Indie Train Jam 2017 and GDC17

March was an intense month for me. After we signed the contract with our new publisher Digital Smash for the upcoming release of our game, it was time for Kevin and I to pack our things and to go to the USA for the Game Developers Conference. At the same time, the Nintendo Switch was about to release March the 3rd and it was a really good occasion to get it for 50CHF cheaper than in Switzerland. Nintendo announced a conference at the GDC (I could not attend it, I had to many things to do) but here is a link:

However I went to see the post-mortem of Civilization by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley. It was amazing to see the two game designers talking about the birth of this game series. I took 5 pages of notes just from this presentation. You can find it on the vault: http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024294/Classic-Game-Postmortem-Sid-Meier

But before the GDC, I went for the second time to the Indie Train Jam from Chicago to San Francisco! Last year, I could not sleep well in the train, so I was worried on how I could sleep well. Fortunately this time, I slept well enough. I also did music for a team, making it a relaxing jam. Here is a photo of the team:

If you are looking carefully, you should recognise Jeremy Spillmann from Switzerland. Yes, this year I was not the only Swiss in the train. With this team, we made the game Take Your Shot, a duel game with a twist for pacific players. Here are some more photos from the train:

 

Then it was time to setup the GDC booth and go to Game Connection America. The #SwissGames booth was all covered in red carpet, we were in the complete end of the booth in the corner, probably not the best place, because not that many people were going through this part. On the other hand, Game Connection America was mostly a B2B  event, pretty boring compared to GDC, so I figured out I could train my soft corporate skills. At least, the venue was in a Baseball stadium:

So when Game Connection America was over, I was ready for GDC at the #SwissGames booth. I met some very interesting people, networked hard. We went to meet Nintendo to get Splash Blast Panic to go on the Switch. And of course, I did the queue to get a Switch on Friday the 3rd:

But I got one! As soon as the GDC was over, Soufian and I went on a road trip to California Highway One, before I took the plane back home to Geneva. Here are some photos:

Then I was on my way home, saving the Hyrule Kingdom.