Editing Game Developers Conference (section)

==History==
[[File:GDC 2019.jpg|thumb|Outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco, 2019]]
Originally called the Computer Game Developers Conference, the first conference was organized in April 1988 by [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]] in his [[San Jose, California]]-area living room.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.erasmatazz.com/personal/experiences/the-computer-game-developer.html|title=The Computer Game Developers' Conference – Interactive Storytelling Tools for Writers – Chris Crawford|work=Erasmatazz|date=August 14, 2010|access-date=March 7, 2016|archive-date=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423065237/http://www.erasmatazz.com/personal/experiences/the-computer-game-developer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=DeMaria|first1=Rusel|last2=Wilson|first2=Johnny L.|title=High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games|date=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill/Osborne|location=New York|isbn=0-07-223172-6|page=153|edition=2}}</ref> About twenty-seven designers attended, including [[Don Daglow]], [[Brenda Laurel]], [[Brian Moriarty]], [[Gordon Walton]], Tim Brengle, [[Cliff Johnson (game designer)|Cliff Johnson]], Dave Menconi, and Carol and Ivan Manley. The second conference, held that same year at a [[Holiday Inn]] at [[Milpitas, California|Milpitas]], attracted about 125 developers. Early conference directors included [[Brenda Laurel]], Tim Brengle, Sara Reeder, Dave Menconi, Jeff Johannigman, Stephen Friedman, Chris Crawford, and Stephanie Barrett. Later directors include John Powers, [[Nicky Robinson (game programmer)|Nicky Robinson]], [[Anne Westfall]], Susan Lee-Merrow, and [[Ernest W. Adams]]. In the early years the conference changed venue each year to accommodate its increases in size. Attendance in this period grew from 525 to 2,387. By 1994 the CGDC could afford to sponsor the creation of the [[Computer Game Developers Association]] with Adams as its founding director. [[Miller Freeman, Inc.]] took on the running of the conference in 1996, nearly doubling attendance to 4,000 that year.<ref name=NGen31>{{cite magazine |title=CGDC in Santa Clara: Geeks Get Down |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=31|publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=July 1997|pages=20–21}}</ref> In 2005, the GDC moved to the new [[Moscone Center|Moscone Center West]], in the heart of [[San Francisco]]'s [[South of Market (San Francisco)|SOMA]] district, and reported over 12,000 attendees. The GDC returned to San Jose in 2006, reporting over 12,500 attendees, and moved to San Francisco in 2007 – where the organizers expect it will stay for the foreseeable future. Attendance figures continued to rise in following years, with 18,000 attendees in the 2008 event.<ref>[http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/gdc-2008-breaks-attendance-record-with-over-18k "GDC 2008 Breaks Attendance Record with 18K"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301185014/http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/gdc-2008-breaks-attendance-record-with-over-18k |date=March 1, 2021 }}. [[GameDaily]]. February 28, 2008.</ref> The 2009 Game Developers Conference was held in San Francisco, on March 23–27, 2009.<ref>[http://www.kidzworld.com/article/17061-game-developers-conference-summary "Game Developers Conference Summary"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411055043/http://kidzworld.com/article/17061-game-developers-conference-summary |date=April 11, 2009 }}. Kidzworld.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2009.</ref> The [[IGDA]] awarded 25 scholarships to send qualified students to attend the 2009 GDC.

Crawford continued to give the conference keynote address for the first several years of the conference, including one in the early 1990s where he punctuated a point about game tuning and player involvement by cracking a [[bullwhip]] perilously close to the front row of the audience. Crawford also founded ''The Journal of Computer Game Design'' in 1987 in parallel to beginning the GDC, and served as publisher and editor of the academic-style journal through 1996.

During the late 1990s, the conference expanded from its original strict focus on game design to include topics such as marketing and legal issues.<ref name=NGen31/>

The CGDC changed its name to "Game Developers Conference" in 1999. The GDC has also hosted the [[Spotlight Awards (GDC)|Spotlight Awards]] from 1997 to 1999, the [[Independent Games Festival]] since 1999 and the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] since 2001. The GDC is also used for the annual meeting of the [[International Game Developers Association]] (IGDA).

The [[Independent Games Festival]] (IGF) is the first and largest competition for independent games, and highlights the innovative achievements of developers ranging in size from individuals building PC titles to studio teams creating console downloadable titles. A pool of judges from the game industry selects the finalists and winners, and the individual creators are named as the recipients of the awards. The IGF is managed and developed by [[UBM Technology Group|UBM TechWeb]], the organizer of the GDC.
[[File:GDC Main Stage 2019.jpg|alt=|thumb|GDC Main Stage, 2019]]
The [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] is the game industry's only open, peer-based awards show. Any member of the IGDA may nominate games, and then the membership votes on the finalists. As with the IGF, the individual creators are named as the recipients of the awards. Specialty awards such as Lifetime Achievement and First Penguin are determined by the GDCA committee, and all are revealed at the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony at the GDC. The IGF and the GDCA are presented back to back, in an awards show produced by UBM TechWeb, typically on the Wednesday of the GDC.

