The Weeb Machine

The GDC Experience (Day 2)

2008-02-19T02:03:00.002-06:00

Alright, this is probably going to be a fairly short post. It's 2:00 AM Chicago time right now, and it's been a long day. I'll try to give a pretty brief synopsis of what happened today:

The morning began with the discovery that our shower was not producing hot water. So I told the people downstairs, and went over to Walgreens as they were sending an engineer up to fix it. I came back, it was fixed. Sweet.

So, I met up with Ben, Ryan, Tom, Dave and Tracy at their hotel, and we headed over to the Moscone Center West Hall. There, we got our GDC badge holders, our bags filled with a couple cool things and a bunch of useless crap, and then we headed upstairs for breakfast.

At about 9:00 AM, we went to the room where our workshop, the Game Design Workshop, was being held. Andy, Ben, Ryan and I found a table and were soon joined by Eric (I can't remember his last name at the moment) who works for EA Tiburon, and hash worked on NFL Street 2, NCAA Football 08 (old-gen) and several other popular games. He was a really cool guy and I wound up working him for a large part of the day. We were also joined by Eric's friend and co-worker Sam.

After that, we split into groups, where Andy and I were with Eric and we had to play a game called SiSSYFIGHT 3000 (I'll post a scan of the game later) and then had to brainstorm a new theme for the game, and adjust the mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics (MDA) of the game to apply to that theme. One of our group members, Anne, brainstormed the Donner Party, which we turned into a game about survival, betrayal and of course, cannibalism. By the end of it all, it was a really cool idea, and I think I might write up formal rules for it sometime after GDC.

The next step of the workshop was to attend the first of our "elective" activities. Ben, Ryan and I were all in "Coopetition," where we again had to modify SiSSYFIGHT 3000, but this time to encourage cooperation as well as competition. This activity was way too short, and I felt like we accomplished almost nothing. Then, we went to the first part of our Elective B, which was entitled "Us Vs. It," a game in which we essentially have to create an "A.I." but in a board game. It seems like it might wind up being useful, but we'll figure that out in part 2 tomorrow.

The first day of workshops/tutorials ended around 6:00 PM, and afterwards the four of us met up with Tom, Tracy and Dave for dinner at a Chinese restaurant Andy and Ben recommended. Despite a long line to get into the restaurant, it was an excellent recommendation. We asked for menus, but they decided to just order for us. Excellent choice for them as well. We must have received about 9 different dishes, all of which were delicious. We also got beer, and for the third time since turning 21 only a week ago, I was not carded. Part way through dinner, a man came inside to try and sell roses, and he wound up giving a lot of us nicknames. They are, as follows:

Me - "Shoulders"
Andy - "Knees"
Ben - "Johnny Haircut"
Tom - "The Professor"
Dave - "The Financier"

Overall, it was a very fun dinner, and it's a blast to see faculty out of their "natural habitat" of the college campus.

So, it's now time for bed, and I apologize for not getting too descriptive. I have a feeling I won't be posting until Wednesday, as there are workshops till 6:00 PM tomorrow, and then the IGDA Members Party follows soon-after, which will take us to the end of the night. The rest of the week is much of the same, supposedly. We shall see...

The GDC Experience (Day 1)

2008-02-17T23:07:00.003-06:00

Hello there readers! I am here to bring you only the second blog post on this site, and that comes in nearly a month's time. Don't worry, I expect the pace to rapidly increase. In fact I plan to, as best I can, post a blog every day of this week. Why this week? Because I'm currently in San Francisco to attend the Game Developers Conference, that's why!

So, Day 1 began very, very early in the morning. My flight left Chicago at 7:30 AM, but I was up somewhere around 2 AM. For the first time in I don't know how long, I was able to get a little bit of sleep on the plane. After about 4 and a half hours, American Airlines flight 1341 touched down at San Francisco International Airport. This being my first ever trip to the Bay Area, I had no idea what would await me.

Turns out, it was a lot of walking and a lot of homeless people. Because I arrived so early (10:05 AM their time), I couldn't check into my hotel, and therefore was forced to wander around sunny San Fran. So, not knowing where to go, I took the advice of the woman behind the check-in desk and grabbed an F-Line trolley to Fisherman's Wharf. I was fortunate to find the conductor (is that what he's considered) of the trolley was one of the coolest people I've ever been around. He was 24/7 with the jokes...good times.

After about a 30 minute ride, I arrived at Fisherman's Wharf and looked around for a while. I took some pictures, smelled the delectable smells of the Boudin sourdough bread factory, but was stupid enough to not taste any. One gentleman tricked me into donating $10 to the homeless by giving me a sticker that says "I (Heart) Your Smile." I generally don't like falling for those things, but the guy was pretty nice and told me about all the "hot babes" in San Francisco.

I took my sticker and left Fisherman's Wharf, hopping on one of the "world famous" cable cars to take me back in the general vicinity of my hotel. It was an interesting ride, although the "conductor" of that car was much, much less entertaining. When I got to the end of the line, I decided I still had plenty of time until check-in, so I figured I'd take a walk down to AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, six blocks in San Francisco is a much, much further distance than it is in Chicago, but I made it anyways. Let me say this, I in no way think any park can ever beat Wrigley Field, but AT&T Park is a very, very beautiful place. In addition to simply walking around the park, they allow you to enter from the back (that's what she said) and walk along the outfield concourse. I used the opportunity to snap as many pictures as I could before my camera died. Unfortunately, the park was being re-sodded, so the field didn't look as nice as I'm sure it normally does on a sunny afternoon.

