I’m currently sitting in a tutorial at GDC. I love it here.

I’ve always been surprised that many of my coworkers and colleagues don’t like GDC. Some see being sent there almost as a sentence. To me, it’s mandatory – it’s my annual battery recharge. Every talk, I either (a) learn something or (b) end up feeling smart because I already knew that. Either is a nice feeling.

This year, I’m giving 3 roundtables, which will focus on how to get MMOs past fantasy-based combat simulators. The questions to the roundtable will be largely derived from my AGC talk, where I defended fantasy-based MMOs from all the haters. As I keep saying, we keep making fantasy-based combat games for reasons that go far beyond “that’s all we know how to make”.

I also am pleased to note that I’ve finally gotten my first GDC lecture gig, which means after five years of trying, I’ve finally gotten past just running roundtables. My talk is “How to Write Great Design Documents”. Tragically, it is in the very last speaking slot of the conference, which means I expect to be speaking to a half-empty room of people catching a nap before their cab comes to take them to the airport. So if any of you are in town, come and give me a good recommendation.

Travel notes: Spent 4 hours in Dallas. Apparently, there was a broken piece on our plane, which resulted in no water. The fix turned out to be bottled water and moist towelettes.

Also, in my hotel, there’s a magazine called California Fashion, with the headline cover: “Plastic Surgery: How Much is Too Much?” Given the advertisements in the magazine, I wager the article claims there is no practical upper limit.