GDC 2013

[Nachimir]

  On 1/25/2013 at 9:35 PM, SpeedyDesiato said:

pabosher is me!

Sorry! Does this mean I have to buy you two lunches?

[pabosher]

  On 1/26/2013 at 2:59 PM, Nachimir said:

Sorry! Does this mean I have to buy you two lunches?

Hey, if you're offering, who am I to say No?

  On 1/25/2013 at 11:59 PM, Jake said:

Good sandwich that I like, a few blocks away: http://www.thesentinelsf.com/

Man, that looks nice.

  Quote

Also, a Thumbs meetup of some kind sounds like a good idea, if we can swing it.

That sounds like a good idea.

[Murdoc]

Apologies for the late reply. It's also not a complete list and from a perspective of someone who's been here for less than a year. I also realize 90% of this is not in the downtown area, I don't spend a lot of time down there, but if it helps someone, cool.

Restaurants (every day)

http://www.burmasuperstar.com/ - A bit of a wait, but there is an awesome book store nearby to explore while you wait. A must go when in SF.

http://www.bartartine.com/ - Great bakery.

http://www.ferrybuil...arketplace.com/ - A market place with a variety of shops, sort of Granville Island-ish.

Also on Thursdays and Saturdays there is a foodtruck/farmers market around the Ferry building, really good food and a good time.

http://www.porkstorecafe.com/

http://www.yelp.com/...upiter-berkeley - Jupiter Cafe/Pizza/Brewery, but it's in Berkely

http://www.missionbeachcafesf.com/ - Thieves pub across the street as a great caesar too, but never been there in the evening.

http://www.citrusclubsf.com/

http://www.suppenkuche.com/

http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco - Jazz Club, sushi bar, lounge

http://www.littlestarpizza.com/ - Good atmosphere, known for deepdish pizza. Crust is a corn crust, so I find it a bit weird.

http://dosasf.com/ - modern Indian food.

http://www.cafedelapresse.com/

http://www.ragazzasf.com/ - pasta, it's alright

http://www.tonkiang.net/ - Only Chinese food I'll eat outside of China town. SF's chinese food is really bad, so stick with inside china town or skip it, I've gotten sick too many times to chance any new places.

http://missionchinesefood.com/ - I lied actually, this is one of the more modern places that isn't classified as "American" chinese food and is amazingly good.

Restaurants (Brunch)

http://www.stacksrestaurant.com/

http://www.littlegriddlesf.com/

Eddies Cafe (Just an average cafe, cheap, sort of like bons, but tiny)

http://www.lunaparksf.com/

Restaurants (Fancy-sh)

After making this list I realize I haven't been eating very "upscale" while I've been here, so not many recommendations on this front.

http://www.nopasf.com/

http://www.barcrudo.com/ - Seafood, so I can't comment, but met the owners and everyone in my area loves it.

Coffee

http://fourbarrelcoffee.com/

http://www.bluebottlecoffee.com/

http://www.philzcoffee.com/

Bars

http://www.alembicbar.com/

http://www.magnoliapub.com/

http://hobsonschoice.com/

http://www.nocnocs.com/

http://www.toronado.com/

http://www.2sistersbarandbooks.com/ - Awesome cocktails, tiny space, close to suppenkuche.

http://smugglerscovesf.com/trapdoor/ - Rum bar to end all rum bars. Looks like a smugglers den on the insider, no sign on the outside.

http://socialstudysf.com/

http://www.fatangelsf.com/ -Wine Bar

http://www.pressclubsf.com/

http://www.thehouseofshields.com/

http://www.bullittsf.com/

http://www.bigfootlodgesf.com/ - Thought this place was cool, they light the bar on fire at night, but the bartender was rude to my friends, so I dunno.

http://www.yelp.com/...a-san-francisco - Go through to the back and there is another place called the Hideout. Awesome mixed drinks.

http://www.monkskettle.com/

http://www.zeitgeistsf.com/

http://www.bendersbar.com/ -deep frys almost everything

http://www.sfpalace.com/ - Palace Hotel Lounge features an original 12 foot Maxfield Parrish painting

Tsunami Sushi - Honestly, I think the sushi in SF is subpar from Vancouver. This place is good, but I'm listing it under bars because while it serves decent Sushi, it's also a whisky bar with a huge selection.

Theater

http://www.castrotheatre.com/ - Go see any movie that is playing here, they are usually old, sometimes not interesting, but you need to see this theatre.

[pabosher]

oh hell yes you are great

[Jake]

Sentinel is a sandwich line only, there's nowhere to sit.

Murdoc has some good stuff on there.

[Nachimir]

Thanks for all the recommendations, especially Murdoc!

 

I've made them into a map:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=205592103042162482186.0004d562fbf751ddd4904&msa=0&ll=37.779263,-122.428379&spn=0.11614,0.222988

[pabosher]

Woo! It's nearly here!

