GDC Canada 2010: Day 2
The exciting conclusion of the two-day conference in Canada
While the more popular local GDC event is in United States and lasts a whole week, GDC Canada is only making its second appearance and lasts two days. Today was the second day of the conference, which offered lectures related to Games Career seminar, with keynote events aimed to assist eligible attendees with finding a job in the industry. As expected, the halls of the convention center were filled with young entrepreneurs and students looking for advice on entering the Video game field as a career. As I once again wandered the show floor, my meetings were quite different from those during the first day of the conference – I was mostly conversing with students and young developer hopefuls, all looking for advice and learning as much as they could about the field.
Showcasing PlayStation Move
The morning was spent visiting the show floor once again, which had a rather nervous but thrilling atmosphere from the various contacts being made and business card exchanges between hiring companies and students and graduates. I dropped by all of the booths on the floor – of which there was not many, because as mentioned earlier GDC Canada is still in the process of establishing its reputation as a premier business meeting hub for serious developers. But, those studious on the floor had very enthusiastic staff and recruiters, seeking out potential latent in the steady flow of attendees.
In the afternoon, the first lecture I took part in was a late addition to the show’s schedule, and it featured David Coombes from SCEA. The presentation focused on Sony’s latest marketing push, the Sony 3D initiative (S3D). The innovative 3D tech is expected to invade not only movies, but also TVs, Blu Rays and of course games. The PS3 is already capable of producing HDMI 3D images, thanks to a firmware update released earlier this year. David discussed some of the basics of 3D Technology, and the shift to “active glasses” which are able to produce full HD images for both eyes, rather than half-HD images for each eye as found in the classic “red and blue glasses”. To produce 3D imagery, everything must be rendered twice, and this is likely to push any of the current generation consoles to its limits. Because of this, Sony only provides basic guidelines for developers on using the technology, and leaves the rest in the hands of the game makers. This leaves tons of optimization potential, as developers are free to experiment and create the 3D images that they wish for their audiences while keeping the framerate steady.
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