Seattle

posted in On the path with a ramblin' man

Published October 17, 2006

Time for another MVP Summit [grin][grin][grin]

So I've started planning my trip to Seattle next March. Long way off, but it'd be nice to catch some cheap(ish) flight deals.

My current plan is to go from the 7th to the 20th (which, after travel gives me 8th-19th of usable time) and then spend a few days either side of the MVP Summit exploring Seattle and the surrounding areas. I figure if I'm going to spend the better part of GBP500 to get there I might as well have a look around [smile]

The problem comes that the GDC is the week before the MVP summit. I'd love to attend the GDC - it's on my list of "thing to do before I die" (not that I'm planning on dying anytime soon though!).

So, first week GDC and second week MVP summit... how convenient and tempting - but equally, how damned expensive!

The price of transatlantic flights is going up by the week it seems (not long ago it'd cost me GBP380 return, now its more like GBP420) so I need to decide sharpish.

I'm inclined to think the GDC is a luxury rather than the summit which is a necessity (provided any/all of the DirectX team make it back from the GDC alive). The GDC is a fair price if you've got corporate backing or if you fit into one of the discounted roles, but given I don't have either and I'd pay for it entirely from my own pocket it's even more difficult to justify [sad]

I don't really know why I'm writing this... probably because I've not made any progress with my D3D10 book (that is, no pretty pictures to show yet) and some stupid hope that someone will post a comment explaining why burning a huge chunk of my salary on a tour of the USA including two conferences is a good idea [lol]

So...?

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Comments

Mike Bossy

Go to GDC. It's a fun week. It's also starting to get watered down so the longer you wait the more you'll miss. Go now!

Edit: As an additional afterthought contact the DX guys to see if they need any MVPs to present or be part of a presentation @ GDC. That might get you a pass to the show for free. They have their own talks separate from the GDC schedule but still attached to GDC.

October 17, 2006 05:17 PM

ET3D

Didn't Dustin get into last GDC with a press pass? Or maybe I'm confusing this with someone else, but anyway, there are probably way to do it.

I don't remember the exact prices, but I remember them being pretty high. I did have a good time, though. Lots of interesting stuff to hear, and the show floor is nice, too. Lots of stuff to grab.

Anyway, GDC is a lot more interesting than the MVP Summit. And more fun. Although the food is not as good and neither are the accomodations (since you have to pay for them yourself).

October 18, 2006 04:29 AM

jollyjeffers

Quote:It's also starting to get watered down so the longer you wait the more you'll miss. Go now!

Good point, would be a shame if if changes to the extent that it ceases to be worth attending...

Quote:contact the DX guys to see if they need any MVPs to present or be part of a presentation @ GDC

Interesting idea; I think I managed to get a mention in one of this years talks which is a start [lol]

I know quite a lot of the MS departments "use" MVP's for conferences and so on, but I don't remember seeing many of the DX MVP's contributing to GDC/SIGGRAPH/
GameFest (etc..)

Quote:Didn't Dustin get into last GDC with a press pass?

You're probably thinking of Richard. He's GDNet staff and I think they can all claim press status due to covering the event on this website...

Would be interesting to be a member of the press for a week.

Quote:GDC is a lot more interesting than the MVP Summit. And more fun.

Well I had a great time at the summit and thought it was pretty interesting - not sure I believe you that it gets better [smile]

Jack

October 18, 2006 08:38 AM

ET3D

Quote:Original post by jollyjeffers
You're probably thinking of Richard.

I think you're right. Still, you're a moderator here, and maybe you could get some real coverage, write some articles.

Quote:
Quote:GDC is a lot more interesting than the MVP Summit. And more fun.
Well I had a great time at the summit and thought it was pretty interesting - not sure I believe you that it gets better [smile]

Just my opinion. Thing is, at the summit most of the talks are not that interesting. The talks with the DX group tends to be nice, especially when it's constructive to the future of DX, but even in that respect you get a lot of the same stuff at GDC, and even more, in some respects. At GDC there's just so much interesting stuff to hear that there's not chance to hear it all, and I think that's a measure of a good conference. Plus there's the chance to meet people in the industry (gaming and hardware), see the newest products and cool devices, all that kind of stuff.

Let's put it that way, if you think that Microsoft products are more exciting than games, then maybe the MVP Summit can be more exciting. :)

October 18, 2006 09:12 AM

jollyjeffers

Quote:Still, you're a moderator here, and maybe you could get some real coverage, write some articles

I suppose it might be a possibility. Thing is, I need to plan my flights now so I also need to know what I'm doing and how much it'll cost (don't want to book now, find out later on it costs 2x as much!).

Quote:At GDC there's just so much interesting stuff to hear that there's not chance to hear it all

Whilst I agree that this is the sign of a good conference, I also see it as a bad point... If I spend X amount of money then I'd like to be able to see everything I want and not leave thinking that I've missed out on things. But I suppose you can't have it both ways [lol]

Quote:if you think that Microsoft products are more exciting than games

I've been doing less and less with the gaming side of things for a while now. It's still interesting, but I'd describe myself more as a general graphics/multimedia enthusiast than a wannabe game developer.

I would love to see the gadgets/hardware side of things. Given that ATI/Nvidia won't respond to any email I send them it could be funny to meet their representatives in person [evil]

Cheers,
Jack

October 18, 2006 11:37 AM

ET3D

You should probably start talking to people now to see if you can get into anything at GDC. The actual show prices should be available next month, from what I see from the GDC site. Hmmm, found the prices here. Don't look too promising if you can't find a back door. Unless you're coming just for the expo and to mingle, but that'd be somewhat of a waste.

October 19, 2006 04:55 AM

ET3D

On second thought, the Independent Games Summit Expo pass may be an interesting option. It'd get you into the Independent Games Summit (not sure what that is, exactly, but sounds interesting enough) and the expo and parties, for $275.

October 19, 2006 05:00 AM

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jollyjeffers

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