I’ve been to Raleigh a couple times before, but never actually stayed in the city (the previous time was actually in Cary, the neighboring town and home of Epic). So, was nice that this year’s Triangle Game Conference was smack dab in the center of town. And, short of the massive explosion of pollen, it was an enjoyable visit.

For a mostly regionally focused event,  the speaker line-up and range of topics was impressive. Well, given all the great studios in town, it must not have been hard to fill up the grid with local talent. And, the attention to detail was great, like the complimentary snack at the Krispy Kreme next door!

I did a lecture on positive trends in the game industry (eg, process maturity, risk shift with online business models, better understanding of players via user research/usability testing, etc). And, despite being scheduled first thing on day 2 (ie, after the conference party), the room was packed.

Of all the talks, the most impressive was from Chris Gregorio (XDragonX10 Productions), who started his presentation on monetization with three numbers about himself: 15 (his age!), 35 (the millions of plays/views his Flash games have gotten), 45 (the thousands of dollars he’s made).

Some quick photos:


In the dark: Dana Cowley (Epic) and the dude from Havok welcome folks to the pre-TGC IGDA-Triangle chapter party.

 


The impressive (for a regional conference) expo area.

 


Chad Dezern tells the story of Insomniac’s expansion to Raleigh.

 


Day2 keynote John Zuur Platten (The Bureau of Film & Games) discusses his start as a Universal Studios tour guide.

 


Conference director Alexander Macris (Themis Group) leads the final panel on the ubiquity of games. Adam Blumenthal (Curious Sense), John Gaudiosi and Juan Benito (Cooperative Entertainment) discuss.