[Thread]. I’ve made many lifelong friends and met wonderful people. I’ve learned and benefited personally and professionally, but in the end, #GDC is the game industry frat convention any way you look at it.

For many #gamedevs who were bullied or otherwise ostracized socially, there is a transformative moment whwn you “find your tribe”. It’s such a wonderful feeling to realize you were never “the only one who delt this way”.

It is intoxicating! The beautiful minds! Their wonderful and artistic expressions captivate and convince you that “you are home, finally”.

Soon, you start to notice the difference between people who are “in the know” and “go to GDC”. I think of these like the people who witnessed an event of cultural significance. GDC has had those many, many times. They reaffirm your attendance.

If you don’t go to #GDC, you are the “other0. It only takes ine time to feel like you MUST attend and you MUST find a way to speak there. It’s status, plain and simple. You get lost in it all.

It becomes easy to ignore who has and does not have access to the community. You start to think, “If they want in, they have to solve it and get here”. It becomes some shitty entrance exam.

Thinking about the people I’ve known who risked so much to attend and didn’t get the massive return on investment they put out - But they got hooked.

And if we think about what we are hooked on, it always comes back to the people. The sharing of knowledge. That’s why the conference was originally founded. Don’t lose sight of what really captured your imagination: The Community.

That Community still exists abd I believe that it wants to be inclusive. I wants to welcome all minds and souls.
We still have that opportunity. We don’t need GDC, it needs us.

What we need is each other. What we need is support for the spirit of sharing tue community has always had..
What we need, Is a better way.
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