Saturday, March 2, 2024
By: Matthew Doucette
Xona Games is returning to GDC after 6 years! Wow.
Connect with us! Meet us!
GDCs!
Here's our past GDC trips, in chronological order:
- GDC 2010 (vids)
- GDC 2011 (vids)
- GDC 2012 (vids)
- GDC 2013 (vids)
- GDC 2014 (vids)
- GDC 2017 (vids)
- GDC 2018 (vids)
- GDC 2024 (vids) — this one!
Check out all Xona Games Conferences for a full listing.
How Has it Been 6 Years?
Our last GDC was in 2018. It is hard to believe this is real.
For my own sake, here's a break down:
- GDC 2010 — our first GDC
- GDC 2011
- GDC 2012
- GDC 2013
- GDC 2014
- GCC 2015 — missed — due to publishing of Score Rush Extended already settled
- GCC 2016 — missed — due to publishing of Score Rush Extended already settled
- GDC 2017
- GDC 2018
- GDC 2019 — missed — due to trip timing / day job
- GDC 2020 — missed — replaced with virtual GDC Summer 2020 due to COVID-19 risk & restrictions
- GDC 2021 — missed — due to COVID-19 risk & restrictions (although held as a hybrid event)
- GDC 2022 — missed — due to COVID-19 risk & restrictions (although held as a hybrid event)
- GDC 2023 — missed — due to day job
- GDC 2024
It's amazing that we only cancelled once missed 6 years of GDC!
*We cancelled GDC in 2019 as the trip landed on the study week (March break) of my day job. It typically lands next to March break which makes for a 2-week trip. Also, NSCC funding was tight. Also, we did not have a game in development. My new NSCC job was taking priority over Xona Games. (P.S. I ended up visiting Seattle on my own time during the summer of 2019!)
Tip About Missing Conferences!
It's been 6 years, but it's 5 GDCs. Off-by-one error!
Here's something to consider whenever you choose to miss an annual conference: Missing it creates a 2 year gap! So, never miss a conference. I recall one of the most impressive things about The Behemoth (Alien Homind, Castle Crashers, Battleblock Theater) -- besides their "We Make Games" tagline -- was they were at every major conference every year. What an awesome indie studio and what awesome dedication. They deserve their successes.
That is all.
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.