GDC Austin Indie, iPhone Summits - A Cog Speaks Out

[Though I don't update my Gamasutra Expert Blog too often, a semi-sekrit GDC Austin pass discount code has roused me from my slumber, to inform and hector.]

Aha, my colleagues at GDC Austin 2009 have just tipped me the wink that they're doing a special discount for latecomers who _just_ want to attend the various Summits on September 15th-16th in beautiful Austin, Texas.

And since I helped to program two of those Summits this year, I've got a vested interest in mentioning this on my Gamasutra Expert Blog. Hopefully, we'll get more interested parties turning up and learning from peers about the art of business of making games in these flowering niches. (No, I don't get a commission.)

Firstly, we've actually completed the line-up for the Indie Game Summit at GDC Austin with a neat latecomer - 2D Boy's Ron Carmel is speaking on 'Beyond the Finish Line of Shipping an Indie Game', discussing "World of Goo's post-release surprises, how they were dealt with, and how they could be better addressed in the future."

The full IGS @ Austin line-up also includes a whole heap of neat local, national, and international indies, including some of the guys behind Bit.Trip Beat, Aquaria, And Yet It Moves, Fantastic Contraption, Age Of Booty, 'Splosion Man, and many more.

There's also an iPhone Games Summit at Austin which the same pass lets you get into, and which I also co-programmed. As well as Randy Smith discussing the making of App Store hit Spider, there's a lot of neat lectures here, too, including accomplished game creators from Booyah, Pangea (Enigmo), Playfirst (Diner Dash), Snappy Touch (Flower Garden), and Newtoy (Chess/Words With Friends), with a day of design/marketing lectures and a day of technical talks.

And, of course, in 'Summits that are also good but I'm not part of programming' news, there's the Game Writers Summit, with a keynote starring all the Valve writers and notable lectures from Eidos Montreal, Sony Online, Red Storm, and Vicarious Visions folks, plus the Game Audio Summit, with a host of notable high-end audio folks discussing making sound for games - you can also flit back and forth between these Summits and the aforementioned ones.

Anyhow, to redeem this offer, go register for the Summits Pass and use the code GDCASUMMIT when checking out. It'll give you access to all Tue-Wed Summits and tutorial sessions, plus the main GDC Austin show floor and official GDC Parties for $299 - which is approx. half of the price you'd pay otherwise - if you register between now and midnight on September 4th. 

[OBLIGATORY FINE PRINT: This offer only applies to new Summits and Tutorial pass purchases made between 8/28-9/4/09. This offer cannot be combined with other offers and cannot be applied retroactively. Thanks!]