University of Salford
GDCE...a place for developers to meet, share ideas, and discuss the future
of the games industry. So where do students fit in? Well, the format is
pretty much like University: wake up in the early hours, get dressed, grab
a pen & paper and go read up on the lecture/talk you want to attend.
But the few days you spend here will be the most exciting and enriching
you've had in a long time. The GDCE experience is something I will never
forget!
Each day is so jam-packed with sessions that you'll have a hard time choosing.
I found the following sessions extremely insightful & enjoyable;
It's only a game? - Laura Fryer
This talk examined what it means to play a game, and how on a very basic
level all humans have this innate need to play and explore. The speaker
started off with a very personal story regarding the emotional impact something
as simple as chess has between two individuals. Gmers have taken their newly
emerging medium and expressed themselves emotionally in ways no one had
thought possible. Laura used Everquest and a particularly hilarious Halo
video (Warthog aerobatics!) to drive the message home. Educational, thought
provoking and funny. Often games have been lowered to just a medial form
of entertainment. Yet other much more basic game forms are acknowledged
as more meaningful forms of expression. The wonderful thing about this talk
was to hear and to see that other people shared the belief that all games,
especially video games, fulfill that mental need we have to play & explore.
By doing so, games are a worthy medium on par with traditional forms of
expression.
Great Game Graphics… Who Cares? - Jason Rubin
This session looked at the decreasing impact of aesthetics with each new
generation of games. The transitions from generation to generation over
the years was very impressive, but now the medium has reached at point where
visuals alone can no longer hold the players attention. The industry has
two possible substitutes to give games a USP. Jason referred to worrying
statistics regarding the two substitutes, innovation and attachment. Only
13 out of the top 100 games last year were not licensed/attached IP, and
the lack of innovation is due to the risk associated with relying on original
IP. A very insightful, well presented lecture by a great speaker. Over the
last few years the industry has been hit by criticism regarding lack of
originality and the downfall of fresh new ideas, it was interesting to hear
that the industry has to take the stronger innovation route on board sooner
or later.
The Continuous World of Dungeon Siege - Scott Bilas
A surprise hit for me personally, the speaker brought us the very impressive
title, Dungeon Siege. Scott explained how the continuous world was
designed and programmed, until the final 'no loading' engine was released.
As an artist it was a little daunting to be introduced into a programmers'
lecture. Scott expertly set out the lecture so even programming novices
could grasp the technical achievements Gas Powered Games had managed to
work into the DS engine. The talk provided a lot of insight into the difficulty
of providing the continuous world and how it was eventually accomplished.
Advice for future scholarships winners:
-
Get to know your fellow students! You'll never come across
a more varied group of intelligent, funny and interesting people. It was
fun trading stories, and thoughts with people from all over the world
who share a similar passion in games.
-
Don't be shy!! It can seem intimidating when you're sitting
in a group of 30 fellow students and don't know anyone...and when you're
surrounded by faces you've only ever seen in magazines/dev journals! And
you'll find they are ever so willing to chat.
-
Visit ECTS. Not only will you get a free GDCE lunch :D
, but you get to see the latest games/hardware and some really innovative
and fresh ideas.
-
GDCE parties are a must! Free drinks, lots of mingling
and the perfect opportunity to swap ideas and thoughts on the day's events,
plus you'll bump into many speakers and familiar developers, and get to
see them utterly drunk. You'll never see the human side of games development
better anywhere else!
-
Accommodation. Make sure you are as near to Earl's Court
as possible. A tube power cut during the stay highlighted the point, plus
you really don't want to spend 30 minutes getting back to your hotel after
a GDCE party :) Plus research your activities, nothing worse than walking
around London looking for something to do!
Lastly I just want to thank the IGDA for granting me such a rare and unique
opportunity to make new friends, and to meet people who all share my passion
for games. You may be asking yourself next year, can I afford to go? No,
the real question is can you afford not to go!
Rock on GDC 2004!
Ben Bradley - University of Abertay Dundee
GDCE was surprisingly similar to University in a number of ways. You wake
up in the morning, walk to the building with fellow students, attend lectures,
have lunch, attend more lectures, and then go out and party in the evening!
:oD
The differences are that the lectures are often given by famous faces,
and always by people who know exactly what they are talking about and speak
from experience. After a lecture, you walk out into the hallway and hundreds
of people like this are standing around chatting, and are more than happy
to spend some time chatting to you. When you go out in the evening, you're
likely to bump into even more of these people. This is what GDCE is about,
and why it's such a fantastic opportunity to learn and network.
