AnteBralic.com » GDC 2009

San Francisco – The Coast, The Park, The Bridge

Ante — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:44:56 +0000

We continued our walk along the coast, observing the piers that curve and stretch out into the faraway distance.

Alcatraz Island loomed in the distance, our plans already forming to visit it in the following days. Sadly, the tours for the Rock were booked for the whole week of our stay in San Francisco.

Continuing on a road leading to a park, we climbed a steep hill from where we could observe several residential and warehouse buildings (from the looks of it).

The Golden Gate Bridge still graced the panorama.

Finally, we arrived at the park, immediately noticing its palm trees adorning the surrounding open space. I couldn’t help but be drawn to the cloudy sky – the weather was getting worse.

Yet our spirits were high and we once more set off for the bridge.

GDC 2009: San Francisco – Day 1

Ante — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:56:46 +0000

Even though it was my first time in the States, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed at first. The arrival on American soil felt no more than a simple exchange of similar-looking airports. Only upon our departure from the San Francisco Airport did I began noticing the subtle differences: increased presence of security cameras, federal law warning signs, and audio security notifications. The BART transit system from the airport was convenient enough to get us downtown, from where we got ourselves Muni transit weekly passes (I believe Muni might be a cute way of saying “municipal” transit). I couldn’t help but compare San Franciso’s downtown to Toronto’s – the many subtle aesthetic differences raced through my mind. One of the first things that grabbed my attention away from the many tall buildings was a group of four police officers near the BART subway transit station, looking about. Though it might have been an odd instance for that day, rather than a usual occurrence, I felt a strange mix of safety and alertness.

Our travel bags gave us away as tourists in the dense crowd, which innevitably attracted what we later learned was a famous homeless guy of San Francisco. With great enthusiasm, he demanded our attention to show off his knowledge of the downtown area, pointing out some supposedly delicious places to eat. Taken aback by his extreme hospitality, we motioned our urgency to get going, which in retrospect we could have handled differently. The man made sure to point out our lack of tact with a few carefully chosen swear words to send us on our way. We stayed near the police officers during this time, before figuring out where to go next. As if to feel more like we were in Toronto, we chose to have lunch at an Asian restaurant. The food was quite good, though also quite expensive (later we realized how much this was true of groceries as well).

After getting acquainted with our hotel, we decided to explore the piers of Fisherman’s Wharf, known for its various seaside attractions, such as the tour of Alcatraz island, the Aquarium, and the Boudin bread bakery, to name a few. We heard there was a possibility of rain the next day, so we wanted to see as much as we could before GDC. So, we walked in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge, keeping the option to cross it if we felt like it.

What was once a small speck in the distance became a giant walkable treat.

In the end, the scale of our walk became epic.

Note that the image above does not show the path we actually took. With the exception of crossing the bridge, we walked off the road, close to the sea.

GDC 2009: Preparation

Ante — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:20:28 +0000

Last week I spent a week in San Francisco attending the Game Developer’s Conference 2009. I went with two of my friends, Mark and Andrei, who are also my co-workers at FunForged. Our initial plan was to volunteer at the conference, not only because of getting a free all-access pass to the conference, but also because of the abundance of networking opportunities there while meeting other volunteers. Alas, Mark and I did not manage to secure our volunteer positions, which we later understood to be because of the sheer number of applicants, the limited number of available volunteering positions, and the established priority being given to past volunteers (which tend to come back each year). Unlike us two, Andrei, having volunteered at the conference last year, managed to secure his position this year. Because of this, it was not a total loss, as we ended up meeting some of the volunteers Andrei hung out with. Still, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for next year. Hopefully, one of two things will happen before the next GDC: either more volunteer positions become available or less alumni volunteers apply … the former being more likely.

Even though I felt a healthy dose of disappointment after receiving the rejection message (I admit, my hopes were high), I decided to press on, turning next to my savings account. I was happy to note that at the time the conference website offered early bird pricing; however, even the discounted amount was not easy to behold. After much debating – going back and forth between the Expo, Summit, Conference, and All Access passes – Mark and I finally decided to purchase the Conference Pass, coughing up little over $1K CAD. At the time we felt it was a necessary evil; in retrospect, a good investment, but one I am not fond of.

Since Andrei was volunteering, we left for San Francisco two days before the conference started. For Mark and myself, this meant we would be spending four days exploring San Francisco prior to being able to attend the second part of the conference we purchased access to. This arrangement turned out well, as we got to see some cool stuff around San Francisco – albeit, not without a share of perilous adventures along the way.