GDC 2008 Insights, Part Six

We keep right on truckin’ with more GDC insights from RPG Vault, this time with Avatar Reality.

When I managed to escape our booth for a few hours to go exploring, I found that that the most interesting products were from the most unexpected quarters. The mental input devices were probably the most unbelievable new technology; even now, when I try to explain them to people, they look at me like I’m expecting them to believe in magic.

I was surprised that despite all the big budget games, new IPs and long awaited sequels, the most interesting ones seemed to be coming from the independent sector. Considering the amazing new methods of getting thoughts from your brain to the games, exciting concepts from relatively unknown developers and rethinking what the casual experience can be, the GDC expo felt very much like looking at the future of the industry.

Contrastingly, the after-hours industry parties felt very much like a celebration of past achievements. I must admit that they were what I was most looking forward to, and I was not disappointed by any that I attended. Big Fish’s women of gaming party gave away copies of Lost Odyssey at the door. At the time, it was sold out everywhere in Hawaii, making it my biggest swag score of the week. The Valve / Steam party had some great entertainment with Jonathan Coulton of Portal fame and, of course, the preview of that song for Rock Band. Regarding all of the parties, I met a lot of people (I came home with about 200 business cards) and made a lot of solid contacts.