At the time I didn't feel I was learning a lot, but when GDCE ended and
I reflected on the experience, it was clear that I'd learnt as much at GDCE
as I would in several weeks at University.
Top Three Lectures:
[Joint 1st] This is kinda cheating, but Alan Dann's Power to the People
and Achim Stremplat's Building Long Lasting Tools were both about
tools, and were in the same room, one after the other. This is my personal
area of interest, but it's not one that's popular or particularly well documented,
so I was looking forward to these two talks.
In fact these lectures were completely different. One focusing on the design
of a large editor for a specific game, and the second focusing on general
programming techniques for improving tool reusability. I picked up a lot
of extremely useful, relevant information from these two people, and a better
general idea about what it's like to develop game tools for a living.
[2nd] Seamus Blackley's Business as Usual. Everyone knows what's
wrong with the industry and likes to moan about it, but full marks go to
Seamus Blackley for actually thinking of some ways to take action. Seamus
managed to dissolve my "publishers are evil" way of thinking,
which I've picked up over the years. The talk was designed to help developers
to take part or all of the responsibility for their problems.
[3rd] Jason Rubin's Great Game Graphics: Who Cares?. There was just
one message in this lecture: we have reached a point where graphics alone
can no longer sell a game. Although the content of the lecture seemed like
common sense, and most of the audience would totally agree with the point
he made, it took this lecture to make me realise this fact, and start to
think about what this means for game development studios.
Advice for Future Students:
My main piece of advice is not to take the advice of any former scholarship
winners completely literally. As an example, many students in the year before
me talked about taking your own business cards, and made it seem like business
cards were incredibly important. I spent half a day designing mine, and
took a huge stack of 100 - God-forbid I should run out!...
In fact it's not appropriate to give everyone you meet a card, and some
developers I met didn't have any themselves. I *would* highly recommend
taking business cards, but my point is that advice is just advice. You will
not get time at GDCE to do everything you want to do, attend every lecture
you want to attend, or meet everybody you would like to meet, so don't waste
time trying to follow all the rules set by former students - decide what
*you* really want to get out of the experience.
And now on with the rest of my advice :o) …
-
There isn't a correlation between how famous a speaker
is, and how useful their talk will be to you, or even how interesting
it will be. While it's great to hear from your personal hero, make sure
you attend some lectures which are relevant to your area.
-
Get up in the morning, don't skip breakfast, and make
it to the first lecture of the day on time.
-
Try to do a bit of everything if you can - hear lectures,
talk to developers, talk to other students, go downstairs and visit ECTS.
Enjoy the whole experience.
-
Don't go to GDCE looking for work! The people you see
will probably have nothing to do with human resources, and even if they
are, will not hire you just because you have turned up to the conference.
Chat to people, and if you're lucky a job may come of it later on.
-
And finally, make sure you note down the address of your
hotel before you leave home, or you may find yourself lost, wandering
around London for three hours with your bags - I speak from experience
on this one! ;o)
Paulo Gonçalves de Barros - Universidade
Federal de Pernambuco
Being at GDCE this year was a great experience. Having the opportunity
to meet the whole European game development community in a single place
is not just a matter of luck; it is like being blessed by God!! Talking
to people like Crosbie Fitch, Jason Della Rocca and many others turned
my visit to GDCE into a unique experience, in which students like me were
able to learn more about game development and market, as well as how to
take part in it.Moreover, being with other scholarship students was awsome.
The exchange of ideas between game market newbies like us was very important
for us not to feel excluded from the rest of the event. Going out together
on GDCE parties, playing pool and having a couple o beers (or Cokes) together
united us like a real group of friends, making the event even more special.
In addition to knowledge acquired from chatting with people, we learned
from the many conference sessions. A few sessions are described below.
Great Game Graphics…Who cares?
The basic argument in this lecture was that, with the continuous improvement
on game graphics during the next years, graphic quality will reach such
a high level that the graphic differences between one game and another
will no longer be of importance to the player. These will lead game companies
change their focus on their games' differentials. Probably it is right,
but I do not think graphic hardware companies will accept that change
so easily. They will probably invent some other new technology to attract
gamers money and attention, and then develop a whole new branch of technology-directed
games using it. I thought of immersive interface, but I think it is still
very expensive for massive selling, though I found some prototypes around.
