[game_edu] Students at GDC

[Johnnemann Nordhagen]

Remember that, from the conference organizers' point of view, students may
be considered more of a liability than an opportunity - first,
conference-goers expect to be there networking with their peers in the
industry. I've heard colleagues express frustration at the number of
students or other people not "in the industry" they've encountered.

Secondly, the companies in the career expo are paying the conference for
access to experienced professionals. Most hiring departments can get a
near-unlimited number of resumes from people looking to break in to the
industry - being deluged with more of these at GDC when they're trying to
attract people with years of prior experience must be frustrating, and
probably leads some to consider the wisdom of paying for a career expo
booth.

I think you're right that allowing students in at discounted rates is good
for the conference and the industry in the long term, and I'm glad that the
conference has added some sessions that are open to students and those
outside the industry in the past few years.  But it's not only the financial
costs that the conference has to worry about.

Johnnemann

On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 11:26 AM, Jim Parker <jparker at ucalgary.ca> wrote:


> The last time I attended, the Expo pass entitled you to very little. Being

> on the show floor, basically. No talks. I would not travel to the show for

> that alone, and a student would get very little out of it. Perhaps that's

> changed.

>

> This is a very expensive trade show, no doubt - up there with the more

> expensive conferences.

>

> Discounts for students are an investment. These guys are likely to pay

> their way back in future. It is lost opportunity cost only to give them a

> profound discount, 'cause they're not coming otherwise.

>

> Jim

>

> Ian Schreiber wrote:

>

>> From the GDC website, if you're bringing a group and getting the more

>> expensive passes, you can get 10% off (and this bonus stacks with other

>> discounts): http://www.gdconf.com/attend/groupregistration.html

>>

>> That's for developers, mind you, so 25% off for students seems downright

>> generous in that context. Additionally, if you're talking about student expo

>> passes costing $75 each... umm, have you seen the prices of the other

>> passes? $75 is already more than a 60% discount off of the next cheapest

>> pass to begin with (and 95% cheaper than an All Access pass), so I have a

>> hard time feeling your pain here. Keep in mind this is the largest game dev

>> conference around; if your students can't cough up $45 of their own to

>> attend GDC -- we're talking about saving up 12.5 cents per day for a year,

>> not exactly an unreachable goal -- then what exactly are they going to do

>> when it's time to actually look for work? Are they not planning on printing

>> out their own business cards? Do they not figure on putting their portfolio

>> on disks or thumbdrives? Printout out their resumes on nice-quality paper? A

>> complete job search is going to cost more than what it takes them to get a

>> student pass.

>>

>> Here's what I've told my students since I started teaching in 2006: if you

>> care at all about getting into the industry, you will find a way to attend

>> GDC. I would argue that in most cases, travel, lodging and an All Access

>> pass are very achievable on a student budget... IF this is meaningful enough

>> to them, and if they are willing to plan ahead.

>>

>> Ways to reduce conference pass cost:

>> * Order early for huge discounts to start with -- early bird FTW. (Bonus:

>> after you do this once, you get an alumni discount in subsequent years that

>> stacks with all other discounts.)

>> * Apply for an IGDA scholarship. If you're a student member (and if not,

>> why the heck not?) you can apply for free. Winners get, basically, a golden

>> ticket.

>> * Apply for the CA program. If you get in, you trade 20 hours of your time

>> helping your childhood idols find the bathroom, and the rest of the time

>> you've got a free pass, plus all kinds of other perks.

>>

>> Ways to reduce food/lodging costs:

>> * Especially if you're going in a group, split a hotel room as many ways

>> as you can without breaking fire codes. If you've got 6+, consider splitting

>> a suite instead.

>> * There are some low-cost hostels in the area that are even cheaper than

>> hotels; quality varies.

>> * Obviously, if you've got any friends or family in the area, see if you

>> can crash on their couch.

>> * Food can be expensive if you eat out a lot; bring nonperishable items

>> with you, or purchase low-cost high-nutrition food at a local CVS or

>> similar. Go to lots of parties and eat while you're networking.

>>

>> Ways to reduce travel costs:

>> * If you're going in a group, the cost of a road trip is less than a

>> flight. If you rotate driving duties every few hours and keep going around

>> the clock, you can get there in record time.

>> * If you have to fly, look for tickets well in advance.

>>

>> Ways to save money:

>> * Next time anyone asks you what you want for your birthday or the

>> holidays, say "cash". (I've had more than one student whose family paid to

>> upgrade to the next-highest pass after seeing their dedication.)

>> * Get a part-time job to fund your GDC adventure. 10 hours per week x 50

>> weeks x $5/hour = more than enough. Yeah, it's a lot of time; how bad do you

>> want it?

>> * Get a lower-cost pass. I mean, all-access is great, but it's not like

>> you won't get a TON out of the conference with something else. If your

>> hardest problem is choosing between the summit/tutorial pass and the main

>> conference pass, you've already won.

>> * If you absolutely can't make GDC this year, see if there are any

>> lower-cost regional conferences in your area at other times during the year,

>> and attend those first.

>>

>> Granted, it is too late for most students to do most of these things at

>> this point. But it's great to plant the seed now so they will be prepared

>> for next year.

>>

>> And then, of course, there's the issue of prepping the students for GDC so

>> they get the most out of it and don't waste their time and money... but

>> that's another post. (Or actually a whole series of them, on Darius Kazemi's

>> blog, so no need to reproduce that here :-)

>>

>> As for the other half of your question -- how to get students into SF-area

>> studios -- I think when that happens it's usually because the professor

>> knows someone on the inside and arranges something in advance; it's not

>> exactly a situation where developers routinely open their doors to the

>> public for studio tours (although now that I think about it, that could make

>> a great secondary revenue stream... ;-). If you don't know anyone, but

>> you're going to GDC, I'd say use that time as an instructor to meet

>> developers, get to know them, and maybe work with them to set up a tour NEXT

>> year.

>>

>> - Ian

>>

>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> *From:* Andy <andycox at twcdc.com>

>> *To:* game_edu at igda.org

>> *Sent:* Wed, January 26, 2011 11:01:27 AM

>> *Subject:* [game_edu] Students at GDC

>>

>> I've been in contact with GDC trying to get a deal to get a group

>> of 20 students into GDC at a good discount. In these cash-strapped

>> days I only have $30 per student budget. They are unable to offer

>> any discount on the $75 student expo pass (the reasoning being

>> that this is only available at the do0r) and only 25% off all

>> other expo passes. This seems a little ungenerous. Do others agree

>> that GDC should be giving a better deal to students? Has anyone

>> else managed to wring out of them a better deal for their

>> students?

>>

>> In addition, any ideas on how my students could get industry

>> exposure through e.g. visits to game development companies in San

>> Francisco, would be much appreciated. The class is considering the

>> social impacts of technology through the lens of video games using

>> Unity 3D.

>>

>> Andy Cox

>> Adjunct Professor

>> Conceptual and Information Arts

>> San Francisco Stat University

>>

>>

>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>

>>

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>

> --

> from Plasma611

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

> "If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can

> solve them.                  I. Asimov .........................

>

> Dr. J. R. Parker,                    Digital Media Laboratory

> Professor of Play                    http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jparker<http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Ejparker>

> Faculty of Fine Arts (Drama)         jparker@ ucalgary.ca

> University of Calgary                403-220-6784      AB606/AB611

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