Since the “death” of E3, gamers have been searching for different trade shows and events to hold them over between game releases. E3 was the blockbuster of them all; tens of thousands of people all cramped into the L.A. Convention Center to see what was new in the gaming industry. But now that the show has been restructured and dialed down (see: less noise that makes your ears bleed) we have to look for other events to fill the gaping whole that E3 left behind; PAX in the Summer, TGS in the Fall, and beginning tomorrow, GDC 08. More inside…

GDC is a little different than other trade shows though; it isn’t about a bunch of random gamers sitting in a room and playing games together. Instead, GDC focuses on the business side of things; it’s for professionals and industry insiders only, so you can’t just walk in and experience what GDC has to offer unless you’ve got the credentials. It’s a place for game developers, artists, producers, game journalists, and the visionaries who push upon the boundaries of the medium to meet, share ideas, tackle problems, and move the industry forward.

But where does that leave the rest of us? The gamers out there who are starving for new information on their favourite games? Well, you may have noticed that I put game journalists up there in the included list of attendees, so TNB (and whatever other gaming sites you visit, you bloody turncoats) will have you covered with all of the breaking news, conference speeches, interviews, and so on. I’m just hoping Nintendo shows a little of Animal Crossing Wii, but I’m sure once the show is over I’ll be severely disappointed at its absence. Hopefully we’ll also see more of…

Alan Wake
de Blob
Final Fantasy Tactics A2
LittleBigPlanet
Saboteur
Spore

… and whatever else you guys are looking forward to. I’m sure I missed a few.

I’m most interested in hearing the speeches and interviews that come out of GDC though. It’s always wonderful to get inside of a developer’s mind, see what makes them tick, why they’re doing what they’re doing, and what aspects are drawn from their everyday lives that go into their game designs. I like to hear about the people who make the games more than the games themselves most of the time. After all, I find screenshots of Spore far less intriguing than what Will Wright actually has to say about it. I’d still like to see Animal Crossing Wii though, heh heh.

So, depending on how totally awesome GDC is next week, I’ll be posting here about all of the interesting happenings and new info every day. I hope you look forward to it.

Thanks to Cody from 1UP.