By Kimari Rennis

Day 4 – Mar 21

10:00 AM PST

I attended the “Ticket to Redemption: How CD PROJEKT RED Utilized Technical Support Data and Insights to Improve ‘Cyberpunk 2077’” talk given by Karolina Niewęgłowska. This session gave us context as to what went wrong during the release of Cyberpunk 2077 and the process for restructuring the studio to restore its unity in an initiaitive called Red 2.0.

With two Jira boards, staff monitoring the Cyberpunk 2077 Reddit page and game community, and diligently tracking the bugs and player feedback constantly given to them, CDPR was able to systematically fix the game and improve what they had created, earning their redemption.

From this talk, I learned a lot about what it takes to rebuild after things go awry and it was moving to not only experience it in real-time with as the news unfolded years ago, but to hear the recap and behind-the-scenes aspect from Karolina at GDC. 

Toward the end of the talk where she was going over the praise the team was given after three long years of development to transform CD PROJEKT RED and Cyberpunk 2077, I could hear the relief, pride, and raw emotion from having worked on this endeavor in Karolina’s voice. Supported by her colleagues in the front row, I couldn’t but ask to snap of picture of the CD PROJEKT RED team together. 

11:30 AM PST

Feeling newly inspired to make games myself again, I attended the Starting A Game Studio roundtable. I was a little disappointed that we only got to talk about the importance of establishing core values and a mission statement as all companies should. But it was lovely to hear about the personal experiences people had with making their studios, managing their employees, and the mistakes they made along the way. I was reassured knowing that whatever questions or support I would need were I ever to make a studio in the future, the games industry is filled with knowledgeable people happy who would be able to share what they know.

3:00 PM PST

For my FISHGUN talk, I donned my appropriately vibrant vacation shark shirt and gave a presentation about the chaotic first-person arena shooter I helped create at the NYU Game Center.  Snuggled right behind the New York State games booth in the Expo Hall, I talked about how we were able to create a game so ridiculous and unserious in a serious and focused manner.

I walked the audience and curious bystanders through our enemy design, art pipeline, playtesting methods, production plan, and community development, showcasing the journey our team went through creating this game.

6:00 PM PST

To round off the evening, I attended Unity’s Education and Industry Mixer where we got to hear Joy Horvath’s  announcement of Unity’s Elevate Program. Elevate is one of the many ways to remedy the volatility of the games industry. Elevate will do this by partnering with game studios to understand what they look for in candidates and making resources and training related to those roles easily accessible to entry-level and junior job seekers so they are taken more seriously in the hiring process.

From the audience applause, I could gauge that many were happy to see Unity leading the charge of shifting the trajectory of the games industry by giving entry-level candidates a fighting chance in an increasingly competitive industry and keeping them ahead of the curve when it comes to hard skills and the frequent evolution of the roles they apply for.

Day 5 – Mar 22

10:30 AM PST 

The Diversity Org, a New York based nonprofit with global reach exposing young people to career opportunities in the tech industry, held a Student Day event at GDC. High school students from six different schools filled the room and got to ask their most burning questions about the games industry.

Before the room of curious high schoolers was a panel of industry veterans from companies like Brass Lion Entertainment and Activision Blizzard, talking about what they do, and how they got where they were. It’s important for high school students to begin to learn about what it means to have a career in video games – but the process should begin even younger – with middle schoolers. These high schoolers certainly enjoyed what they heard.

12:40 PM PST

The Game Production Guild picnic was another highly anticipated event I signed up for way before I had my tickets to GDC. As the name implies, it’s a community of Game Producers that provide mentorship and career support. I only joined recently but already I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge from people who had already produced games in the games industry.

The picnic, hosted on the gorgeous green grass of Yerba Buena Gardens, was a moment for a handful of us to finish off our lunch from neighboring San Francisco restaurants, network, and make friendship bracelets together.

I met some very talented people who I would look up to as I work my way up to being a game producer myself. This was also the first time I made a friendship bracelet and I think mine came out very well.

Claire Barilla from the Game Production Guild and I found time to talk in Yerba Buena Park.

Reflections And Wrap-Up

Sunday, 7 PM EST

I’m back home in New York City now. My first time attending GDC was an unforgettable week filled with memories I will treasure for a long time. It was thrilling to be in a space overflowing with people that cared about the work they did in games. They were so welcoming to people like me aspiring to join their ranks and make a splash.

GDC reminded me how small the games industry is. There were students from the NYU Game Center that I see nearly everyday back in New York, people from communities I’m a part of like the Game Production Guild, and friendly faces that I either talked to online or worked with before. And there were the many I didn’t know, too – all told over 28,000 people. While going down the escalator of Moscone West I bumped into one of the engineers at Monolith Productions who I had briefly crossed paths with during my internship with Warner Bros. two years prior. The producer I met during one of the production workshops was actually one the heads of the game production guild!

I met a plethora of new people who introduced me to people they knew and I felt like I could see the web that connects everyone in the games industry. So many people know each other and, people are starting to know me. Right now, I feel I’m joining this beautiful ecosystem of game developers that want to learn and help each other win.

I met many students like myself and learned about the game programs from institutions like the University of Utah, Digipen, SCAD, USC, and RIT. If I ever want to pursue higher education, I know people who vouch for their master’s program in game design and interactive media.

GDC 2024 was an opportunity to walk up to anyone I thought was interesting. I could learn from them, introduce myself, and talk to someone who wanted to see me grow. I took that opportunity whenever I could. I was proud to represent the New York Videogame Critics Circle, spreading the good word about what we do for youth in underserved communities.

Because of the Critics Circle, I believe I am part of an industry that stands united through thick and thin and hosts conferences that allow them to support and learn from one another. I’m grateful for the Circle and the games industry and I look forward to attending GDC 2025.

Senior Intern Kimari Rennis, who has been with the NYVGCC for many years, will graduate from the NYU Game Center this semester.

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