I want to go to the GDC in a big way, but I've got a few problems. First off, all the folks I hoped could come along (to help split hotel and shuttle costs) had to drop out. As it stands, it looks like I'm going alone, and that's gonna cost a small fortune. On top of that, I'm not trying to sell anything this time around, so I don't have a particular "agenda". While it'd be nice to be courted by companies trying to sell their technology to me (instead of the opposite), it's not gonna be easy to justify the time and money required.
I'm thinking that, if I can't find a roomie in a hurry, I'm gonna pass on this year's GDC. Last year was a lot of fun and was probably worthwhile just for the seminars and freebies, but this year's is gonna cost a lot more if I can't find a better way. Any comments?
Release Candidate 2 is looking awfully stable, working for several days now without anything resembling a bug. Frankly, it's as stable as anything I've ever mastered, which is nice. It's good to be in the position of waiting on the publisher to catch up. It doesn't happen very often, but such is life in the upside-down world of the discount rack :)
One more bullet-point, but I thought it bore mentioning, given that South Park video that sneaked its way into a recent PlayStation CD. . .
Don't be unprofessional
Yeah, it's fun to sneak little personal digs, videos, and easter eggs into your code, but it's not professional. The game industry has a well-deserved reputation of being staffed by immature programmers, and it is hurting us. Developers will be kept on a short leash by publishers and parent companies if they're not viewed as trustworthy.
I know it defeats the purpose, but document all of your little undocumented tricks, cheats, and double-entendres for your publisher. If you've got your initials in a texture somewhere, or the "about" box shows a picture of your girlfriend if you click in a certain spot, let the management know about it. They probably won't mind, but if they do, it's better that you know now before the CD hits the shelves.
Needless to say, putting little extras in your game that violate copyright (like a South Park video) is just plain stupid and will probably get you sued.