Maybe the best option would be create dedicated hardware for graphic information
transmission via network, allowing for each time more users interacting
in each time larger worlds.
It's only a game?
This lecture concerns the emotional and social effect games have on our
lives. The way in which a game can create emotional bonds and develop
social interaction between people makes them a very peculiar media. With
advances in network and interaction, the social interaction by electronic
games have become even more evident. The lecture shows how important and
even socially healthy games can be in one's life. The talk was very interesting
and I, as a game addict, couldn't agree more with each one of the arguments
presented.
Publishing on your Own: Digital Distribution for PC and
Web Games
This session was of particular interest to me as an independent game developer.
Briefly presenting some data on the actual development of the digital
distribution market on the Internet and discussing the many distribution
models adopted nowadays, the lecturer made the basic concepts of digital
distribution clear for the audience. With the knowledge acquired during
this session I intend to develop my first distribution model for one of
the future products of my starting indie game company.
ECTS Rules!:
During London Games Week, scholarship students could also attend ECTS,
the commercial side of the game industry. Visiting it was one of the best
things I did during my stay in London. There I could exchange some ideas
with smaller publishers about the steps to be taken in order to get a
contract and publish my game idea. I also got cards with the most important
small publishers for future contact. Also, I played a lot of the new games
in PS2 and Game Cube, experimented with new technologies such as NGage
and learned a lot about the status of the game industry. Furthermore,
I took home magazines with breaking news in the field (together with a
lot of ads, but that doesn't really matter, does it?).
Tips for Future Students:
-
Save some time for ECTS. Despite all the interesting
sessions you will attend in GDCE, ECTS is worth a look, especially for
those interested in the commercial side of the game industry.
-
Read a lot about the game industry before getting there.
Although I am a game addict, I must admit that sometimes I was not fully
aware of what people were really saying in some of the sessions I attended.
It would be a good idea to buy a couple of game magazines in your area
of interest.
-
Do not miss GDCE parties! They are the perfect place
to get close to the real big game developing monsters without annoying
them much. And please, leave your introversion and shyness at home!
-
Talk to other scholarship students. They are a good
source of information and tips, as you are all in a similar situation.
But more importantly, you can become very good friends!
GDCE was the best game experience in my life. I wouldn't
trade it for a new Game Cube with Zelda Wind Waker! It's true! It was
very fun…almost unreal!
I just wish I could get another scholarship the next year…
Well, I believe it is about time I started saving some money.
For the next lucky ones, happy traveling and enjoy your
stay in London.
Fernando Herrera - Helsinki University of Technology
To start let me just say that attending GDCE was an invaluable experience.
It gave me the opportunity to get a closer look and a better feel off what
the game industry is really like. This is definitely part of the fun of
being a student at GDCE was that at the end of the day the conference is
an industry event. It was extremely nice to see how laid back and relaxed
the overall atmosphere of the conference was. There where no suits or ties
anywhere to be seen. Anyway you look at it GDCE is a great opportunity to
network, however keep in mind that the conference is definitely not a job
fair.
The fact that the conference takes place at the same time as ECTS is a
definite bonus. It was nice to go walk around in ECTS and see all the cool
stuff that's coming to the market. The trade show gives you a great look
at the commercial side of the industry and is definitely worth finding some
time to check it out.
Favorite Sessions:
Great Game Graphics…Who Cares?
This probably ranks right at the top of my list. The lecture basically emphasized
how we have reached the point where graphics are not the key selling point
in games anymore. He discussed how the gap is going to be filled by creating
more compelling content such as multi-dimensional characters and more involving
stories.
Mobile Games Tour
The session showcased different types of mobile games from across the globe.
It was interesting too see the different types of innovative games that
are making it into the mobile phone. The session showed me how when thinking
out of the box you can deliver an interesting experience in a limited medium
by console or pc standards. The session also showed that doing so required
accepting the inherent limitations of the medium and in designing games
that focus on its advantages while minimizing its downside.
Battlefield 1942
It was fun too hear the inside story as too how BF1942 actually came into
being and the learning curve the company went through in order to make such
a successful title. It was very interesting to listen to a first hand account
about starting a game company from scratch and off the pitfalls along the
road.
Tips for students:
-
Plan ahead, both in terms of what you want to see at the
conference as well as the practical details of your trip. Doing some research
on where to stay can save you a bundle.