UBM TechWeb has added several other events to the GDC in recent years. At the GDC Expo, developers display the latest techniques useful in game development. "GDC Mobile", first held in 2002, focuses on developing games for [[mobile phone]]s. Starting in 2004, the GDC partnered with Game Connection to present Game Connection @ GDC, a live matchmaking service for developers and publishers, which in 2007 expanded to include Game Connection Services for outsourcing and other services. Starting in 2006, the GDC partnered with [[Video Games Live]] to feature their symphonic performance of videogame music as the closing night event. In addition, the GDC has hosted a number of conference-wide game experiments designed by GameLab. The 2017 GDC included a Board Game Design Day, featuring talks from developers and publishers of [[tabletop game]]s on their design processes.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/14/14921754/gdc-vault-pandemic-legacy-mechs-vs-minions-daviau-lang-cantrell-dean | title = Watch all of the board game talks from GDC free online | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = March 14, 2017 | access-date = March 14, 2017 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = March 14, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170314175134/http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/14/14921754/gdc-vault-pandemic-legacy-mechs-vs-minions-daviau-lang-cantrell-dean | url-status = live }}</ref>

UBM TechWeb has also produced several spinoff events. For example, the first GDC Europe (GDCE) was featured at the [[European Computer Trade Show]] (ECTS) in [[London]] between August 31 and September 1, 2001. Other GDC-related events include the Serious Games Summit, first held in 2004 as a GDC tutorial, and spun off as a standalone event in 2005, focusing on developing [[serious game|games]] for practical purposes, such as education, corporate training, military, and health care applications; and the Hollywood and Games Summit in conjunction with [[The Hollywood Reporter]] first held in June 2006. Additional events include the Game Advertising Summit, the Game Outsourcing Summit, the Game Career Seminar, GDC Russia, the China Game Summit, GDC London, the London Games Summit, the London Game Career Fair, and many others. In late 2006, UBM TechWeb acquired The Game Initiative, and now produces the Austin Game Developers Conference.

The 2020 GDC notably was the first to be fully postponed from its planned March 2020 dates, as a result of several companies having pulled out due to fears from the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/28/gdc-postponed-as-multiple-participants-pull-out-over-coronavirus-fears/ | title = GDC 'postponed' as multiple participants pull out over coronavirus fears | first = Jeff | last = Grubb | date = February 28, 2020 | access-date = February 28, 2020 | work = [[Venture Beat]] | archive-date = April 8, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200408220658/https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/28/gdc-postponed-as-multiple-participants-pull-out-over-coronavirus-fears/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Organizers ran the 2020 GDC as a virtual conference and announced GDC Summer as the next live event to take place in August.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/game-developers-conference-2020-announces-virtual-awards-and-talk-schedule | title = Game Developers Conference 2020 announces virtual awards and talk schedule | date = March 10, 2020 | access-date = March 10, 2020 | work = [[Gamasutra]] | archive-date = April 8, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200408220659/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/359319/Game_Developers_Conference_2020_announces_virtual_awards_and_talk_schedule.php | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/gdc-organizers-plan-new-3-day-gdc-summer-event-for-august | title = GDC organizers plan new 3-day GDC Summer event for August | date = March 19, 2020 | access-date = April 21, 2020 | work = [[Gamasutra]] | archive-date = April 14, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200414060209/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/359839/GDC_organizers_plan_new_3day_GDC_Summer_event_for_August.php | url-status = live }}</ref> While initially planning on a mixed in-person and virtual conference for the 2021 event, the organizers dropped the in-person portion in February 2021 due to continued concerns from COVID-19, maintaining the virtual events.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-18-gdc-drops-in-person-plans-for-2021-event | title = GDC drops in-person plans for 2021 event | first = Eric | last = Van Allen | date = February 18, 2021 | accessdate = February 18, 2021 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] | archive-date = February 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210218201412/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-18-gdc-drops-in-person-plans-for-2021-event | url-status = live }}</ref>

===GDC China===
UBM TechWeb brought its flagship event to Shanghai in 2007, where GDC China was held annually until 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gdcchina.cn/|title=游戏开发者大会 • 中国|website=www.gdcchina.cn|access-date=February 10, 2012|archive-date=April 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418202004/http://www.gdcchina.cn/|url-status=live}}</ref>

GDC China hosted the annual Independent Games Festival China (IGF China) from 2009, calling for entries developed by independent game studios and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region. IGF China includes the Independent Games Summit, the Independent Games Festival Pavilion, and the Independent Games Festival Awards Ceremony.<ref>[http://www.gdcchina.cn/events/igf IGF China] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118231250/http://www.gdcchina.cn/events/igf |date=January 18, 2012 }}</ref>