I had heard that the Game Devevloper's Conference (GDC) was one of the biggest game conferences, but the idea of going was a vague idea for me when I went to the D.I.C.E. Summit last year. However, by the end of the year, I was convinced that I needed to go. Aside from my general interest in learning about specialized career topics, GDC became something more for me when a group project from school (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom) was selected for the IGF student showcase at GDC.

Even if your game is nominated for an award at GDC, that doesn’t mean that the whole team can get in for free. Before I knew that my game was selected, I had applied to be a volunteer (a Conference Associate or CA). I wanted to go to GDC whether or not my game got in, and I was quite surprised when I found out that we did make it. Regardless, I had no idea that volunteering would be such a fantastic experience.

As a GDC CA, I was given an all-access pass to the conference. This meant that, when I was not on duty, I had access to any session, tutorial or workshop. The CA program is incredibly well-organized, and each of us got to request three time slots to have off (to attend a specific session). I had the opportunity to go to a full-day tutorial on game writing (Learn Better Game Writing in a Day), which was quite helpful as an aspiring game writer.

The game industry is small enough right now to have a sense of community. While there were thousands of attendees at the conference, I kept running into people that I knew. Guest speakers, contacts from internships, and friends of friends somehow seemed to find me if I couldn’t find them. Also, many of the speakers were very approachable. I met Mac Walters, one of the senior writers on Mass Effect, after he spoke in a session. He is a real inspiration for me, and I appreciated the opportunity to meet him in person and ask for his advice.

Aside from the community of developers attending and speaking at GDC, I found a fantastic community in my fellow CAs. Everyone had a genuine passion for games, so it was very easy to make new friends. It was a lot of fun to be part of a group of such hardworking, dedicated people. I found some great people to spend time with and I was never lonely.

GDC was a fantastic experience. When people back at school asked me how it was, my eyes would glaze over and all I could say was “awesome.” It was very inspiring for me to meet the people I admire and to see so many gamers together in one place. I came back more motivated than I’ve ever been. I highly recommend this conference for students. It’s a fantastic way to learn more about the people and the companies that create the best games on the market. GDC also provides opportunities to learn about specialized topics in the video game field. I found it to be very rewarding and I hope to go back again next year.  

I’ve been playing a lot of Mass Effect lately, and I love it. I look forward to playing each moment, except areas that require use of the Mako, a futuristic planetary-exploration vehicle. The game encourages the player to use this vehicle first on a planet called Feros. There is no tutorial for this vehicle, so the player must learn the controls through experimentation. This would be an acceptable design choice if the road didn’t quickly turn into a narrow skyway. I’ve talked to several people, who, like me, found the controls to be counterintuitive and proceeded to fall off the skyway to their death multiple times.

The movement of the vehicle is controlled by the left thumb stick; the camera and reticle for the gun turret are controlled by the right thumb stick. Steering is relative to the camera, so the Mako will move in the direction relative to what the player sees. I found this to be counterintuitive, and I would frequently move in the wrong direction during combat and take extensive damage.

There were also flaws in the design of the reticle movement, especially when zooming in. When rapidly rotating the camera view, the gun turret can’t keep up with the reticle, especially if the turret is firing. Also, the reticle can be aimed higher and lower than the actual turret range. If the reticle is focused on an area out of the turret’s range, the turret will fire somewhere within its range but not where the reticule is aimed.

There are a few simple solutions to these frustrating flaws. First, the game should point the player to an easier mission for a better introduction to the Mako. Mass Effect allows players to choose between several missions at that point, and there is no reason why the Feros skyway should be a training ground. A planet such as Novaria is more suitable to players new to the Mako. This change could be easily made by changing the dialog in the conversation that encouraged players to go to Feros first.

Second, a formal tutorial or a change in the control structure would be beneficial. If the control structure was received well during testing, then a tutorial that briefly explained movement, aiming and camera rotation would help those who found the player-centered motion counterintuitive. If players seemed to be struggling with movement, then the controls could be shifted so movement is relative to the vehicle itself. This is would be similar to vehicles in real life and automotive games, which would make it familiar for many players.

Finally, I would limit the motion of the reticule, at least in the zoomed-in mode. If the players need to look around at their environments, the game allows players to exit the vehicle at any time. It simply does not make sense to allow players to aim for targets they cannot hit.

If those few changes were made, areas with the Mako would be more fun. Players could concentrate on the gameplay instead of fighting the controls. Hopefully, players of Mass Effect sequels will be able to avoid the frustrations many have felt due to the current design flaws.  

With the increasing online component of many games, it comes as no surprise that achievements and points have become a measure of gamer status. Instead of just beating a game, you can now prove how much effort you invested in optional aspects of the game, such as sidequests or special types of kills. You can instantly compare the achievements you unlocked to the achievements of your friends.

I haven’t been able to sink my teeth into an Xbox 360 game since my brief fling with Eternal Sonata. I grew tired of the disproportionate percentage of time spent in repetitive battles so my 360 began gathering dust. Fortunately, a friend gave me Mass Effect. I began playing it at his house and was blown away by the first hour. Unsure of the ability to transfer saves off my memory card, I didn’t play more until I was back home.

When I got home, I was excited to learn that I could transfer my save and soon jumped back into Mass Effect. I was excited about the idea of getting achievements, as my gamerscore was quite low and I wanted to prove that I was a real gamer. Five hours into Mass Effect, I became a spectre. This achievement is essential to the progression of the game and I had read online that it would unlock an Xbox achievement. When my achievement pop-up didn’t appear, I was a little concerned but decided to wait in case it was tied into a later event. One hour later, no achievement had appeared. After some research online, I discovered that I was a good distance past the spectre achievement and I had somehow missed it.