-
Related to the previous point, sometimes there will be
multiple interesting sessions happening at the same time but there is
only one of you. When this happened I found it useful to rate the different
overlapping sessions in terms of how interested I was in the topic. Then
if the first choice does not live up to expectations I would switch to
the next session on my list.
-
The scholarship included a classic pass, which did not
include any tutorials. Some tutorials are definitely worth it, so if you
can manage to cover your expenses don't miss the opportunity.
-
Do not miss out on visiting ECTS, there is plenty of time
during the lunch breaks.
-
Be open, talk to people, network and don't forget to attend
the parties.
Thanks IGDA this was a great experience!
José Eduardo F. C. Lopes - University of Exeter
The great thing about GDCE is the contacts you make and the ideas you get
from veterans of the game industry. Because I was an IGDA sponsored student,
I got to meet a group of people like me that are interested in games, either
to make a career of it or to address different and specific areas in a research
level.
From the sessions, I got very diverse points of view regarding a great
variety of topics — from estimates of future games played on next-gen
consoles, to the reasons that drive game success these days, to the mobile
game market and different development and distribution paradigms.
Because I went to GDCE last year, I can make some comparisons. What I found
mostly disappointing was the organization, which seems to be dropping in
quality. The food was very bad, and there was no space where you were able
to sit and talk with other people. I am still undecided whether I will go
again next year. Being that the game industry is usually at the forefront
of computer technology and creative art, I was expecting a more diversified
conference with many new ideas and original concepts. Nevertheless, I found
it very similar to last year's GDCE, in the output of discussion boards
and general game design topics.
Sessions
My research interests focus on AI applied to computer games, evaluating
the difference between that and classic AI uses, computer strategy reasoning
and studying ways to make artificial environments believable and agent-player
interaction. These topics drive my choices of sessions. I also had in mind
to attend some sessions relating to the current state of mobile gaming,
which is growing rapidly lately. Having said that, here is a quick comment
on three sessions I enjoyed:
The Continuous World of Dungeon Siege (Scott Bilas)
I had great expectations for this talk, as it dealt with a technique I was
very curious about for a long time. I wanted to get more insight on how
they had created that seamless world. I wasn't disappointed. The session
was technical enough and at the same time accessible. Scott Bilas addressed
code design (important classes used), problems encountered (such as precision
issues, disposing of game objects, world detail and the mechanics of the
"world frustum"). I was able to get a good idea about the concept
that drove Dungeon Siege's design and the technical details involved in
implementing it.
Learning AI and Game Development (Roundtable hosted by Alex Champandard).
In this roundtable, there were a variety of attendee types: AI programmers
(both new and experienced), academics and people interested in getting some
information on the topic. The discussion covered many topics. The main focus
was on learning AI and if there is a place for it in computer games. We
talked about the few games that actually use it, but concluded that the
main use for learning techniques is tweaking game balance before shipping.
The use of learning depends very much on the game itself. Other topic of
interest is the possibility of transferring common AI tasks (such as path-finding)
to specialized hardware (in the same way graphic card were introduced years
ago). The major obstacle to this is the creation of a standard, which is
hard to do, as one of the major AI problems is the representation of data
and feature selection. Once again, the issue of game industry versus academic
research was addressed. The argument is that academics try to develop genuine
intelligent machines whereas the game industry's objective is to entertain
and make the player have fun. I still think this is not an incompatible
scenario and that there are a few areas of convergence. This was probably
the conference highlight for me. I met interesting people with similar interests
and went through the major points in game AI.
Publishing on your Own: Digital Distribution for PC and Web Games
(Gabe Zichermann)
I was interested in this talk because of the present tendency of the game
industry to become centered on a few big publishing companies, such that,
small game studios become unviable. So, I wanted to hear what other options
are there and if the necessity of dealing with the publishers can actually
be avoided. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there is actually a
substantial market for casual, simple and niche games, which means that
smaller teams can still make a living. The session covered sales prices
(which depend on what people are ready to spend on a internet download),
how to get people to buy (experiment with demos, get a shareware version,
etc…), what market segment to reach, and the choices of distribution
models (try and buy, buy and download, Pay-per-Play, gambling). In conclusion,
this opened my eyes to a lot of different business opportunities there are
for a small, independent game studio.
For future student attendees: this is an opportunity to meet some of the
game developer gurus, and that they should make the best of the gathering
to meet people and discuss their own projects. Don't forget to bring some
business cards to exchange contacts! Regarding the sessions, I think it
is best to attend the ones you are really interested in, and go to another
one or two to keep your mind open to the problems in other fields. Most
importantly, have fun!
