GDC 2011 Call for Submissions

Submission Deadline: August 25th

Guidelines| Track Topics & Submission Form | FAQ

Introduction

Phases | Selection Criteria | Speaker Expectations | Tracks | Presentation Formats

The 2011 Game Developers Conference is now soliciting session proposals from speakers with deep industry expertise and a fresh and unique perspective on the state of the videogames industry. If you share our passion and commitment for videogames, submit your proposal by 11:59pm (ET) on Wednesday, August 25th.

Please take a few minutes to read the submission requirements, the process for submitting, the list of topics for each track, and what is expected from you as a speaker.

Submission Requirements

If you want to submit, please take note of the following:

Vendor Specific Proposals
The Game Developers Conference does not accept product or vendor related submissions. If your talk is a thinly-veiled advertisement for a new product, technology or service your company is offering, please do not apply. If you would like to publicize a product, please contact our sales team for information on exhibiting and other vendor opportunities, including sponsored sessions.

All presentations must be submitted by the original authors
We currently only accept submissions by original authors of the presentations. PR firms, speaking relation firms, and all other parties who are not direct authors of submitted presentations are discouraged from submitting a proposal on behalf of their clients/speakers. We require direct contact with presenters to expedite questions during the submission review process.

GDC Summits
If you are interested in submitting for any of the GDC Summits, the call for submission will be made available in the fall. You may contact Jen Steele for more information. Do not submit a proposal to main GDC as it will be declined and will not be considered or reviewed by summit advisors.

PHASE I (July 12 - August 25, 2010)

Initial Open Submission Cycle

Speaker Contact Information
Speaker Biography: Tell us about your professional experience in the game industry
Speaker History: Tell us about past speaking engagements and the ratings you received
Session Title
Session Focus: What topics will be the main focus of your talk? Please be specific by giving concrete examples of content. (400 words max)
Attendee Takeaway: What NEW information or knowledge will you share with the attendee, what will they gain, and/or how will they benefit by attending your session? (100 word max)
Supporting material: you may submit additional materials after completing the online submission form. Additional materials may include but not be limited to items such as white papers, code, demos, videos, images, proof of concept, etc., that may enable us to help decide whether your topic would be appropriate.

Remember, most GDC attendees are experts in their field and have attended GDC before. Your talk must break new ground in some way.

PHASE II (mid-September – November 2010)

First Review and Resubmit Cycle

Advisory Board reviews submissions
Submitters are notified of their status: Declined or Conditionally Accepted
Submitters of Conditionally Accepted talks will be required at this time to prepare a largely complete presentation plan (which includes the presentation materials such as PPT slides) for Phase Three review*

*Note: You are not a fully accepted speaker until your presentation plan is reviewed and approved by the advisory board.

PHASE III (November 2010)

Final Review Cycle

Advisory Board reviews largely complete presentation plans, PPT slides, etc.
Submitters are notified of their final status: Declined or Accepted
Submitters who miss the deadline to submit their presentation plans for review will be automatically declined; exceptions will not be made
Submitters who sent in their presentation plans by the deadline but were not accepted to speak will receive a discount on a conference pass

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Selection Criteria

The Advisory Board will review and rate submissions based on the following criteria:

Concept: This is the basic idea of your submission. Is it interesting? Is it relevant? Will it be beneficial for game developers to hear? There is plenty of room for innovative ideas and also the tried and true.
Depth: Is the basic idea well considered and thought out? To what extent will the audience gain insight? The more in-depth, the better.
Organization: Are your ideas conducive to present in front of an audience? Will the Advisory Board understand what you are trying to say? Organization helps.
Credentials: How do your credentials qualify you to speak on the topic you have proposed?
Takeaway: Is the attendee going to leave this session knowing something they didn't know when they walked in? Are they learning or being inspired? This is the most important aspect of every GDC session.
The submissions will be rated on a one to five scale by each of the reviewers and the resulting scores are averaged. Those submissions in each category with the highest scores are considered first. In the case of topic overlap a lesser scoring submission may be selected to keep variety in the program.

We also have a video on this page to give more insight on how our Advisory Board makes selections from the presentation that are submitted.

Speaker Expectations

Conference attendees are generally very intelligent. They are looking for material that is not obvious and expect excellence from our speakers. After your presentation, they will evaluate it based on delivery, knowledge of the topic and the visuals presented.

Preparation is one of the most important factors in delivering a successful talk at GDC. Please keep the following in mind when you propose to speak:

The proposed outline you submit now must match the talk you actually present at GDC
We suggest that you commit AT LEAST 20 hours to prepare for your session
We strongly encourage that you rehearse the delivery of your session for it to be effective; preferably in front of your peers (one tip is to video tape yourself speaking then review it. This is also a great way to practice pacing and timing)
Your presentation materials must be completed and submitted to us four weeks before the conference

Please note we are ALWAYS here to help you. If you have ANY questions you think we need to cover on this area of our website, please email Evelyn Donis.

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Tracks

Below is the list of tracks that GDC 2011 will focus on. Click on a track for descriptions of the topics solicited by the Advisory Board.

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Presentation Formats

As you can see below, there are multiple time period choices. It's up to you to select the appropriate duration for your session.

Lecture: 25-minute, 60-minute

Lectures are issue-oriented, provide concrete examples, and contain both practical and theoretical information. They are normally 60 minutes long (including answering questions from the audience). We generally prefer only one speaker but we may accept two if you can demonstrate the second person is necessary.

Panel: 60-minute

Panels take many different viewpoints on a topic or issue and combine them in one venue. Debate among panelists (with very different opinions) is most welcome and audience participation time should be accounted for. We prefer 60 minute time slots and panels of no more than 3-5 people.

Roundtable: 60-minute

Roundtables are small peer discussion groups led by one or two moderators and limited to a maximum of 50 attendees. Moderators should facilitate conversation and keep the flow of discussion inspired and moving. They do not lecture or dictate. Constructive controversy and debate are very welcome in roundtables. Topics that are open-ended in nature and promote an exchange of ideas from people likely to have different viewpoints generally work best in this format. Roundtables run up to three times, once a day during the GDC.

Poster: 60-minute

Poster sessions are presented on a one meter tall poster that the presenter is responsible for creating and bringing to the event. This is similar to a traditional lecture, however it is presented in front of the poster (a slide presentation is not needed) to a smaller group of attendees. This type of format gives presenters one-on-one interactions with the attendees.

Tutorial: Full-Day or Two-Day

Tutorials (simply) must teach attendees new skills. Think of this as (informal) classroom training. It can be interactive; you can have them work in teams; you can give them challenges; you can include competitions. The result of the time period MUST be that they'll feel they've learned something truly useful in the world of game development. It can be a skill, an ability, a method or even the mastery of a tool.

NOTE: We do NOT supply any hardware (i.e., laptops) for the attendees. If you need the attendees to bring anything with them, this must be CLEARLY stated in your proposal.

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