You could ask Mark Delora a hundred things about what it takes to run a games industry convention, and he'd have a solid answer for every one of them. He has worked as an organizer for more than 25 years, and taps into that significant experience in his role as the Game Developers Conference's Executive Director of Innovation and Development.
If any of those hundred questions happen to be about certain companies that have been pulling from GDC (and other events) in recent times in favor of their own vision, DeLoura will offer something to lament. In his view, this is not only disappointing; This sends a big message to developers.
Increasingly attentive
In a new episode of The Game Business Show, always hosted by industry analyst Christopher Dring, Mark Delora discusses (among other things) the potential impact of companies withdrawing their presence from GDC. The Game Developers Conference is rebranding itself for next year's event, touting itself as a “celebration of gaming,” and an executive's thoughts on what that means, and how it affects the way things are run, are also interesting. You can check it all out below:
But at the point of this article, it's DeLoura's candid assessment of Sony, Epic Games, Unity, and others that doesn't disrespect the most recent event that really stood out to me. This isn't just a bummer for the obvious reasons – it could be a bummer for the thousands of hard-working developers whose trials and tribulations GDC has always sought to highlight.
“I think it was remarkable last year. As an attendee, I was disappointed not to see Unity and Unreal on the show floor…Sony, so, I worked for Sony and I started the Sony booths, you know, 25 years ago; not seeing Sony on the show floor…it's just disappointing. I really think you have a lot of developers – I think you have a lot of developers. […] You won't find an independent game developer in your shop who doesn't already know someone if your door isn't open.”
A well-spoken partial condemnation continues. “You've decided you don't want to meet new people, I think, and I don't understand that.” Christopher Dring, for his part, nods with much enthusiasm. And, for what it's worth for relatively little, I do too.
DeLoura also takes time to note that there are, of course, extenuating factors involved. The cost is a big one. The importance of these corporations having their own events is also recognized, but these are very closed-door channels, filled with people who are already 'inside'. GDC is a different animal. “I think the developers get the vibe, you know, if you're not there, if you're not there … are you sure you care about them if you don't show up?”
Earlier today, TheGamer's sister site, Polygon , wrote a full breakdown of what GDC's “Festival of Gaming” rebranding actually means when the long-running convention returns next year. Expect prices to go down, and the structure of the show to get a forward-thinking overhaul.