Marina Miltiadou - Bournemouth University
GDCE was a fantastic opportunity to meet people in the industry as well
as fellow students. Attending lectures and socializing afterwards gave me
an inside view of this industry. My only concern was that the classic pass
excluded the attendance for the IDGA academic day. As students and part
of the academic community (some of which are part-time lectures) I felt
that the attendance in such an event could only benefit our experience.
Some of the most memorable sessions I attended:
Preparing for and transitioning to Next Generation Platforms for Audio
- as audio is part of my research interest this session has shown a
light to the part of the technical aspect of interactive audio application
and has discussed concerns for future platforms.
Preparing for and transitioning to Next Generation Platforms for Programming
discussed the general concerns (technical and aesthetic) of the industry
and how this is changing for the future.
Great Game Graphics: Who Cares? discussed how the game and the graphics
reached a stage that probably should encourage new genres and new approaches
to the development of new videogames.
Advice for Future Students:
-
Make the most of your classic pass by attending as many
lectures as possible even if you think that there are not closely related
to your subject area. There is always something to learn.
-
Do visit ECTS! Spend time exploring and learn about the
new trends and technologies.
-
Go to the organized parties! It is not only fun (always
welcome) but you will meet great people outside the 'formal' conference
environment.
-
Socialize with fellow students! They share the same interests
and you can exchange good ideas.
-
Try to have a good time!
I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I have… and thank you IGDA
for this great opportunity.
Kevin Murphy - Limerick Institute of Technology,
Ireland
This year's European Game Developers Conference was an educational, entertaining
and inspiring experience. The game development community was exposed as
a friendly and passionate society, full of energetic and intelligent people.
I realised that people within the industry believe that by working together
(to a certain degree) the greater good can be achieved — better games.
Only by sharing past successes and failures, from development tips and tricks
to team management strategies, can better games can be developed.
The quality of lectures was excellent and provided a great snapshot of
the industry, focusing on issues that are currently relevant to developers.
From industry veterans to lesser-known developers, each had valuable points
to present to the audience.
Among the session I enjoyed:
Great Game Graphics… Who Cares? - Jason Rubin
Jason Rubin's keynote speech on game graphics was both interesting and
entertaining. Jason's argument is that even though game graphics continue
to improve, it makes little difference to the gamer. Modeling hair and fur
realistically may be considered significant within the gaming industry but
it holds little value to the end gamer. The 'wow factor' experienced during
the transition from 8bit to 16bit or from 2D to 3D games was used to drive
sales but improving graphics can no longer be used as a primary selling
point, as graphical quality increments are almost invisible to the end user.
Jason's theory is that future releases must focus on either innovation (new,
novel ideas) or attachment (sequels and licenses) in order for them to succeed.
He backed up this statement by statistics, which showed that only 13 of
the 100 best selling console titles of 2002 were not sequels or licenses.
The lack of innovation in the game industry is worrying. Innovation, if
successful, will sell but the inherent risk involved can be daunting.
It's Only a Game? - Laura Fryer
In her talk Laura Fryer argued that games are an emotional component of
many people's lives and fulfill emotional and mental needs and are not just
a waste of time. In the same way sports are a natural extension of physical
activities, games are an extension of mental abilities. Laura argued that
games teach us many important skills, such as planning, persistence, decision-making
skills and teamwork. Games can allow us to experience emotions in a safe
environment and through games we can learn more about who we really are.
Laura also stated that games are too difficult for the mass market. Games
should be difficult to master but it is important that games have an intuitive
interface and are easy to play. Game developers must strike a balance between
skill and luck in a game and also ensure that a challenging game doesn't
become frustrating for the player.
Jak's Makeover For Jak II: Why The Dramatic New Look For A Sequel?
- Bob Rafei
Bob Rafei's talk centered around character development in games within
the character action genre and particularly in the Jak and Daxter series.
When creating the sequel to Jak and Daxter, Naughty Dog decided to give
the look and feel of the game a complete overhaul. Rather than simply re-use
the characters from the first game, new characters had to be created - but
needed to retain a certain amount of consistency with their predecessors.
Bob shared his entire design process with the audience, from conception
through to final rendering. He showed how character attributes could be
used to associate a character with a game and was generous with tips on
character, weapon and vehicle design in general.