My friend and I are currently in San Fran, and have all of Saturday free to ourselves. What should we do on this rare free pre-GDC day?

[melmer]

Binge on sandwiches

[Twig]

Oh man I'm looking forward to a GDC where I'm not trying to impress people to get a job! FINALLY.

 

Also, I regularly eat at a ton of delicious food places about ten minutes north of Moscone (which is also where I work). If I'm not too lazy tomorrow maybe I'll throw some of those in the pile.

[pabosher]

  On 1/25/2013 at 5:18 PM, tabacco said:

For food?

- Ruchi, 3rd and Bryant also (South Indian food)

- The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, 2nd and South Park (You can guess their menu)

- 21st Amendment, 2nd and South Park also (Brewery/Restaurant)

- Farmer Brown's Little Skillet, Ritch between Townsend and Brannan (Fried chicken and waffles)

 

Went to Ruchi this evening. Had the Chicken house special dish and may have burned my face off. Was good though!

[Drewcifer]

I landed in San Fran Thursday morning, I'm staying with a friend in Oakland. This is my first time going to GDC (also my first time anywhere on the West Coast). I didn't get the volunteer position sadly, but I got a Summits pass and will be attending the entire Game Narrative Summit.

 

These food recomendations are great, I love a good bite. And the meet-up has got to happen, but I'm mostly looking forward to the chance to talk with other designers/people in the industry. I'm from a small town in New Jersey and the development community is quite lacking, so being able to geek out with other people who know what they're talking about is going to be amazing.

 

Also, I'm probably gonna get star-struck a couple times! There are some people going who I can't wait to meet...

[Frenetic Pony]

Faaascinating, I'll be in SF on Saturday next week probably, if any of you are still there.

 

Wish I was going, all those graphics talks are useful every year, but I've got to wait until they're online

[subbes]

Meetup thread.

[Cult of Jared]

An odd thing happened, and I suddenly ended up with a GDC pass for the last day. So now I'm throwing together a resume, and trying to figure out which talks are worthwhile. Thing is, I'm working by smell here. So I figured I'd throw this to the peanut gallery at the last minute. If you help me here I will buy you a beer. 

 

Who are you going to see? Who would you see? What do I need to know? Will USPS take beer?

 

Help me Thumbs, you and Unicorn-Obama are my only hope.

[Noyb]

  On 3/29/2013 at 4:31 AM, Cult of Jared said:

An odd thing happened, and I suddenly ended up with a GDC pass for the last day. So now I'm throwing together a resume, and trying to figure out which talks are worthwhile. Thing is, I'm working by smell here. So I figured I'd throw this to the peanut gallery at the last minute. If you help me here I will buy you a beer. 

 

Who are you going to see? Who would you see? What do I need to know? Will USPS take beer?

 

Help me Thumbs, you and Unicorn-Obama are my only hope.

 

Caveat: I don't know what your pass covers and I haven't actually been to GDC before and this reflects mostly my personal interests

10:00am - Emily Short (author of tons of great story-focused games) or Doug Wilson (developer of JS Joust)

12:00pm -  professional programmer's panel with Anna Kipnis (Double Fine programmer) and others

2:50 - Indie Game Postmortems at 2:50 (Anna Anthropy is a great speaker)

4:00pm - Breaking into the Game Biz, starring Jake Rodkin

 

(Or The Experimental Gameplay Workshop from 2:30-4:30, if you're fine with missing the last two)

 

And make sure to check out the IGF pavilion!

[Cult of Jared]

  On 3/29/2013 at 8:30 AM, Noyb said:

Caveat: I don't know what your pass covers and I haven't actually been to GDC before and this reflects mostly my personal interests

10:00am - Emily Short (author of tons of great story-focused games) or Doug Wilson (developer of JS Joust)

12:00pm -  professional programmer's panel with Anna Kipnis (Double Fine programmer) and others

2:50 - Indie Game Postmortems at 2:50 (Anna Anthropy is a great speaker)

4:00pm - Breaking into the Game Biz, starring Jake Rodkin

 

(Or The Experimental Gameplay Workshop from 2:30-4:30, if you're fine with missing the last two)

 

And make sure to check out the IGF pavilion!

 

Thanks! Turns out the badge was expo only, but I still got to talk to employers, see the IGF pavillion, and invade the personal space of Steve Gaynor. That last one was exciting for one of us. Sorry Gaynor.

 

This is a long shot, but if you live in place I can get to, I will buy you that beer.

[Cleinhun]

I considered asking for the hot scoop on Gone Home, but decided against it.

[youmeyou]

GDC's #1ReasonWhy talk has gone up:

 

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1018080/

 

Lots of really fascinating and intense testimonials. A great addition to the ongoing discussion.