GDC 2011 will be my first GDC. My main goal in attending the conference is to strengthen my connection to the industry by making new friends, seeing old friends and just generally getting up to speed on the industry’s latest happenings. To be a game dev in Atlanta has a lot of advantages, but I do feel a bit isolated out here at times. I’m attending the conference on my own dime, so my aim is to do things on the cheap where possible. I would love to hear any general suggestions that you guys might have. I have the following specific questions for the GDC initiated among you:
I’d like to bring my laptop to the show, and I might even pack a lunch (yes, I’m that cheap). :D: Is there a place on site (e.g. coat check, locker etc.) at which personal items could be dropped off? Is packing a lunch a viable option?
I’ve padded the trip on either side with a few extra days in order to tour San Francisco (and perhaps a bit of the surrounding area). Obvious attractions like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and China Town are already on the itinerary. What are the must see sites in San Fran?
BTW, I’ll be attending the “Technical Artist Boot Camp” on Tuesday. I’m thrilled that an event of this sort is available (in fact, this offering sealed the deal for me between the Expo Pass and the Summits & Tutorials Pass). Of course, I also plan to attend the TA meetup that has been discussed on this site (http://tech-artists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1303 & http://tech-artists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1359).
First off, if you want to see Alcatraz go to their website and get tickets now. You usually have to book well in advance, as it is a very busy tourist destination.
GDC offers a luggage check, but normally only on the last day of the show, as people tend to have checked out of their hotel and need a place to stash stuff. I do not know of a general coat check that is available every day. Most people just take what they need and dash back to their hotel rooms between sessions if they need to swap stuff.
Along with the Bootcamp there are 3 Tech Art roundtables, 1 each day. Yes, I’m biased in that I host them, but I would strongly recommend them. It’s been the place where the TA relationships have been born. There are also quite a few notable TA related presentations this year. I’ve yet to hit up the GDC schedule builder so I’m not sure when they are happening.
Thanks for the advice, Jeff. Just booked my Alcatraz tickets, so I’m set in that regard. Home base is a mere 10 min. walk from the convention center, so I should be able to sneak back to the room as needed.
As for the round tables, I’d love to go (especially after hearing your description). However, I believe that I’d need a Main Conference or All-Access Pass to access them, and alas, I have but a lowly Tutorials & Summits pass. :(: Unfortunately, I believe that the same is true of the presentations that you mentioned.
At any rate, thanks again for the information. See you at the Boot Camp Tutorial. :):
No worries. Even though I won’t be able to apply some of your recommendations this year, I’ll definitely keep them in mind for next year’s GDC. I suppose there’s a bit of a learning curve to an institution like GDC.
I’m no expert as a tourist guide in San Francisco, but heres what I would say. In about a (Full) day, you can pretty much get around most of the city. I started at Moscone center, and took the cable car up to “Fishermans Wharf.” It a cool little harbor area that has great sea food. From there I walked to “Coit Tower” and “Lombard st.” If you want to see the classic san francisco look, I think this is the place. After that, I got the all day bus pass and took the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge. (the public transportation is great in SF!) Then check out golden gate park and Haight st. This is the “hippy” part of town. In the Golden gate park, check out the “DeYoung Museum.” Even if you don’t go in, the architecture is amazing. After that, I just rode the bus back to my hotel.
It’s a big loop to see most of the things san francisco has to offer. My favorite things were the cable car and just walking around taking in all the scenery. Make sure your not rushed for time though.
If you do it all one day, then you can take another day to really visit one of the areas you liked on the first day.
Thanks for the tips. I think I’ll end up doing something very similar to your suggestions. I’ve got about 2.5 days of discretionary time. On one of the full days, I plan to check out Alcatraz, and then run through a AAA walking tour that begins at Union Square and runs all the way up to Fisherman’s Wharf. On the other full day, I plan to see the Golden Gate Bridge, The Legion of Honor Museum, and Golden Gate Park (along with a few of its associated attractions). I’ll try to squeeze in some other points of interest (e.g. the Asian Art Museum) in the remaining time.
By the way, it was great to see you at SIEGE last year. Thanks again for the heads up. :):
If it’s not too late to suggest for you, I personally will be hitting up the California Academy of Sciences. It’s down near golden gate park and looks to be absolutely spectacular… there have been documentaries produced about its construction.
Check out the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. Better yet, if you are still here on Saturday, there’s a farmer’s market there, unless you make the trip there on Tuesday or Thursday (10am-2pm).
Japantown is also a must as it is one of the biggest and oldest ones in the U.S.
