Important Life Lessons Learned From GDC 2011

Over the last week, I've been at GDC 2011 in San Francisco, California.  It's been a blast, especially a certain toga party (go check out Gods and Heroes Rome Rising).  However, there are some very important lessons I learned this year that I feel should be passed along.

Lesson 1:  Open Your Own Tab at the Bar
For me, this was a new thing.  I've never really been to a bar before this GDC, so when I arrived and the waitress asked for my drink, I was none the wiser that my drink was being added to an open tab.  Since I only had a twenty on me, I was a bit concerned when people got up and left without paying.  Mind you, some parties are open bar, but this was just a bar.  I didn't want to get stuck with the tab, so I left my twenty for the one drink I'd had and meandered a bit.  However, I still got picked out of the crowd as a jerk not paying his tab - which is BS since I'd paid more than enough for my rum and Coke.  Since I got stuck with it, it was then my job to start harassing people to get the waitress her money.  Let me tell you, that's not fun.  Luckily, my friend had also dropped a twenty on her single drink, and a fellow student helped cover the last $20 left on the tab (including tip of course - we've all been in food service).

Lesson 2:  Meet the Press
For another of our parties, we arrived to an empty bar with a few GDC attendees standing out front.  While there, we met a certain press member from a certain website.  He knew of a different party that night, so he ended up bringing us to a much better time.  However, he did grab our attention for the rest of the night, going out with us to dinner and otherwise being our only contact made that night.  The press does seem to be quite knowledgeable about parties and such, and they are terribly friendly.  Don't get me wrong - I have no regrets for that night, but if you're trying to hit up a new contact every five-to-ten minutes, the press might throw you off your schedule.  If you don't take the time to hang out with the press like I did, you might get yourself a list of parties for the week - and a new friend.

Lesson 3:  Enter Raffles
I've never considered myself lucky.  I'm bad at rock-paper-scissors, and I never really win at things that are purely luck based.  However, I entered a raffle at the IGT happy hour on the expo floor and won myself an All-Access Pass for a GDC of my choosing.  Enter them all - you never know what you might win.

Lesson 4:  Go to the Theme Party on Wednesday
Last year, there was the Speakeasy party.  It was a fun time with awesome entertainment, not far from the convention center.  This year, the theme party on Wednesday was the Gods and Heroes Toga Party.  It was awesome.  This was the best party I've ever been to - great music, semi-open bar, and toga-fun time.  In my limited GDC experience, it seems the theme party on Wednesday is the biggest blast.