Eager to help the 2017 Game Developers Conference go off without a hitch, and get free entry to boot? Apply now to be a volunteer Conference Associate (CA), and you can earn the equivalent of an All-Access Pass by putting in roughly 25 hours of on-site work.
Next year GDC 2017 runs from Monday, February 27th through Friday, March 3rd. Applicants who are chosen to be Conference Associates will be given pre-conference assignments and asked to attend a required orientation dinner on Sunday, February 26th. This is a paid position, so you must be eligible to work in the United States.
Furthermore, those accepted into the program are expected to be on-site during conference hours from the start of your pre-conference assignments through the end of the conference on the evening of Friday, March 3rd.
What will you be doing, you ask? CA duties may include guarding doors and scanning badges, monitoring sessions, answering attendees' questions, and more. (You will also be given some free time during the show to attend talks or check out the Expo floor.)
To apply, head over to the GDC 2017 CA application page and read the instructions. The deadline for applications closes at 11:59pm PDT, December 23rd, 2016! Applicants will be notified if they are accepted (or not) by January 5th.
Applications submitted after the positions are filled will be offered the opportunity to be put on the waiting list. Applications will be accepted up until 11:59 pm (Pacific Time, UTC-8) on February 21st for the waiting list.
So now's the time to ask yourself: Do you have what it takes to be a CA? As an example of the ideal CA, we like to share the story the wife of one GDC Europe speaker shared with us, of a GDC Europe 2013 associate who went above and beyond the call of duty -- it's just one of many amazing stories of Conference Associates helping the GDC community:
My husband had some oral surgery awhile ago and had [even more dental issues on the way to GDC Europe]. However, with a Monday morning lecture scheduled, there were very few options for us. He was a trouper and delivered his talk, then turned to me and said "I need a doctor." We then started our journey to find him health care in Germany.
Thankfully, the first person we encountered was an amazing CA named Andre; he brought us down to first aid and upon finding out that we would need to go to a doctor, talked to GDC, then drove us to the doctor and set us all up with an appointment. He came into the room and translated for us, and when our credit cards didn't work (American cards have no chip) he paid for Brian's healthcare, as well as medicine. He then drove Brian back to the hotel, and me back to GDC.
Brian required a return visit the next day at 7am, and Andre picked us up at 6:45am and took us to the doctor again. He also brought us back there the following Friday.
Andre was a savior, without him I have no idea what we would've done. He was so kind and humble, we are both truly touched. It's the small things, like unexpected kindness that count.
For more information on GDC 2017, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas
