There was excitement when GDC announced a new Los Angeles event.
Held in San Francisco, GDC will celebrate its 28th year. It started out as an informal gathering in a living room. This year over 23,000 attended the 5-day conference. It is in fact the largest and longest running professionals-only game industry event.
The Next
Its new sister event, GDC Next, to be held November 5-7 at the LA Convention Center, looks at the future of gaming. The focus and the name as well as the location have changed from its predecessor, GDC Online. This allows for an expanded showcasing of the gaming industry which has seen an explosion in growth across a variety of platforms. Even E3, the mega event for the gaming industry, accommodated mobile gaming with a designated pavilion this year.
As reported at the DMW Games Conference, the Free-to-Play market has been encroaching on console game territory. Though crowded, the sector allows high margins of profitability. It used to be everyone had a screenplay in their back-pocket. Now, everyone’s a game developer. Of particular interest will be a report on data and trends in FTP. A complete FTP track includes discussions on virtual goods monetization and design, engagement, and Pay-To-Win models.
Emerging technology and gaming platforms will be investigated. Social issues also will be addressed including the creation and representation of strong heroines in games. Games that are making a positive social impact will also be examined.
Varied game playing such as cooperative gaming and narrative sequencing are also looked at.
Other conference tracks include Cloud Gaming, Independent Games, and Smartphone and Tablet Games.
Connected
The event will provide many opportunities beyond networking. There’s a Best in Apps Contest; Developer Recruitments; and the B2B Matchmaking Partnering event. There’ll also be a Lightning Critique session of apps and icons submitted by conference attendees.
GDC Next is co-located with the new Apps Developers Conference. Education, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Enterprise, and Brand Marketing Apps will be explored in programming tracks.
Along with parties and networking opportunities, an exhibit floor will feature 45 companies including Maxxon, Intel, Sony, Dolby, and Gree. GDC Play will be on the floor as well providing an opportunity for emerging developers to showcase to distributors, publishers, press and investors visiting the conference.
GDC Next and ADC occurs November 5-7, 2013 at the LA Convention Center.