It Was Awesome!
I think I mentioned it in some of my other blog posts, but this was my first time at GDC, and man was it fun. I was one of the fortunate people at my school to get a scholarship for GDC, which let me get the Summit pass for the conference. In total, I think I went to about 6 talks, spent a good time in the Expo Hall, and met some really cool people.
Favorite Talk: The Level Design of God Of War
Hearing about how level design was done in God of War was absolutely amazing. So much thought was put into how these levels were constructed, and even gave me some ideas on how to do my own level design. The thing that caught my attention the most was how they used metrics in their level design. Specific values were used pretty heavily when grabbing and climbing onto ledges, but what really impressed me about this was how they were able to use these values with their art, and keep the levels from looking too similar. Overall though, everything from the metric, to the learning curve, to themes of the levels were really interesting, and I can't wait to apply these ideas to my own level designs.
Other Great Talks:
Hitman Levels as Social Spaces
Rewarding Exploration with Collectables and Gatherables
Favorite Expo Booth: Insomniac
Champlain College has a pretty good relationship with Insomniac, seeing as a couple Alumni work there now and have interned there, so I thought it would be fun to check out their booth. While I was there, I sat in on a Q and A with one of their lead designers, and got to hear about some perspectives about working there. I especially liked hearing about the comparisons between movement in Sunset Overdrive and Spiderman. Both games boast some very significant movement systems, and hearing how they compare to each other and how Sunset Overdrive influenced the movement in Spiderman I think really speaks to how passionate this company is about their games.
Other Great Booths:
The Indie Developers
Epic Games
Overall, I had a really fun time at my first GDC, and I can't wait for the next one.