I called Xbox help and explained how I had transferred the save from a different profile on a memory card. Unfortunately, the two representatives I talked to did not mention the most important detail: you can’t unlock achievements from a save that was not created on your profile. I was torn. Was it worth re-playing five hours of a game I would likely spend 25-30 hours playing? I was very thorough the first time and hated to lose my progress. However, this was likely one of the only games I would be motivated to finish on the 360, and it would be sad to lose those points.

Part of me was frustrated with myself for caring so much about Xbox achievements. After all, weren’t they just a device to feed my ego and spur competition? People have played games for years and still do without worrying about being rewarded outside the game. Have measures of success become more than just a motivational tool? Have rewards for the game become more important than the game itself?

After careful deliberation, I decided to play Mass Effect again from the beginning. Even if achievements didn’t exist for older games, the achievements are available for Mass Effect and I wanted to show off the effort I put into the game. While I should focus on enjoying the game for what it is, it’s still nice to have a little ego boost by periodically earning a few points. The best part about playing those five hours again was that I didn’t mind diving into such a beautiful and well-crafted story after just playing it. Mass Effect is so compelling that it is worth playing again.  

I’m not a huge fan of RTS games, but I had heard good things about Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. “It’s not exactly an RTS,” my friend said. “It’s fun and I think you’d like it.” After that, it was hard to say no.

I really enjoyed the first few hours of Revenant Wings. I had grown frustrated with its PS2 RPG predecessor but this DS spinoff was something quite different. It was basically a scaled-down RTS with an FFXII theme. The short mission structure was well suited to my sporadic play sessions on the DS. Since it wasn’t a traditional RPG, the characters didn’t have to be as deep and I could overlook my previous disappointments in the character development. They were cute in their small, retro style and managed to look good despite the limited capabilities for in-game graphics. The entire game was simpler, making it more accessible for a portable game. The brief text and simplified menus kept me focused on the solid missions.

The missions were straightforward and fairly simple to complete. I had no trouble getting past most of them on the first or second try, until one ridiculous side mission. I had been doing all the side missions to level up my characters to prepare for the main story missions. The side mission I got stuck on should have been straightforward. Your team is supposed to capture spawn points. Those areas then become spawn points for your team so you can mobilize forces closer to the other team’s base. Then you can then attack the other team’s hero spawn crystal and kill their heroes once and for all.

I had completed missions like this before with minimal trouble. For some odd reason, I kept getting stuck on this one. I would always be able to get up to the other team’s base, but their two spawn points and hero spawn crystal were a tough combination. One of their heroes would fall. One of my heroes would fall. My team would capture a spawn point. While I was attacking another of their heroes, they’d take the spawn point back. It turned into a stalemate where their heroes would respawn and my heroes would respawn. It seemed as if my team was stronger, but the time it took for my fallen heroes to respawn and return to battle was balancing our sides.

I fought and fought, hoping that I could gain an advantage with gutsy moves. This only led to retreats for my side and I made no progress. However, I wasn’t losing much ground so I continued to play. I played one particular battle while I was on the plane, then while waiting in the baggage claim and on the shuttle ride home. I was so engrossed in the same battle that I almost missed my stop. When I got inside my house, I played for a little while longer and then quit. My stubbornness had kept me in a fruitless battle that was impossible to win.

These types of stalemates are one of the reasons why I avoid RTS games. While Revenant Wings may disguise the troops as cute espers, it’s still an RTS at heart. This does not mean that I will give up. I have enjoyed the rest of the game and it deserves another shot. After all, that mission was just a side mission. The main missions can’t be harder than this.  

I mentioned that I was a tester for THQ this summer, but I couldn’t tell what I was testing. Fortunately, the game I tested has been released. My name’s in the credits and it’s no longer a secret. I tested Avatar: The Burning Earth, mainly on Wii.

The best part about testing a kids game is that, no matter how tired I grew of the it, the game was still silly and fun. I tested in overtime for Conan and Stuntman: Ignition, both of which were somewhat traumatizing on a psychological level. Playing a game like Conan that rewards you for amputations and brutality can mess with your sense of normality. Stuntman: Ignition rewards you for crashing into things, which is not the best game to play until 10 at night before a long commute home. Avatar, on the other hand, encouraged me to use special powers to help save citizens from various cities.

While I was grateful to have been assigned to a game like Avatar, I didn’t think I would have much of a desire to play it once it was released. When I was given a copy for Christmas from a friend, I changed my mind. He wanted to play it with me and see what I had been doing all summer.

Avatar is designed as a co-op game but it can also be played alone. Even when I was testing, it was much more fun to play with someone else. After playing that game 40-70 hours a week, I established a pattern and would play it in a similar way. Adding in another person changes the experience so the game feels new again. They may do something differently than you due to their habits or simply to annoy you. Those variations made us better testers, as we’d discover things we never would have seen. After all, it’s a kids game so why not play like a kid once in a while?

It was a strange feeling to share the game I had worked on so intensely with someone else. I had spent countless hours picking out the flaws in the game, so I was well aware of its strengths and weaknesses. It was hard to resist saying all my favorite lines along with the game. I was surprised to find that I felt a sense of pride. This was the first published title that I had worked on and my first credit. I was officially a member of the game industry due to a half-decent children’s game.

Quality assurance testing is one of the most unique work experiences I’ve had. It gave me a community of gamers who shared inside jokes from a game we couldn't speak about at home. It allowed me to play games in a different way and gain a better understanding of the production process. I don’t plan on returning to QA, but it was a valuable experience and I’m glad to have been a part of Avatar.