In this week's blog post, I share some thoughts on GDC's online showcase, which is coming right up.
Should you buy a pass? If you do, how can you make the most out of the experience?
I have a few suggestions, some of which may surprise you. In this video, I share some counterintuitive advice that I wish I had given myself earlier in my career.
Check it out below:
And if you're wondering why the browser window is pushed to the right, it's so that my big face doesn't block anything on the site :)
And here's the video transcript, if you're more of a reader than a watcher.
00:11 I want to talk a little bit about this upcoming GDC showcase, and if you decide to go, how to make the most of it.
00:18 So, part of this is also letting you know that- this is happening. So in my game writing master class, which is actually wrapping up right now a student asked if the GDC showcase was worth attending.
00:32 And my first response before I saw this was to say, well, if you have to choose between doing the online showcase and going in person to GDC, I think the in-person thing- is probably worth the effort if you have to choose.
00:43 And then I clicked onto the website and I was like, oh, this thing's $99. You should totally go. Because that is much cheaper than the in-person GDC for the tickets alone.
00:54 Nevermind traveling to San Francisco and getting a place to stay and all that. So I think the price is really great.
01:01 But I also think that you could absolutely waste $99 if you go to this thing. If you don't have really clear intentions about what you want to do and also kind of get yourself out of your comfort zone.
01:15 So a lot of people like to go to things like this and just watch videos which, Of course, who doesn't love watching like a lecture on, you know, something cool about game development.
01:25 It's really fun. But in order to make the most of something like this, the way to make it work for you is to work.
01:32 And by that I mean get out of your comfort zone and use this time to God help us meet people.
01:39 AHHH! So I want to walk through, So I want to walk through, How I would approach attending this GDC showcase.
01:44 And hopefully it might be that'll provide some sort of guidance and maybe some insight and some inspiration to you. So let's, Let's look at this website, shall we?
01:52 AHHH! So I'm just gonna zip down. I'm gonna skip all the blah blah, cause you can look on that of course on your own.
01:59 And just to point out it's GDCconf.com/showcase. You can google GDC showcase 2023, it'll come up. So here is some, whatever, let's just come right to the chase here.
02:12 I'm gonna go right to the schedule. I apologize to all my marketing friends out there who are watching me call their work blah blah.
02:20 I know you worked hard on all that.
02:25 So again, a lot of people like to go to these things. And frankly, when I say a lot of people, I also mean me.
02:30 I used to go to GDC with no game plan, no sense of how to, what I wanted, why I was there, what I wanted to get out of it.
02:37 And I would spend the week kind of wandering around in the days. And then I'd go. Home thinking, did I just waste a bunch of time and money?
02:46 And the answer is, yeah, kind of. I mean, I got some things out of it, but I would have gotten a lot more out of it if I was like, okay, I know why I'm here.
02:54 And this is not a normal day or week. I need to do things I don't normally do and push myself.
03:00 So I can get where I want to go. So in that same spirit of courage and being for yourself, meaning, you believe in yourself and think you can do this, I want to point out a few things that maybe it's not top of your list in terms of "this sounds like fun", but maybe should be top of your list in terms of
03:18 "this could really be useful and helpful". Let's start right here. Networking. Yes. So the reason for conferences is so that you can meet other people and that can mean reconnecting with old friends,
03:30 if you've been in the industry for a while. It can mean meeting new people who are on your same level if you're sort of just stepping into the industry.
03:37 Cause you want to start meeting people, not just who could hire you, but also people who are your peers because your peers will continue to be your peers as you all rise to the industry, right?
03:49 Today's aspiring game writer is tomorrow's junior game writer is tomorrow's mid level writer is next week's senior game writer and so on and so on.
03:57 It doesn't happen that fast, but you know what I mean. So, you know, this is a great opportunity. To do it in a way that doesn't involve shoes. It's all online.
04:06 Do it in your pajamas. Great. But it's really worth doing. So just briefly, I want to point out we're going to walk through the three days of this session in this video.
04:15 So on Tuesday, the sessions I think that are really like circle with the red pen are your networking sessions. Plural.
04:23 So I, when you go to this website, it's going to automatically display in your time zone. So I'm in this time zone.
04:30 So for me, I can see that there's a networking session at 9 a.m. Going down here, sorry. I know it's a little weird watching someone drive fast on a website.
04:39 And on the bottom, you can see this one at 7 p.m. So if you're anywhere in the United States, you can make one or both of these work for you.
04:49 If the idea of going into a room full of people you don't know...And by the way, it might not be a problem for you.
04:58 You might be already spending a lot of time on things like discords and this and that. And maybe you're very comfortable like jumping in to with in a room with a bunch of people who share the same interest as you: storytelling and games.
05:10 In which case, just go for it. But if you're feeling a little hesitant, I'm gonna share a little pro tip how to make this easier.
05:17 And the answer is bring a friend. If you know someone else who also is going to be attending. In this event, sync up your schedules and say, dude, I will be in that networking event at 7 p.m.
05:31 Be there with me. Right? It's easier to walk into a room if there's at least one friendly face there and you guys can be each other wingman or women as the case may be.
05:39 So on Tuesday, I see two networking sessions. And. The other thing I see that I think is worthwhile in terms of like, you know, professional development is this one on production team leadership career fireside for two reasons.
05:53 One, this might be a preview of your future. You are not maybe a team leader yet, but you could be in the future.
