It’s June 16th and almost a week has passed since the IGDA E3 scholarship program ended. I have just barely recovered enough to post a reflection on that amazing week. This might be a bit long, so if you just want to see my key points, skip to the bottom. 
E3 is short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. This is the annual video game conference event where all the major companies in the traditional video game world present their up and coming products. This is also a business event where industry folks can create deals with other industry folks.
I am working on a project with co-creator Edmond Yee, and a few other amazing folks, called “Combiform” www.facebook.com/combiform (yes, I just plugged our project!! Getting my hustle on!). I applied to be an IGDA scholar so that I could get access to the business rooms and pitch Combiform to a bunch of companies to see if they would be interested. The rest of the time, I intended go to the main floor and check out some of the new games. That was the plan.
I was expecting to get an all-access pass and then have to stand outside of the business booths and nervously improv my way to getting someone’s attention. Little did I know that all I had to do was ask. Which brings me to my first lesson. If you want to meet someone, ASK GORDON OR JACK! They seriously know everyone and can put you in touch with anyone. Gordon set up two meetings for me where I got to talk to video game controller companies and pitch our project. Earlier, I had unsuccessfully waited for hours trying to talk to one of these companies. My second major lesson was that you have to approach companies correctly. When you approach a company representative you have 3 seconds to tell them who they should direct you to. If you are unclear or say something that doesn’t make sense to them, they will direct you to some PR person. In my case, I went from saying something along the lines of, “I would like to show you my awesome new project!” to “I am working on a new controller based gaming platform. Can I speak to your business development person or product manager?” This got me much better results, as I knew exactly what to say, and I would get a chance to pitch to a decision maker rather than the receptionist. In the end, I spent most of my time trying to meet other business folks and barely got any time to check out all of the games that were debuting.
As part of the scholarship program, we got to attend many of the major press release events . These were some of the most exclusive events, and we got to be among the first few hundred/thousand to hear about news that millions of people were waiting to hear about. Intellectually, I wasn’t excited, because I figured it was probably just like what you see on TV or the internet. But, like a music concert, there’s an emotional tension and compulsion that got me super hyped up. These experiences can’t be replicated through a screen. Enjoy the hype and flash of E3 press events, because you won’t be able to get it at this level anywhere else in the games industry.
Another major benefit was was getting to meet the developers directly by going to the second floor business rooms and small back stage viewings. It’s one thing to hear from an excited news reporter about an event. It’s another thing entirely to hear from a passionate developer. Many of the games that I saw were not the type that I would play (i.e. FPS), but hearing passionate developers talk about what gets them excited about a game…. I could do that all day. That excitement is contagious and had me itching to find a quiet corner to work on a game. My take away was to look for the passionate developers and breathe in the excitement.
One of the highlights of our experience was the opportunity to speak to high level industry people and hear their thoughts about the industry. We got to listen to Will Wright (The Sims, Spore), Jim Veevaert (Jerry Bruckheimer Games), and David Stelzer (CAA). These are some extremely smart individuals with varying opinions, and I found that they pushed me to view the industry from different perspectives. I am not sure if I am allowed to talk about what they shared with us, but I have a new level of respect for these gentlemen and the companies that they represent. I feel honored to have spent time with them and to hear what they think is the future of gaming and the games industry.
Network, network, network, and party! Bring lots of business cards and talk to everyone that you can. Share your projects and ideas, and get feedback. Make sure that every time you give out a business card, you get one back. In most cases, the person you give your card to won’t follow up, so it’s up to you to get a card so you can follow up with them. One of the scholars in our group got teased a lot because they seemed to always have a business card in their hand and networked relentlessly. I have a lot of admiration for this person, because they were willing to put themselves out there and try and make connections. I wish I had been more aggressive like this person. Just giving away a business card is not making friends or bonding, it’s building a business network. Building a business network is important, but… the flip side to this is that E3 is a giant party, where you have a chance to make friends and bond. If you can bond with a few folks it’s well worth the time, and what better way to bond than to party together? So make sure you do both, because they are both important.
Your fellow scholars, Jack, Gordon, and the rest of the IGDA crew are an amazing group of people. Get to know them, spend all night drinking and partying with them. Get into long conversations about the merits of game genres or the best games. Hear stories about how folks got into the game industry and what their first game was like. As a newcomer to this industry, I feel that becoming friends with my peers is an important part of building a support network. That’s a major part of my life: finding friends who help me grow.
Many thanks to the IGDA, my fellow scholars, and all of the amazing companies that made my experience awesome. Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, EA, Jerry Bruckheimer Games, Sega, Konami, THQ, Bethesda, Warner Brothers, 2k, CAA, and others gave us personalized attention that made this E3 stand out from the past when I attended this event on my own.
Here are my major take aways:
1) If you want to meet someone, ask Gordon or Jack. They know everyone and can make it happen.
2) If you are going to approach a company, know who you want to talk to and why they would want to talk to you, and say it clearly.
3) Enjoy the hype of the giant press events. That’s half of what E3 is about!
4) Take advantage of the second floor and meet the developers. Behind all the marketing and PR there’s someone passionate about the games they make. Find them and meet them.
5) Enjoy the chance to meet some of the smartest people in the industry. Give them a chance to show you their perspective, it’s probably very different from your perspective and has many nuggets of wisdom.
6) Network, network, and party! Meet people like crazy, but don’t forget to party with them. Just make sure you don’t over do it; sleep deprivation and exhaustion will wear you down.
7) Bond with your fellow scholars and the IGDA crew. They are passionate about games just like you, so revel in each other’s passion.