 GDC, or the Game Developers Conference, is a thing that a lot of normal people who care about video games probably don't know about, right? Would you say? Oh yeah, why would you? You can't come. You can't get in. You can't come because it's super expensive. But it turns out it's very, very important. And it's not important like E3 where there's like lots of big announcements, but there is a reason to kind of care. What would you say GDC is on the most top level? It's a bunch of lectures, it's panels, it's developers gathering to talk about games, how they're made, what people want to do with their games. GDC itself has been around for a very long time. GDC is actually older than me, which is like a fun trivia fact. I know, right? I'm so young. Just to make you feel old for a second. Thank you. Yeah, so GDC got its start in 1942. Oh, plant. I'm sorry. I'm dying. So anyway, away from plants and inevitable death. So it started as a bunch of people, about 25 people gathered in somebody's living room to meet and talk about games. And since then, it's blown up. They've been doing this for a very long time. They have thousands of people that show up every year to come talk. They just keep taking up our space. Like this year, we were walking past the mall and there was like a big sign. We're like, oh, I thought games connection was part of GDC. It was in the Moscone Center where these things normally are. I was like, oh no, now it's moved to the mall. It's in the mall now. It's in this other big building. And it's like, oh sure, the fourth floor there is now just this. And it seems like every time we're here, it's taken over more of San Francisco than it had the previous time. Since I came here the first time, probably in 2009, it's obviously grown a lot larger. But it's this weird place where you can kind of see what the thing is that everybody thinks are going to make the most money off of in video games, where it's like there was a while where it was like everything that you went to was mobile focused. And then specifically it was like free to play focused. And then this year there are tons and tons of panels about negotiating peace with your community. And you can tell it's kind of this shell shocked from events of last year that has affected what GDC is this year. So it's kind of like a weird test of where the video game community is at any given time. And I think that's one way that it changes. I mean, even in, you've been here three times, right? Right, right. Even in that amount of time, have you seen any changes? It's hard to say. I feel like not a ton. I will say that one of the big things that I've at least heard is that they apparently have more women ever than speaking. So at this point, 20%, I believe is about what it is, is the breakdown of how many women they have speaking this year. I mean, that's a big thing, right? Even at E3 we still don't see that many women on stage. Yeah, and I think they're making a concentrated effort to make those changes. Which again is kind of the nice part about game developers conferences. It feels a little bit more like the aspirational idea of the video game industry. It's like this is what we want to be. And when there are years where I've been where that was a little depressing because it felt like there were so many negative things happening that I couldn't imagine that being an aspirational goal. But this year, and I'm hoping in last year, felt like they were kind of finding their footing and realizing that this needs to be a much more inclusive space. In terms of it being an important part for the average consumer, is there anything about it that you think is interesting for the normal person? I mean, gosh, the thing that I take away is there's a bigger focus on indies here, I feel like. So that's for me personally, that's what I want to know. Because indies I think don't get as much attention at the bigger shows. So I feel like there's a lot more indie coverage at events like this. Even IGF, like the awards. Yeah. You know, we finally get to see those big indie games be highlighted. And sometimes there are indie games there that are up for awards that I haven't even heard of. So I feel like it's a good chance to really dip your toe into that. Yeah, I think there's the IGF awards and basically the GDC awards, Game Developer Choice Awards. And I think both of those feel more useful for the consumer. The person who's going out and buying games than probably any of the other award shows. While I enjoy other award shows, they feel very closely connected to the companies that they're giving games to. While this feels more like, oh, these are the games that people who actually make games are paying attention to. Which is like an interesting way of looking at it. The platform is closer to a lot of the awards that are given out in Hollywood. It's a great place for us as the press who want to report for our readers what's actually going on in the industry. Because it is this place where you actually get to talk to the people who make the games. You're not talking to just the publicist or the marketing team or just being sent a demo in the mail. You're actually talking to the people who are making these games and getting an idea of what it's like to make them and what it's like to work in this industry. I think that is maybe the most valuable thing about covering this place. I think the stories that you see across the year are influenced by the conversations that are had here where we get an idea of what it's actually like to make games.
 GDC, or the Game Developers Conference, is a thing that a lot of normal people who care
 about video games probably don't know about, right?
 Would you say?
 Oh yeah, why would you?
 You can't come.
 You can't get in.
 You can't come because it's super expensive.