Advice to Future Attendees:
-
Planning is a vital part of conference attendance. Knowing
what sessions you intend to attend in advance saves time and ensures you
get the most from the conference.
-
The conference is an excellent place to network and gather
contacts but not contracts! However, networking may naturally lead to
future job prospects.
-
The conference pass does not include admission to the
academic day. However, the academic day focuses on people involved in
creating (and teaching) game development courses and is not focused on
students as such. If you intend teaching or are interested in this topic
you will have to pay for the pass.
-
In the unlikely event that there are no lectures relevant
to your chosen field during an hour attend a lecture in a different area.
You will always learn something from the talks and it may even lead to
branching your skills into a new area.
-
There is ample time to visit ECTS during lunch and between
lectures.
-
In closing I'd like to thank the IGDA for the scholarship,
giving me the opportunity to meet fellow enthusiasts and experience the
gaming community first-hand. Roll on GDC 2004!
Oliver Pilarski - University of Stuttgart
First of all, I'd like to thank the IGDA for this scholarship. I had a wonderful
time at the GDCE in London gaining a first touch to the game developing community.
I especially liked the easy and courteous way developers deal with each other,
that allowed many, many opportunities of talking with some really experienced
people in the game industry. Furthermore, the conference gave me great insight
into what professional game developers and graphics engineers are focusing
on and the problems they face every day. The conference schedule itself offered
a wide range of sessions including topics on game design, tools development,
artificial intelligence, game production and marketing, graphics algorithms,
graphics hardware effects (shader) and X-Box, PS2 and N-Gage plattform development.
Displacement Mapping For Games
Tom Forsyth (Muckyfoot Productions) presented Displacement Mapping for
Games, an outstanding session providing lots of detailed information about
displacement mapping. Tom gave a short introduction on what the whole concept
is about, and continued with how to apply this technique to games. It was
a very interesting talk, so here's a short summary:
Although hardware displacement mapping is currently available only on the
newest ATI and Matrox cards, it's an elegant way of handling geometry and
may be an option for future graphics engines. Essentially, a new vertex is
generated for each texel in a 2D-displacement map on the graphics card. Each
vertex is displaced from the interpolated surface position by the value of
the texel in the normal direction of the surface. Tom compared this concept
with the normal or bump mapping technique. But instead of the 8Bit grayscale
texture used for bump mapping, 16Bit is good enough to model fine, geometric
details for a displacement map. Displacement mapping on hardware offers new
ways to optimize—only the vertices of the base mesh (approximately 200
vertices in the demo) need to be transferred over the AGP-bus to the graphics
card. This saves valuable bandwidth (and the slow AGP-bus is often a bottleneck)
and allows the developer to do complete mesh transformations on the CPU very
efficiently (instead of setting up the GPU vertex program with the appropriate
transformation matrices). Tom talked about the tools needed to adapt to displacement
mapping in Muckyfoot's production environment. Muckyfoot wanted to approximate
a high resolution model by using a base mesh with displacement maps for each
surface. From an artist's point of view, a high resolution mesh is modelled
first and used for creating the base mesh and the displacement maps. Tom explained
the corresponding technical requirements—computing a raycast intersection
with the high poly-mesh and storing the length of the ray segment in the texel
value of the displacement map. Muckyfoot artists use displacement mapping
to increase efficiency and optimize production cycle.
All in all, a really interesting talk with a passionate speaker.
Realtime Procedural Effects
John Spitzer (Nvidia) demonstrated ways to apply Realtime Procedural Effects
to games. Possible applications included plant and terrain generation, spontaneous
artificial intelligence, and animation of natural phenomena such as water,
smoke or fire. One major topic was the generation of procedural textures using
Perlin Noise, a type of gradient noise that is actually a function creating
pseudo random data based on given parameters. Based on a cartesian grid, random
vectors are created at each grid point using a pre-computed permutation table
for randomness (repeatable). The current position, passed to the noise function
as parameters, has a much finer range of definition than the coarser (often
integer aligned) grid points. The nearest, surrounding grid points (four in
2D, eight in 3D) are used to compute a weight through application of the dot
product of the relative current position with the appropriate grid point.
A smoothing function (higher order interpolation scheme e.g. Hermite basis
function) interpolates through all previously generated weights producing
the noise value. As application, a geometry based explosion algorithm has
been demonstrated by Tristan Lorach, using time varying noise for displacing
vertices in the normal direction out of a spherical base shape using the programmable
vertex processor of the GPU.
