Guidelines

What makes a good submission?
What is the Phase One submission deadline?
What do I need to provide in my submission?
Links to ideal Session Description and Attendee Takeaway examples
What are the session formats?
What does the GDC expect from speakers?
What criteria does the Advisory Board use when reviewig submissions?
What are the benefits of speaking?
How do I propose a vendor-specific session?
When will I be notified of the status of my submission?

What makes a good submission?
To have your proposal reviewed by the Advisory Board, complete the form by the specied date and include the main focus of your talk along with attendee takeaway. Incomplete submissions that are commercial or marketing in nature will not be considered.

Write your submission so that it is easily understood. The Advisory Board has to read several hundred submissions. Get to your point as quickly as possible. Consider what the proposal is about. Why it's interesting? How is it important to game development? What will game developers get out of the session?

Concise language goes a long way. Use of conventional writing standards such as topic and supporting sentences also helps. Please write in third person present tense. For example, "This lecture focuses on 3D graphics." Not, "I want to talk about 3D graphics."

Click here to review the official GDC Style Guide.

What is the Phase One submission deadline?
Monday, August 11 at 11pm (PST).

What do I need to provide in my submission?
(View Submission Form Page One here, Page Two here & Page Three here)
The submission form will ask you for these six key items:

Contact information
Please provide full contact information. The email address* for the speaker is mandatory.

*If you are a PR representative submitting on behalf of a client, you will need to enter the speaker's contact information and email. You will have the chance to enter your contact information in the PR representative field.
Speaker Biography
Tell us about your professional experience in the game industry, including credits and URL.
Speaker History
Tell us about previous speaking engagements and the ratings you may have received.
Session Title
Please be concise. Don't feel the need to be clever. You want attendees to know what they're getting from your session in just a few words. This can be revised at a later date.
Session Description
In 400 words or less describe what the main focus of your session is going to be. Please be specific by giving concrete examples. See links below for examples.
Attendee Takeaway
What NEW information or knowledge will attendees gain from this talk? Remember, most GDC attendees are experts in their field and have attended GDC before. 100 words maximum. See links below for examples.

Links to ideal Session Description and Attendee Takeaway examples

Sample production talk submission

Sample programming talk submission

What are the session formats?
There are five different session formats:

Format	Duration	Description
Lectures	20 minute & 60 minute	Lectures are issue-oriented, provide concrete examples, and contain both practical and theoretical information. The conference offers a limited number of 20-minute slots. One speaker is preferred per lecture.
Panels	60 minute	Panels take many different viewpoints on a topic or issue and combine them in one venue. Debate among panelists is welcome and audience participation should be accounted for.
Roundtables	60 minutes	Roundtables are small peer discussion groups led by one or two moderators and limited to a maximum of 75 attendees. Moderators facilitate conversation and keep the flow of discussion moving. Do not lecture or dictate. Constructive controversy and debate are welcome in roundtables. Topics that are open-ended in nature and promote an exchange of ideas generally work best in this format. Roundtables run up to three times, once a day during the GDC.
Tutorials	One-day -or- Two-day	Tutorials offer in-depth one or two-day sessions on a specific discipline within game development.
Posters	60 minutes	Poster sessions are presented on a one meter sized 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.

What does the GDC expect from speakers?
When you agree to speak at GDC, you are making a commitment to deliver a well prepared talk and to speak on the topic you have proposed. We ask that you do not drastically change the submitted topic or content. The talk you present must be the talk that was submitted and accepted.

You will be evaluated by attendees on how well you delivered your presentation, aim to be among the top 10 presenters for GDC 2009.

We expect our speakers to submit a presentation for the online conference archives.

The submitter also agrees to be available to present his/her session during any day of the GDC.

What criteria does the Board use when reviewing submissions ?
The Advisory Board will review and rate submissions based on the criteria below:

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 speaker selection process is made based on a composite rating drawn from the above criteria. If your submission does not score well, chances are you will not be selected to speak.

What are the benefits of speaking?
The benefits of being a speaker include:

Complimentary registration
- Access to all conference and expo days, including breakfast and lunch
Extensive exposure
- Your name and presentation featured in our conference program and web site
The opportunity to influence your peers and community

How do I propose a vendor-specific session?
We want our talks to be opportunities for professional game developers to share their ideas and experiences. Proposals that are commercial or marketing in nature will not be considered. In general, content specific to proprietary products and technologies is considered sponsored material. The Advisory Board and conference management reserve the right to exercise their editorial discretion. If you would like to publicize a product, please contact our sales team for information on exhibiting and other vendor opportunities, including sponsored sessions.

When will I be notified of the status of my submission?
You will receive an automated email response once your Phase One submission is received. We will notify you of the status of your Phase One submission by early October 2008. If you do not hear from us, please contact Evelyn Donis at edonis@think-services.com.