After I left, I decided to just take a cab back to the hotel, where I was finally able to check-in. I got to my room and entered relaxation mode. It wasn't until about 2:30 that Andy made it out here from his uncle's place, and then he had to immediately leave to help with setup at GDC. So, I took the opportunity to nap, which I desperately needed. Afterwards, I finally got a hold of Ryan and Ben, who's flight was delayed back in Chicago. I met up with them, Tom and Dave around 6:00 at their hotel and we proceeded to search for a restaurant to eat dinner. We finally decided on The Jazz Bistro, a very nice little jazz club/restaurant in the heart of downtown San Francisco. My angel hair pasta with chicken was delicious (albeit expensive) and we all shared quite a few laughs over the meal.

We went our separate ways afterwards, as the four of them headed back to their hotel and I headed to mine. Now, I sit in my room, tired of typing at this moment, and ready to try and call it a night. I don't have any contact solution, so things might get rough in the morning, but I'm getting excited for the start of GDC. Tomorrow, I will do my best to chronicle the first day of the Game Design Workshop. Goodnight to you all (and by you all, I mean probably nobody).

The Cost of Entertainment

2008-01-17T04:06:00.000-06:00

My first blog entry will, surprisingly, not be exclusively about the video game industry. Instead, I feel compelled to write about a long discussion I recently had between my two roommates. I myself am a student of video game design; my one roommate is a theater student and the other is in film. Together, they're teaming up for a very talented theatrical duo. I consider myself a faithful follower of film, and even was a screenwriting major for all of four months. So the discussion at hand was of the increasingly ludicrous price of a ticket to the movies. Without any grounds for doing so, I am going to say that "I am old enough to remember" when ticket prices seemed high at $6.00. Nowadays, you have to pay $9.50 just to get in, and somewhere upwards of a college tuition if you want popcorn and a drink.

Well, the discussion (I guess it was more of an argument/debate) was in regards to the reasoning for these ticket prices. They both felt that if theaters decreased ticket prices, it would increase the amount of people that go to see a movie on any given day. I personally felt (feel) that, looking at it from the perspective of a film studio, the increase in movie-goers would not be significant enough to make up for the decrease in ticket prices. A film that breaks even at the box office would essentially lose money, even though the number of people in attendance increases. They both argued that prices only need to be that high to make up for the expensive crap that Hollywood distributes on a weekly basis, whereas I personally feel the experience of going to see a film is simply dieing the slow death of traditional theater. Four out of five movies lose money in the box office, and therefore most studios expect to profit from a film through DVD sales, promotions, other forms of distribution, etc. instead of through box office attendance.

After our discussion finally ended at 3:45 in the morning, I decided to read a bit on the interwebs. From there, I found several articles that got me thinking of the reason for the decrease in attendance at a movie theater not simply due to content, but due to the changing experience. I feel old and crotchety enough sometimes to be just downright pissed off when I hear annoying punks talk or laugh during every other line of dialog or listening to some jackass pick up his cell phone amidst a moment of tension. Don't even get me started on parents who bring their bastard children with to see The Omen, all irony aside. Going to a movie just ain't the same thing it used to be. Yes, that is partly because a film is $9.50 and who wants to pay that much to deal with those other people in attendance? But if the price was to decrease to $7.00 or even less, would those same annoyances remain or possibly even increase? I personally will still go see a movie I really want to see regardless of those things because it is, after all, an experience you can't have sitting in your living room with a DVD. But I'll tell you what, those DVDs sound awfully tempting when I have to think about Johnny, Jenny, Jason and Jessica talking about how hot Dane Cook and Jessica Alba are. Alright, bad example. Who would want to see Good Luck Chuck anyways?

Thanks to my masterful writing, that last sentence was a perfect transition into the discussion on the quality of the films being made. Yes, the quality of films have decreased over the years, which leads to less people paying $9.50 to go to the theaters. However, at the same time, not only am I fairly certain there was ever a time when every movie playing at a theater was good, but even if they were, how many people would go see each of those movies while they were still in the theaters when they could just wait for the DVD? One blogger proposed a genius idea that all films should be priced on a rating system. Therefore, a bad movie costs less, and even a good movie decreases in cost more and more the longer it is in theaters. This will keep bad, low-selling movies in theaters for less time, and it will also keep people coming back to see the good movies multiple times. It's really quite brilliant.

When it comes down to it, though, my personal belief is that going out to the movies is simply becoming less and less popular, regardless of content. People don't go to the theater or listen to the radio less because there isn't high quality content in each medium, but rather that there are just newer forms of entertainment. We still go to the theater because it's a one-of-a-kind experience that you can't find anywhere else, but it's not what it used to be. And I think that's a product of technology. Movie theaters decreased the popularity of traditional theater; television decreased the popularity of the radio; MP3 decreased the popularity of CDs. Technology is ever changing, and as we are able to watch a film in what is ultimately better quality (HDTV) than the projector of a movie theater, from the comfort of our own couch, for only $4 and with whatever food we choose to eat, the popularity of going out to a movie will fade. There will always be a place for the movie theater, just like there will always be a place for traditional theater, but it will no longer be the money-making giant it is now. Who knows, we might see the day when it costs us $75 for great seats to the newest Steven Spielberg film. Or, as my roommate suggested, the movie theater may just disappear altogether...

I just wanted to say thanks for reading this blog, and I hope to be writing in it more and more, hopefully with more concise thoughts and not what is essentially many paragraphs of rambling. Also, sorry if I offended your children.