|
|
 |
 |
 | | | | |
 |
|||
 |
||||||
          |
 |
 |
||||
|
The Birth of a Game Studio Part Two: Goin' Places, Meetin' People In this second entry of my column on creating an indie studio I will be covering the important subject of industry events, trying to explain when, why and how you should go to these places, what to prepare, who to talk to, etc. As we will see, events can provide young companies with a wealth of info and, if well prepared beforehand, very interesting contacts. As with my prior article (which by the way can be browsed clicking here if you missed it), this article is basically collected from our own experiences, the most recent being GDC 2001. So, do not take anything you read here as an immutable law, but rather as advice which may or may not apply to you. Event Types Industry events come in two essential flavors. First, there are shows meant to be developer meeting-points. This would include places such as the Game Developer's Conference, Siggraph, and many others. On the other side of the spectrum, there are business-oriented events, such as E3 in the USA and ECTS in Europe. Although the two types are blending lately, there are differences between the two conference types. This article will examine how each type of conference can benefit a newborn studio, and offer some advice to help you make the most of your conference experience. Essentially, attending a meeting-point will help you improve your skills, both on the technology and business side, and make useful contacts that can help you make better products in the future. Business events, on the other hand, concentrate on the developer-publisher-investor relationship, and focus on the consumer part of the industry. Because each serves a different aspect of the game-development community, each conference offers a particular type of content to its attendees. Generally speaking, developers attend business events like E3 to make deals and see new games or systems. The few conferences offered with the pass are usually a secondary objective. Meeting-point conferences like the GDC focus on educational and contact-building activities. Both offer opportunities to meet the people and accquire the skills you need to get your game off the ground.
In a meeting-point event, there are a wide range of activities happening simultaneously. To begin with, there are conferences all the time where you can pick up the latest scoop straight from the leading people in the industry. These are usually long, deep sessions (generally mid-day and full-day) dealing with very specific subjects, and really provide great info: conferences all alone justify a visit to a big event.
Conferences are usually organized in groups or "tracks" related to the various areas of the game-making science: programming, design, business, etc. In a regular event, about 50-100 conferences might be available (spread over five days), divided into panels, sessions, roundtables, etc. So, it is going to be impossible to go to all of them. Thus, it is very important to build your schedule beforehand to make sure you select the ones you are really interested in. Luckily, both Siggraph and GDC have excellent web-based schedule builders that will help you make up your mind. When you attend a conference, it is a good idea to try to collect any physical course notes, or even the presentation file, from the speaker. Written course notes are available at Siggraph's store for an additional $20 (per course), and are included in most pass options at the GDC, so getting your copy should be no problem. Some conference speakers give little or no written information, and perform their sessions without any aid, so you will have to go back to your school days and keep written notes in a notebook. Keep in mind that these sessions are usually worthwhile, so being able to review any materials afterwards (and even get in touch with the speaker in a follow-up email) is essential. Having a written copy of the course notes also ensures that, even if you are the only one in your company attending a specific session, everyone will be able to benefit from it. Still, there's more to meeting-point events than conferences. The second activity you will be interested in are the expo floors, where you can see all the new equipment, toolkits, etc. As a technology-based industry, getting the new equipment (or, at least, knowing all about it) will make you more competitive. Still, the expo floors are really not that big: reserve half to a full day to be able to examine everything, talk to people, etc. and that will be usually enough. If you plan to make a purchasing decision while at the show, then assume the visit will take you longer. Finally, there are side-events and parties. These are usually very fun and entertaining, but should be carefully planned, as they provide an excellent atmosphere to make contacts. Having attended Siggraph four times, GDC two times and ECTS two times, I have made most of my contacts at parties (maybe being Spanish helps there too). The relaxed, friendly context makes it easy to have casual conversations about important subjects, so do not underestimate their value. Try to attend all the parties you can (as if you didn't plan to do that already… ha!), and be prepared for any interesting situation or opportunity that can arise. Business Events The core of business events is deal-making and establishing commercial relationships. These are the places to go if you want to showcase a new product or make an announcement, and you want to maximize your exposure. Some of these events (E3 leading the way) are beginning to include conferences, and others provide exhibition parks to locate software providers and contractors. Still, the basic activity at these events is quite different to what you would do at GDC or Siggraph. The main activity is usually organized in an exhibition floor where companies show their products (either to investors, publishers or, sometimes, the consumers themselves). From the developer's standpoint, walking these floors can be a little like exploring an unknown territory, as they are quite consumer-oriented: huge multimedia extravaganzas full of noise and people playing new games. Still, they are great places to detect new trends, and also examine the consumer's reactions to the different types of products. Any game developer should pay close attention to anyone playing games. There are always great lessons to be extracted from their behavior: what they like and reject, what kind of games different people play, etc. The exhibition floors are mainly occupied by dozens of colorful and noisy open booths, where you can see the new products shining in full glory. A separate area, usually at the back of the show floor, is occupied by rows of smaller meeting rooms, where other companies are showing their products privately, usually to potential business partners. If you plan to attend a business event it can be a good idea to use one of these rooms, as they are available at a relatively low cost. An alternative can be renting a hotel suite right beside the exhibition floor. Some companies decide to do that to keep their products secret, or simply as a way to build up expectations. Keep in mind that getting people to leave the exhibition floor to get to your suite will be tricky, so you may attract fewer people if you choose this option. Another reason to try keep things private is that the audience of these shows is sometimes a rather heterogeneous one. Theorically, business events are supposed to be trade-only, so everyone attending them is meant to be working in the games industry. Still, you will soon discover that a significant part of the audience are end-users, who somehow get a free pass to sneak a peek to the new stuff coming. As a game developer and publisher, you may not want consumers getting early access to the products you have been working on.
________________________________________________________ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Event
Types
Features