 But it turns out it's very, very important.
 And it's not important like E3 where there's like lots of big announcements, but there
 is a reason to kind of care.
 What would you say GDC is on the most top level?
 It's a bunch of lectures, it's panels, it's developers gathering to talk about games,
 how they're made, what people want to do with their games.
 GDC itself has been around for a very long time.
 GDC is actually older than me, which is like a fun trivia fact.
 I know, right?
 I'm so young.
 Just to make you feel old for a second.
 Thank you.
 Yeah, so GDC got its start in 1942.
 Oh, plant.
 I'm sorry.
 I'm dying.
 So anyway, away from plants and inevitable death.
 So it started as a bunch of people, about 25 people gathered in somebody's living room
 to meet and talk about games.
 And since then, it's blown up.
 They've been doing this for a very long time.
 They have thousands of people that show up every year to come talk.
 They just keep taking up our space.
 Like this year, we were walking past the mall and there was like a big sign.
 We're like, oh, I thought games connection was part of GDC.
 It was in the Moscone Center where these things normally are.
 I was like, oh no, now it's moved to the mall.
 It's in the mall now.
 It's in this other big building.
 And it's like, oh sure, the fourth floor there is now just this.
 And it seems like every time we're here, it's taken over more of San Francisco than it had
 the previous time.
 Since I came here the first time, probably in 2009, it's obviously grown a lot larger.
 But it's this weird place where you can kind of see what the thing is that everybody thinks
 are going to make the most money off of in video games, where it's like there was a while
 where it was like everything that you went to was mobile focused.
 And then specifically it was like free to play focused.
 And then this year there are tons and tons of panels about negotiating peace with your
 community.
 And you can tell it's kind of this shell shocked from events of last year that has affected
 what GDC is this year.
 So it's kind of like a weird test of where the video game community is at any given time.
 And I think that's one way that it changes.
 I mean, even in, you've been here three times, right?
 Right, right.
 Even in that amount of time, have you seen any changes?
 It's hard to say.
 I feel like not a ton.
 I will say that one of the big things that I've at least heard is that they apparently
 have more women ever than speaking.
 So at this point, 20%, I believe is about what it is, is the breakdown of how many women
 they have speaking this year.
 I mean, that's a big thing, right?
 Even at E3 we still don't see that many women on stage.
 Yeah, and I think they're making a concentrated effort to make those changes.
 Which again is kind of the nice part about game developers conferences.
 It feels a little bit more like the aspirational idea of the video game industry.
 It's like this is what we want to be.
 And when there are years where I've been where that was a little depressing because it felt
 like there were so many negative things happening that I couldn't imagine that being an aspirational
 goal.
 But this year, and I'm hoping in last year, felt like they were kind of finding their
 footing and realizing that this needs to be a much more inclusive space.
 In terms of it being an important part for the average consumer, is there anything about
 it that you think is interesting for the normal person?
 I mean, gosh, the thing that I take away is there's a bigger focus on indies here, I feel
 like.
 So that's for me personally, that's what I want to know.
 Because indies I think don't get as much attention at the bigger shows.
 So I feel like there's a lot more indie coverage at events like this.
 Even IGF, like the awards.
 Yeah.
 You know, we finally get to see those big indie games be highlighted.
 And sometimes there are indie games there that are up for awards that I haven't even
 heard of.
 So I feel like it's a good chance to really dip your toe into that.
 Yeah, I think there's the IGF awards and basically the GDC awards, Game Developer Choice Awards.
 And I think both of those feel more useful for the consumer.
 The person who's going out and buying games than probably any of the other award shows.
 While I enjoy other award shows, they feel very closely connected to the companies that
 they're giving games to.
 While this feels more like, oh, these are the games that people who actually make games
 are paying attention to.
 Which is like an interesting way of looking at it.
 The platform is closer to a lot of the awards that are given out in Hollywood.
 It's a great place for us as the press who want to report for our readers what's actually
 going on in the industry.
 Because it is this place where you actually get to talk to the people who make the games.
 You're not talking to just the publicist or the marketing team or just being sent a demo
 in the mail.
 You're actually talking to the people who are making these games and getting an idea
 of what it's like to make them and what it's like to work in this industry.
 I think that is maybe the most valuable thing about covering this place.
 I think the stories that you see across the year are influenced by the conversations that
 are had here where we get an idea of what it's actually like to make games.