🎮🧑💻🎠 GDCarousel Thank Yous & The Future
A week since carousel rides & GDC, so I hope you all recovered and got home safe!
Thank You!
I'm thankful that we all got a chance to have a break and have some uncomplicated joy together. For the over a thousand of you that took over 1,131 rides, thank you for spending part of your day on the carousel.
There are a few people who helped make the Game Developer Carousel possible and are deserving of the utmost thanks from me.
Without the folks at the Children's Creativity Museum making sure the carousel ran smoothly and safely for everyone, this event wouldn't be possible. Ruby and Dave ran the carousel for longer than their normal operating hours and made sure everyone had a great time. Thanks to the support staff who insure the safe operation and maintenance of the carousel.
Thanks to Starr Noir for creating the logo and visual look of Game Developer Carousel, and to Scooter of CoyoteSigns for fabricating the signage.
Thanks to Avery for lunch 🍔 and the wonderful stranger who gave me a boba. 🧋
If you have photos or video to share: Email the links to me! I sadly didn't take many photos.
What Happens Next?
Obviously this should happen again. Subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when plans are locked in.
Next year I want one or two individuals to financially sponsor the Game Developer Carousel. Then I can use my resources for an immersive experience in addition to the carousel. Game Developer Carousel shouldn't be funded by a corporate sponsor. Sharing kindness should come from individual without the assumption of being "sold" something.
To be clear: I will still run the logistics of producing the event. The price point is doable for folks in a decent financial situation, so please email me if you are interested in making the carousel ride again.
There's a lot that the immersive design community has to offer and to introduce to the video game developer community. Like the GDC event I produced at the Rathskeller in 2017, I want to create a side quest that is unexpected from normal offerings of GDC, but short and accessible to all who desire adventure.
How do we reach you, Seg?
My website links you to all the ways to contact me, so feel free to give me a follow. You can also reach me at seg@gdcarousel.com. Ask me about immersive experiences and theme parks, especially if your video game IP is exploring these fields of entertainment!
Notes For Next Year
What follows are current learnings from this year that I'd like to share for the record. This is based off feedback and observations I made, but please email your feedback to me!
Thursday is the Correct Day
If picking one day of GDC for the carousel, Thursday is the correct day. No one day will be best for every person, but it's the right balance of people in attendance while not distracted by opening expo day.
It's an open question to start when the expo floor opened at 10am, but closing at 6pm was the right call.
Very Low Wait Times
No one waited more than the current ride cycle to board, at most was 8 minutes. A full experience was no longer than 15 minutes.
Carousels are "people eaters" in that they have a high number of rides per hour. In theory the carousel can handle 260 rides per hour. The average ridership for GDCarousel was 162 rides per hour.
Assign a Line Manager
I broke a personal rule: Never assign myself a job when producing an event. This isn't to be lazy; It's so I do tasks not anticipated.
I'm a immersive house manager and thrive on making sure guests have a great time. But I wasn't able to spend time with folks, manage the line, and providing for my own needs at the same time. The operators deeply appreciated having a line manager, so next year someone will have that job, allowing me to jump in for their breaks.
On-Site Social Media
I barely seen photos and video; More than what was taken during the day. Part of this is assigning an individual for social media. Part of this is communicating the #GDCarousel hashtag for search.
Communicate Accessibility More
While there are a number of individuals that use mobility aids at GDC, no one who rode the carousel used the accessibility aids the carousel provides. I see this as a missed opportunity to have more people ride.
The carousel itself is ready for a number of accessibility needs, the challenge is to communicate that everyone is welcomed.
What Else?
Again, please contact me if you have anything more to share about how the carousel went for you.
See you on the carousel!
The Game Developer Carousel is a project of whimsy by John "Seg" Seggerson.
🎮 🧑💻 🎠