Name:
Darius Kazemi

Current Job Title:
Data Analyst

Current Employer:
Turbine, Inc.

Credits:
Dungeons & Dragons Online (PC), MassBalance (Web)

Current Project:
Lord of the Rings Online

GDC Geek Summary:
"A generally useful guy to know."

Why did you get into the industry?:
I was in a game development club during my undergraduate years. I wasn't sure I wanted to be a game developer until I attended my first GDC. I knew just from talking to all the game developers that I wanted to be a part of the industry.

Favorite game:
A tie between Jagged Alliance 2, Deus Ex, and Amplitude.

Why do you attend GDC?:
It's the best week of the year for me, both professionally (for obvious reasons) and personally (for all my friends I see once a year at GDC).

How many GDCs?
'03, '04, '05, '06, and I'm ready for '07.

What are you most looking forward to at GDC 2007?
The IGDA Education SIG is running a two-day Curriculum workshop--since I'm helping run it, I can't wait to see how it unfolds. Also, I always look forward to seeing my conference buddies.

Top nugget of wisdom to share with other attendees of GDC?
Attend at least one roundtable during the week. It's the only type of session where you end up learning something about everyone in the room, which means you'll probably find someone you'll want to approach and talk to after the roundtable. It's a good place to forge friendships!

Favorite GDC Session, Topic or Speaker?
Jon Blow's Experimental Gameplay session is the one session that I never, ever miss. Not only do you get to see a survey of the latest in experimental gameplay (both released and in-development), but you also are surrounded by
hundreds of other people who like experimental games just as much as you do! A slice of heaven on this terrestrial orb, if you ask me.