06:00 So it's really nice to kind of get a preview of what is it like to do that kind of work.
06:03 And B, fireside chat might mean that they will take questions in the audience, which again, makes the experience more interactive, which makes it more fun.
06:12 So those are the two things are, yeah, networking and this event are the two things I would definitely do. And then anything that involves just sitting back and listening to a lecture is 100% optional.
06:25 You can skip all of them because you know what? If you want to watch lectures on game development, there's this thing called YouTube and it has 10,000 bazillion playlists from GDCs over the decades.
06:37 You can never run out of content there. But so only do things if you're like, you know what, I would like to check that.
06:44 Like, for example, on a personal level, I think user interface in Cyberpunk sounds interesting. I might check that out. But I would give myself permission to, to dip if I just wasn't feeling it.
06:54 Whereas I would really hang in there for the other events, like, I called out. And this is just my opinion, by the way, of course your mileage may vary.
07:01 I just want to try to share the advice I gave to the studio. And it's in my master class. I want to give it to you too.
07:06 Okay. Wednesday. Oh, look, we're networking. Yay! We can't wait to do networking. I know. It's just for three days. Just do it.
07:15 Just go for it. You know, it's scary until it's not. Here's another one that might actually not be a surprising right.
07:24 Recommendation. This one. My eyes lit up when I saw it and I'll tell you why. Because marketing department is often overlooked and ignored by game developers.
07:33 But they are such an integral part of the process, especially for game writers and narrative designers. And I'll tell you why.
07:41 It's because they start. They start to tell the story to the player way before you ever get a chance to get in front of them with your work.
07:52 So by that I mean the marketing is what kind of gets excited and curious and it's like the first hints at what the whole game experience and the story is going to be about and what it's going to be like and how it's going to make him feel.
08:03 And so you want. You want to be totally in sync with your marketing department. You want to be friends. You want to get coffee with them.
08:10 You want to hang out with them. Marketers are natural storytellers. It's what they do. So it is very easy to find common ground with them.
08:18 They're great people. And like I said, they're often overlooked and kind of held separate. But, you know, reach out to them.
08:27 It's a nice thing to do. And then you've just got more collaborators to make your story that much better in terms of like the player getting excited about discovering it and buying the game so they can play your story.
08:38 So what else is going on? Hey! Okay, so we have not only- Networking here at the end, but also whatever the heck this is.
08:48 After hours of entertainment, join your peers as a dedicated time for everyone to come together in a fun way. I don't know what that is, but I would have that on my radar, and of course I would tell my friend to come with me, because I don't want to do any of the stuff alone.
09:02 Okay, so let's go look at Thursday. I hope this is helpful, by the way. I know this is kind of unusual, and I'm not advocating one way or another.
09:11 I mean, go, don't go. It's completely up to you, but if you decide to go, here are some ways to make it really useful.
09:17 So, not so much with the networking on Thursday, but there's something else here that's as valuable. And you can actually see it here on the- the screen.
09:26 Game, narrative, roundtable with the one and only, Richard Dasky. Love this guy. So, Richard and I are old friends. We've been- we've been colleagues for 20 years.
09:35 He sits with me on the advisory board for the Game Narrative Summit. And if you look in the dictionary under mench, you will see a picture of Richard.
09:43 He is just such a lovely person. His heart is- his heart is in the right place. He really is all about supporting the community and supporting writers and running these roundtables as his way of giving back to the community.
09:55 So, A, it's a great chance to learn not just from Richard, but from all kinds of people in the industry who work in the narrative departments.
10:05 And awesome. That's also a chance for you to ask your questions and it's also a chance for you to share your expertise.
10:09 If someone asks a question that you can provide some insight on. Again, it's just a great way to build your community and meet people.
10:19 So 100%. I think that's great. And in fact, they're offering it not once, but twice. Let me scroll down where the heck it is.
10:25 Yep, right there at 4 o'clock. Go to both of them. Why not? Why not? And by now, I'm sure your eyes, I'm sure, lit up when you saw this.
10:34 Also, a networking event. Ah! So, okay, that's what I would say. I would say these are the, these are the, these are the vegetables of the event, okay?
10:44 Everything I just suggested is like, eat your- vegetables, you'll be glad you did, get that protein in, you know, eat the good stuff.
10:50 And then anything that involves you sitting back and just watching, think of that as dessert. Nothing wrong with dessert, but you don't want your whole meal to be dessert.
10:59 Protein and vegetables are gonna get you where you want to go. So, thank you for watching. I hope this was helpful.
11:06 If you like stuff like this, let me know. I can always try to offer more things like this. It's gonna be more video content on my blog much to my horror, but, you know, video is fun to watch.
11:16 So, I will be making more of these kinds of things. Not about GDC, but just about game writing in general.
11:21 So, I am excited to share that with you. So, thanks for watching. I'll talk to you later.
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Susan’s first job as a game writer was for “a slumber party game - for girls!” She’s gone on to work on over 25 projects, including award-winning titles in the BioShock, Far Cry and Tomb Raider franchises. Titles in her portfolio have sold over 30 million copies and generated over $500 million in sales. She is an adjunct professor at UT Austin, where she teaches a course on writing for games. A long time ago, she founded the Game Narrative Summit at GDC. Now, she partners with studios, publishers, and writers to help teams ship great games with great stories. She is dedicated to supporting creatives in the games industry so that they can do their best work.