GCAP 2006

Two short days and my first ever game conference is over. It was certainly worth while going as I got to meet a lot of interesting people and listen to great talks on the state of the industry. Unfortunately I also got a chance to really see what the companies are looking for in job applications and my portfolio is rather lacking compared to others out there. Needs improvement I'm afraid.



One of my main disappointments (other than the lack of food provided) was that Nintendo was oddly absent from displays and the booths. I was really hoping to get my hands on playing some Wii titles a week before the launch.

It was kinda hard choosing between some of the keynotes as most of them sounded pretty interesting. I had to turn down "Interactive Storytelling in Games" to attend an "Developing games for Xbox Live Arcade" which I might be interested in pursuing some day. Problem is the number of hoops that M$ make you jump through just to get approval and publish your game on XLA is pretty darn demoralising.



The number of international speakers that gave talks was pretty impressive. Tsutomo Kouno, the designer for LocoRoco (great game) talked about his inspiration for designing the title which was a fascinating insight into what goes into creating a unique hit. The Q&A session was rather awkward as everything had to go through the translator which broke up the flow a little.

Now that's over the next big bit of gaming excitement will be the Wii launch this week. If all goes to plan then Als and I will be joining Kath and Andrew to camp out at Indooroopilly for the midnight launch of the console on Wednesday night. My first console pre-ordered and my first console launch. Can't wait.