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In a report over at CNet News, Daniel Terdiman sheds some light on sentiment that the growth of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) over the years may be going a little too far.
Aside from the usual quotes from industry bigwigs about how big the Conference has grown over the years, and how it is now the largest game industry-only event worldwide, time is taken to note comments that show some caution. To be specific, comments from Patricia Pizer - a longtime developer of online games, mentions that:
It's gotten so big. ...It used to feel more like a community of my peers, and now it feels more like a frat party. On the other hand, it has also gotten more corporate. It's a funny contradiction. It will continue to get progressively more commercial and less academic.
...It's been interesting to watch GDC evolve over time, from draped tables to a real exhibit hall. ...From small chalk-talks to keynotes filling huge halls.
Now that the industry is big enough to sustain (several other) segment-, market- or platform-specific developer conferences, will GDC still continue to be mecca for game developers? We'll see.
Of course conference director Jamil Moledina reassures that lessons were learned from E3's transmogrification from giant trade show to invite-only marketing event. Moledina expounds:
The main lesson from (the transition of E3) is that we have to stick to what we do best: providing learning and inspiration to independent developers.
Time will tell if Moledina's aim for the middle-ground will help prevent future GDCs from turning into events that are too large to satisfy its original intent.
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