The first offical day of the conference.
It’s not yet lively as the Expo doesn’t open until Wedseneday. The summits and tutorials are in full swing.
Interesting talks are always happening, but this year I’m not feeling my usual awe like I have the last few years attending the writers summit. Yes the infomation that is being presented is interesting, but having attended so often, I’ve heard some of the talks before just in a different way. So I found myself stepping out of the writers summit on several occision and wandering around the west hall of the Mascone Center.
Around 11:30 I was getting peckish, so I texted a friend to see what he was up to, if he wasn’t up to anything maybe we could get together to have lunch. My friend wants to be apart of the Marketing of games and is, of course, attending the marketing summit. He invited me to join him, or I could wait.
A quick rewind, two years ago at the last GDC Austin, I attended a talk where the man spoke about stepping outside his comfort zone. He had decided to attend different talks and convensation just to get a new spice. He was feeling stale, and it felt like he had heard everything there was to hear about writing and wanted some new perpective.
Fast foward back today, I was feeling a bit the same and thought why not go see some of the marketing. If anything I’ll learn some new stuff about a different part of the industry. I was actually blown away by the talk far more than I thought I’d be.
Building Global, Billion-Dollar Game Brand & Franchises. Six Key Learning for Mobile Game Publisher Today persented by AdColony.
I’m noting going to go full in to detail as there was a lot covered and I had zoned out in the beginning before I realized what I was really listening to. The speaker Will Kassoy, a fromor marketing dirctor for Activition, spoke about how he worked on creating brands for games and the stratgies invovled.
As he hit his 6 points, I noticed some similiarities to Narrative Game Writing. The foremost similiarity is:
Being conscious of your audiance.
This point is driven home for me after having just seen the talk Beyond Fun: Difficult Topics Inspire Stroy and Design by Hugo Giard and Jill Murry.
They spoke about writing Freedom Cries and how they were conscious of their audiance reactions, and how better to incite the responces they wanted from large groups.
Marketing is the same, as you are trying to make the game appealing to a large goup of people and how best to grab their attention.
This was amazing. The lines I had constructed in my head that spearated the different jobs in the industry had just been blurred. Now I am interested in how much the other lines of buisness connect and interwine with each other.
5pm is the last talk then it’s off to the Soma, for the writers meet and greet. We still don’t have a hangout spot but the Soma is promising. From there to the view at the to of the marriot, and then it’s back to my hotel.
Now this, this is where my semi-pleasent day takes a nose dive in to shitvile centrel. Writing about this part is hard and has me wanting to cry, actually, I am crying at Denny’s near the Mascone Center. The booth I’m sitting in has a hole in the seat and I just keep playing the last few hours over and over in my head.
Just an hour or so ago, I was typing the above paragraphs when there was banging and yelling on the door. Being a good roommate, I open the door. They are trashed, cursing up a storm and pushing their way into the room. This was okay, I’ve dealt with drunks before no big deal so long as they don’t touch me. I figured they’d lay down and pass out.
Nope.
One of them decids being drunk isn’t good enough. Drugs make a scene, Acid is dropped, the tripping beings and I leave. Behind me the only other person sober is apologizing for her friends’ behavior. She’s begging me to look past it all, and I might have if the words, “They can suck my dick until they pay the room,” was blurted out between the boom bang of the Techno music they’ve got blarring.
Anger swells up in me blinding hot. “I’m disappointed,” I said closing the door behind me.
But I have nowhere to go. I’m calling and texting everyone I know that is in San Fransico. But no one is answering. The clicky clack of my roller lugage is loud on the quiet streets. Tears are rolling down my face, “What do I do now?” is running through my head. I go to one hotel after the next asking for a room for the night.
“Sorry ma’am we’re all book,” is on repeat through the speakers. The few people that see me rolling around must think I’m another homeless person.
“Where do I go?”
There is only one place I know that is open 24 hours.
Denny’s, and they have free WiFi.
So here I am.
Fighting back tears.
A complete mess.
With nowhere to go until morning when everyone is awake and might answer their phones. And all I can really think about is how good the eggs at Denny’s are and why the hell am I blogging during this horrbile turn of events.
Yikes. That’s horrible. Glad you made it ok overnight.