My advice to future students:
- Check out the session schedule and prepare your favourite ones, to be
sure to get the most out of it.
- Research the speakers, who they are and what they are doing. This will
help you decide which sessions to attend.
- Bring business cards. You'll definitely meet a lot of interesting people
at the conference and you may want to keep in contact with other developers
and scholarship students.
- Try to talk with peopla and network. Conversation and networking will
reward you more than anything else at the conference.
- Go to the sponsored GDCE-parties after the conference. Parties are much
more than free drinks and food—they are a great place to meet developers
and get to know your scholarship colleagues.
- Don't forget your camera! There are many situations where you will want
one. After the conference, everyone wants pictures to remember the great
time you had with all your scholarship colleagues.
The GDCE is a big chance for every student to contact professionals. If you
are serious about a career in game development, you will learn useful information
and gain insight into what the game industry really expects from you.
Visit my website to see more GDCE pictures
of students and the parties.
Jon Pledger - John Moores University, Liverpool
It was hard to believe that I was actually there, after the journey from
Liverpool, it was a little surreal being in London. I arrived with Rita who
also got the scholarship and we were both starving because we'd been travelling
all day. However once we got to the venue at Earls court all thoughts of food
were forgotten as we just had enough time to get to the orientation get at
4pm.
This was well worth going to as we had to introduce ourselves to our fellow
students. And what a lot of them there were too. People from the USA, Europe
and as far away as Hong Kong and Brazil. There were too many people to get
to know them all, but over the next two days I would do my best. The orientation
was a good idea as at least I could familiarise myself with some faces before
we attended the conference proper. So far so good, everything was really easy
to get into. Registering, getting our passes and goody bags etc could not
have been easier.
Overall the conference was extremely well organised. Having the Playstation
experience and ECTS running along side gave a real buzz to the proceedings.
I was struck by how friendly people were at the conference, and how willing
they appeared to divulge how they approach particular issues in their games.
There was no keeping back knowledge due to competition that I was aware of.
My fellow students were a really good bunch of people to meet, some of whom
I am staying in contact. One of them was a big fan of Matt Southern (one of
my lecturers) which just shows it's a small world out there.
The Best lectures:
The key note speech from Jason Rubin, Great Game Graphics…Who Cares?
hit the nail on the head as he described the quest for realistic graphics
in games reaching a plateau in achievement and thus no longer making the game,
requiring a new hook in order to retain interest. I found I could relate to
this, as my MA project was about looking at alternatives in visual aesthetics
for game art and also recognising the fact that the photo realistic look can
only go so far before it becomes commonplace.
The round table discussion about Building Massive 3d Environments that
Work in Real-Time was quite informative, mainly because the contributors,
a mixture of artists and programmers, were quite candid in discussing the
issues in building a large scale environment. Although not all contributed
and it would have been nice to hear other views, those that did provided a
unique insight into the problems that 3d environments can present.
Jaks Makeover for Jak II: Why the Dramatic New Look for a Sequel?
was another stunning lecture. As a fan of the original Jak and Daxter
I was curious about what was being done for the sequel. The emphasis of this
lecture was mainly on the characters and how they had changed for the sequel.
I was amazed by the quality of the concept art on show. You really felt inspired
by what you were seeing. Without seeing any of the game we were shown how
much work that had gone into the development. You could tell these guys had
really thought about their subject. I found Bob really approachable and you
felt that he was happy to answer questions all afternoon.
Drawbacks:
- There were plenty of game design and programming lectures, but there did
not seem to be enough specific content for artists.
- Proceedings sometimes got a little too technical at times during the question
and answer sessions, due to attendees' interest in this area. Although absorbing,
this was probably best suited to the roundtable discussions and so keeping
broader strokes for the lectures. I noticed this happening also with some
of the game design lectures, where surely the focus should be on what makes
a game good rather than discussing technical innovations.
Advice:
- If you are going next year, be sure to get accommodation as near to the
venue as you can. There is nothing worse than having to rely on the tube
to travel across London. I had to travel from Hackney in the East end, which
would take over an hour. Ok my accommodation was free as I stayed with my
sister, but if I did it again I would try to stay a bit nearer. It is worth
it in the long run.
- Be wary of the time when you are at an aftershow party, if you have a
distance to travel make sure you can get home in time. Tubes close at 12pm,
the overland railway even earlier. The bus keeps going for sometime, but
you need to know where things are.
