animation Archives - Reynolds College Blog

Recent Missouri State University graduate Dayton Chambers attended the the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California, March 18-22.

Chambers, who graduated May 2024 with a degree in computer animation, described the experience as “invaluable” because of the information it offered about industry trends, career opportunities and the future of game development.

Conference provides insider perspective

Chambers first learned about the GDC in 2018 from game development friends and knew this was something they wanted to attend one day.

“I always thought of GDC as being one of the best chances of meeting other game developers, learn new skills and technologies and potentially land myself a job,” Chambers explained.

Thanks to a scholarship from Activision, Blizzard and King’s Inclusion in Gaming program, Chambers was awarded an all-access pass to the 2024 conference.

Held in the Moscone Convention Center, the GDC offered a wide variety of learning and networking experiences for attendees, from merchandise and books to round tables and stage events.

An enormous expo hall contained booths “showcasing video games, development tools, and other game related content,” Chambers said.

“I planned out all the talks and events I wanted to attend in advance, along with some breathing room to explore San Francisco,” Chambers said. “I attended most of the animation talks, some LGBTQ+ in gaming talks, some independent game developer talks and so much more.”

Particularly useful to Chambers were the animation roundtables, which provided an insider’s perspective on the industry.

“The animation roundtables…were invaluable for me as an animator trying to break into the game industry,” Chambers explained. “There were animators ranging from students with little to no professional experience to animators with 20+ years of experience in the same room asking and answering questions.”