So...I've decided to take the plunge and attend GDC this year. I have business that'll put me in the area so it works out very conveniently. However, at the moment I can only afford to purchase the Expo Pass. Being that this is rather limiting, I'm wonder what opportunities I'll have to network and, more importantly, learn and grow. Also, with just the Expo pass is it worth it to attend the whole Wed-Fri or just one or two days? Again, thanks to all of you for your help and expertise. I'm jumping into this career with a love of music and games and minimal knowledge on the business side, learning everything as I go along. Your help here has been invaluable!

I also just want to add that I've posted this in this section because I'm attending as a composer, and am looking for advise from the perspective of a composer.

The expo pass only is good for getting your face and resume in front of hiring managers and company reps. The only problem is you're in music and it's very hard to land gigs in a loud, crowded room where only your resume (and not your audio) represents you. (Edit - many of the larger companies have lines of people wanting to drop off resumes and you'll only get a few minutes with the company rep... just trying to paint a realistic picture of what you'll be facing). It's possible to land work in the expo room but you're going to have to really be unique, to stand out from the thousands of people there, and try and get a bit more time with the person.

I still think it's worth it to go and get a feel for what GDC is like, even just at the expo level! This is especially true if you're already going to be near it so some of your costs are covered. Then the following year you can go out on an audio pass (or something similar) to where you can actually attend talks, classes and do much more learning. GDC is a great event and I'm going back for my 3rd San Fran and have been to 3 Austin GDC events (back when they had an audio track).

I could usually walk the expo floor within one day, maybe two so since that's the only kind of pass you'd have - I wouldn't stay longer than 1-2 days. I don't recall, off the top of my head, if the expo pass gets you into any parties where major networking and hanging happens.

It would be nice if I knew about this beforehand. At least Audio passes are still available. :)

The expo pass gets you into the game career seminar, GDC Play, IGF Pavilion, expo floor, career pavilion, business center,and the IGF and choice awards. Plus the mobile app and happy hour =D.

I see that, now, not to mention the much cheaper price. Thanks for letting me know. XD

If you can swing it, see if you can get an Audio Pass. Yes, I realize it's quite a bit pricier (though there is a modest GANG discount if you're in GANG).

But folks I've talked to who have attended on an expo pass said they felt a bit like a kid, nose pressed against the candy store window, watching their friends load up on Tootsie rolls and candy bars.

Note that if you do have an expo pass, there are a couple 'audio' things you can still get into that aren't well documented" The GANG town hall meeting, the ia-sig Town Hall meeting and the GANG awards show.

Brian Schmidt

GameSoundCon

Brian Schmidt Studios.

Actually...my San Francisco trip isn't panning out after all. At first I was going to just make the trip anyway, but then decided just to forget it this year. I'm just not sure it would be worth the trip to be one of those kids in that huge candy store (why do I all of a sudden feel like Charlie Bucket?). I have the feeling that next year I'll be more prepared as well as more able to afford the audio pass.

Actually...my San Francisco trip isn't panning out after all. At first I was going to just make the trip anyway, but then decided just to forget it this year. I'm just not sure it would be worth the trip to be one of those kids in that huge candy store (why do I all of a sudden feel like Charlie Bucket?). I have the feeling that next year I'll be more prepared as well as more able to afford the audio pass.

I'm proving to be more interested in what Schmidt is in charge of: GameSoundCon

There really is no substitute for GDC. That is the premiere event for anyone working on games. It's 18,000 people, nearly all of whom are involved in making games!

Now, GDC is most definitely geared primarily to those who have done a lot of work in games or are very knowledgeable about it. It presumes a hefty base of knowledge on how games work, and a lot of people who go with a background only in 'traditional' music/sound design get kind of flummoxed by a lot of the sessions and terms that get thrown around ("Streams", "RTPCs", "Middleware", "interactive mixing", etc.), so if you don't know what those are and what they mean, it's easy to get lost. Even the "audio bootcamp" at GDC presumes a decent amount of game audio knowledge.

GameSoundCon is great for getting that base knowledge needed to understand how games differ from other types of music for media (film, TV, music production, etc.). I've had many many GameSoundCon attendees who later went to GDC tell me that GameSoundCon really prepared them for GDC and gave them context and information to be able to understand what everyone was actually talking about.

If you're new to games or maybe have done a few small iPhone/facebook games and would like to "up your game" to the next level, I'd probably suggest GameSoundCon, followed by GDC. If you can really only go to one, I'd probably suggest GDC (As the creator of GameSoundCon, I probably shouldn't say that! ). But everyone should experience GDC at least once :)

Brian Schmidt

Executive Director GameSoundCon

You don't have any info up for GSC 2013 yet...any idea when that info will be available???