- Don't worry too much about food as sandwiches are provided which were
very good. Also plenty of coffee and tea available during the whole conference.
In fact in order to get your food you had to walk across the floor of ECTS,
which was good reason to have a quick look round while you are there.
- Check out the playstation experience if you have time. It costs some to
enter, but it's a nice way to end your time there and you get to see some
of the new games that have been discussed.
Sebastien Schertenleib - Ecole Polytechnique
Federale de Lausanne
GDCE was a great experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to talk to
other students and game developers. I was surprised to discover that everyone
was really involved and smart. Even well-known developers made time to talk
to unknown guys like me. Unlike an academic conference on Virtual Reality
I attended, people at GDCE deliver talks on real stuff instead of discussing
things that could work. Also, the presenters knew the topics very well
because they were directly involved in the development process.
I would also like to mention the IGDA team at GDCE. I really appreciated
the kindness of the IGDA, taking time to introduce us to the conference and
answer students' questions about the conference and the industry.
Finally go around the ECTS and take a few days to visit London. The weather
is not that good but they have many beers, so the equation is fair ;)
Top Three Lectures:
Great Game Graphics… Who Cares? - Jason Rubin
Jason Rubin's talk was the best I attended during the GDCE. Jason gave several
examples of graphics improving immersion in video games through several iterations
of hardware, from the old 8bits to the current and upcoming hardware. From
a selection of a couple of pixels to high polygon 3D mesh with Shaders effects,
game characters have changed completely. These modifications have helped players
identify characters and become more attached. However, if the increased immersion
and sensation of presence provide by 3D Mesh over animated sprite is obvious;
it becomes more difficult to rely only on graphics to make the character more
believable for the end-user. So the games must also improve in other components,
like behaviors. But what made this lecture really valuable was that all Jason's
games were guided by graphical improvement. In a sense, this is like the chaos
theory. The first time we hear it, we don't believe it and then with time,
it make more and more sense to make you a preacher. Great!
The Continuous World of Dungeon Siege - Scott Bilas
Before going to GCDE, I had read Scott's previous talks and game programming
gem books. I had looked at some of his source code and liked his work. I also
work in a similar academic field so his lecture was a must-see. I wasn't disappointed
at all. Scott showed concrete examples and demos of his work. He is a skilled
teacher who gives you the feeling that he enjoys lecturing at GDCE. As the
lecture relied on architecture design and usability (through component based
approach), he explained problems in the testing phase: a beta-tester using
an over clocked PC crashing the system due to bus error that was almost impossible
to track. In conclusion, Scott gave a good overview of the concept and design
involved and gave solutions to issues that arose during the development cycle
of the title.
Efficient High-Level Shader Development - Natasha Tatarchuk
As a programmer looking toward the graphic area, I was vert interested in
some of the lectures focusing on Shaders. Natasha's was one of my favorite.
She explained how Shader development can be done through HLSL and RenderMonkey
IDE application. She is the lead programmer behind this IDE and has developed
many Shaders coming from the different ATI demo or RenderMonkey example. She
explained how to create Shader within the tools and how to optimize HLSL Shaders
by describing how to work the hardware. The explanation was very clear and
concrete (if only my teacher could have the same approach…). I learned
very interesting information that I was able to apply to my own development.
Of course, this kind of lecture is geared toward graphics programmers, so
if you are not involved in the specific area, you should maybe attend others
sessions. Otherwise go for it! Lastly, it was really pleasant to see a programming
session presented by a woman.
Drawbacks:
- Several lectures you want to attend will be scheduled at the same time.
The abstracts are not long enough to help you decide which session would
be the most beneficial for you.
- Multi-speaker sessions are more dynamic, but are generally quite confused.
They are not as well planned as single speaker sessions.
Advice:
- Go to ECTS, play some games and have fun!
- Try to know which session you want to attend in advance.
- Meet insiders, they are very smart people.
- Go to the party for free beer and try to beat famous developers on the
final quiz session. (I am proud to have been able beat some of them ;) )
- Observe and record every frame from the place.
- Check to see if companies give extra lectures. In my case, the day after
the main session, Intel invited any GDCE attendee to a full day lecture
on optimizing code for Intel Platform. I learned a lot about specific architecture
like Hyper-Threading and SSE2 which I have already used since the GDCE.
To all people from IGDA: Thank you very much, I really appreciated and enjoyed
my GDCE journey!
