Yesterday was the big day. At 10 AM, the doors for the show floor opened and I rushed in with the huge crowd. Throughout the day, I talked to people from Disney, EA, THQ, WB, 38 Studios, Sony and a ton of other game companies and learned about their projects and what kind of jobs were available. I met Daemon and Greg from IGN, got my free GDC T-shirt, saw the awards show, checked out the 3DS and NGP, got a free copy of The Sims 3 Deluxe Edition from EA and a free copy of Magicka from Arrowhead and went to the Playphone party in the evening. Could one day at GDC be any more awesome? I'll have to see what happens today, but I can't imagine any more greatness fitting into one day.
Out of all the games and tech at the show, I was probably most excited to see the 3DS and NGP in person. There were lines of people waiting to play the various 3DS games on display, but I was able to snag a machine running the Ocarina of Time remake. I must say, the 3D effect is done well and I think it has the potential to create another layer of immersion for players. Zelda looked great. Graphically, it was in between OOT and Twilight Princess and it retained the style of OOT very well. I didn't get to play too much, but I was glad to feel that the analog slider and buttons are comfortable. Toggling the 3D effect on or off is a great addition and will be useful for people who can't quite adjust to the 3D due to motion sickness or defects of the eye.
Next up, I saw the real beast: the NGP. Sony wasn't ready to let us get our hands on it, but as I watched it rotate in the middle of its bullet-proof glass container, all shiny and sleek, I felt the same excitement I felt when playing the 3DS. The system is noticeably larger than the PSP (though it's thinner), but I think this is an improvement for playability. The analog sticks look like they'll be a huge improvement, both because there are now two, and because they are actually analog sticks instead of nubs or sliders.
Day three of GDC will be tough to beat, but I'm hoping to get a little more time to check out the games today and tomorrow as I finish talking to all the developers about jobs!
Out of all the games and tech at the show, I was probably most excited to see the 3DS and NGP in person. There were lines of people waiting to play the various 3DS games on display, but I was able to snag a machine running the Ocarina of Time remake. I must say, the 3D effect is done well and I think it has the potential to create another layer of immersion for players. Zelda looked great. Graphically, it was in between OOT and Twilight Princess and it retained the style of OOT very well. I didn't get to play too much, but I was glad to feel that the analog slider and buttons are comfortable. Toggling the 3D effect on or off is a great addition and will be useful for people who can't quite adjust to the 3D due to motion sickness or defects of the eye.
Next up, I saw the real beast: the NGP. Sony wasn't ready to let us get our hands on it, but as I watched it rotate in the middle of its bullet-proof glass container, all shiny and sleek, I felt the same excitement I felt when playing the 3DS. The system is noticeably larger than the PSP (though it's thinner), but I think this is an improvement for playability. The analog sticks look like they'll be a huge improvement, both because there are now two, and because they are actually analog sticks instead of nubs or sliders.
Day three of GDC will be tough to beat, but I'm hoping to get a little more time to check out the games today and tomorrow as I finish talking to all the developers about jobs!
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