GDC2010: A Wonderful Blur, Part 4.
April 14, 2010 10:54 pm Game DevelopmentCLACK. CLACK. CLACK. CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
The near perfect cadence of a woman’s heels down a wood floor of a long hallway.
Of course, I start waking up. It’s hard not to notice the cacophony. I start to wonder, this it Tom’s sister? Or maybe her roommate? But her roommate doesn’t know a stranger is sleeping on her couch. I decide to keep very still and not startle her.
I make sure I’m buried under the covers so I look like a pile of blankets.
CLACK CLACK CLACLACLACK CLACKCLACKCLACK.
Shes in the kitchen now, judging from the distance of the shoe sounds and the rapid shuffling of feet. Then:
CLACLACK.
Pause. Long pause. Okay, she’s probably staring at the couch right now and isn’t sure if someone is there or not. I decide to keep very still.
The pause seems to last forever, then:
CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKClackClackclackclack…
Hurried footsteps back down the hall. To this day I have no idea what she looks like or even how she was dressed. The only thing I can remember of her is the sound of her shoes and later the sounds of her making a cell phone call outside of her apartment which I can only hear bits and pieces of. Something about the airport, which I start worrying about in my sleepy state as I think it was maybe Tom’s sister that I’m hearing and she needs to run to the airport. But Tom and I need a ride to the Moscone center. Oh well, maybe we can get a cab?
Tom’s sister comes out later in the morning. She apologizes for her roommate as she could hear her roommate from her bedroom. I tell her it was no problem, she had no idea I was there anyway. I’m in her place, after all. If I woke up one morning and a complete stranger was on my couch but buried under blankets and not moving, I’d be headed in the garage for the machete.
Eventually, everyone is up. People got hardly any sleep and the night before as people drank quite a bit. I stayed sober but I didn’t get much sleep as we were up late. Everyone wants wake up juice so Four Barrel coffee is where we end up, a neat little coffee shop that feels very modern and very industrial, all in one. The patrons remind me heavily of Seattleites, except no one is dressed for potentially harsh weather. I guess that’s one benefit of living in California.
No one is really saying a word to one another. Everyone in our group is so tired, drained, exhausted. We shamble out, tea and coffee in hand. Neat joint though.
Back into the car, we head to the Moscone center. I go to my room, take a shower, realize my roommate has now checked out. I sent him a text the night before, letting him know not to worry about me, I was out with friends and staying with them. Apparently he was already on a plane when he would have received it.
I make it back to the convention center for the last set of talks. I find that most of the business types have left now, although my old friends are still around. I end up catching lunch with a very old friend of mine, someone who works at a rival company, but oddly enough that fact has never come up between us. He’s working on a sweet handheld game for a mobile device and we trade war stories of our past. It’s good catching up with him, but we end up parting ways.
I go to one last talk. I try to get in touch with some other friends who had to leave or they’d miss their flight. GDC is down to a skeleton crew now. The huge parties and large gatherings with friends are a ghost of past days. The number of nerds dwindle, the talks are over, the convention center is shutting down.
I end up catching up with a co-worker who stuck it out until the end. She’s talking to some people from Disney and Nintendo, I say “Hi,” we chat a bit, trade business cards, the usual. Christie, a good friend of mine who has been at GDC the entire time, her buddy and I decide to meet up for dinner later that night. We go get a snack the the Metreon, check out the arcade, get depressed about the state of the arcade as the two of them spend money on broken Dance Dance Revolution machines and we end up back at our hotels. Nap time.
Wake up, walk to the restaurant. Osha Thai on 3rd street. I get the table, they are a little behind time-wise, but at least I know what I want. Still, the thought of drinking alcohol sounds like the worst idea in the world. I get an amazing seafood dish and a Thai iced tea which hits the spot. Everything I consume at dinner is orange colored but delicious.
After dinner, around 9ish, we say our goodbyes as they are headed out early the next morning. I made plans to hang out with Tom again that night. Turns out his Dad is now in town and they were at dinner, and we were to hang out afterward. What happens next is one of those series of events that is impossible to see coming.
Tom tells me to meet at Sir Francis Drake’s, a nice hotel up by Union Square. I tell them I can be there in 10 minutes. As I start walking over, he updates me that they’ve headed up to the Starlight room at the top of this very well known hotel. The view of the city from this bar is amazing, I’ve been there a few times in the past. Usually it’s pretty chill. He tells me “Let them know you’re with our party.” Sure. No problem.
I get to the hotel, and things are getting a little crazy. Lots of MILFs around all dressed up in party dresses. Hmmm. I find my way to the tiny elevator and cram in with about 10 other people. Its packed, but I’m the only one going to the top. Whew. I thought there would be a lot of people going up there with me. Time to relax tonight.
After everyone is off, the elevator climbs. I start hearing thumping. Is that the elevator or club music?
The door opens and I’m hit with a shockwave of sound.
THUDunTHUDunTHUDunTHUDun.
Yep, club music. Its crazy up here. People in suits, ladies in cocktail dresses, people bumping into and spilling drinks over each other. No, its not just crazy, its a mad house. Chaos.
I’m confused. I thought it was going to be a relaxed night. I make my way to the front where the greeter tells me there’s a cover charge even with my party. $10. Not a big deal, but I can’t believe that Tom and his family would be up here. There must be a mistake.
I try calling them near the elevators, they don’t answer. I wait a bit and try again. Then Tom whispers in my ear, scaring the shit out of me. He snuck up behind me like he always does.
“Hey sorry, didn’t know there would be a cover charge… we’re over here!” I pay the lady the $10 and head over to the table they have set up. I’m completely rattled.
It’s just as insane where they are sitting. People are on the dance floor. Ke$ha is bumping and some nearby cougars are singing it word for word and even acting out parts of the song. “Pedicure on our toes, toes!” while pointing at their feet.
I sit down and meet up with Tom, his wife, his sister and now his father. His father has an accent I don’t recognize and he’s wearing a nice suit and a nice watch. Tom you see, is a concept artist who lives in downtown LA in his loft apartment and has no accent. He and his dad look and act like two totally different people. Its almost bizarre but it works. The apple fell very far from the tree it seems.
Tom’s dad turns out to be awesome. I order one beer to ease the nerves. Ahh, to think I almost hated drinking. Then another beer. Some drinks are spilled. Tom’s wife catches me up on their day. Another beer. Club music replaced by live jazz musician. Tom’s sister and Tom’s wife go to dance after trying to convince us to go. They come back 30 seconds later because they get molested on the dance floor. Tom’s Dad and I talk about how awesome Octoberfest in Germany is and how I should go. A last round is ordered which I turn down and another drink is spilled. Thank goodness for the spill, as everyone is pretty gone by this point. Well, I’m three beers in, which means my head is still clear. They are three glasses of wine and at least three gin and tonics in. Yikes. Tomorrow will be painful for them.
I offer to pay but Tom’s dad refuses my money. A true gentleman. We get in the elevator and some guy who was coked out talks about going to get it on with some other guys wife and asks us if we have any cocaine. We just stare at him, not saying a word and he gets out of the elevator with two women under his arms. I couldn’t figure that one out myself. No one talks about it afterwards.
We get off the elevator and start walking a few blocks to drop off Tom’s Dad as his hotel. After arriving, everyone needs to relive themselves. We hit the head and some guy is throwing up in the hotel bathroom. His buddy is standing outside of the stall with a sour look on his face. I tell him he’s going to feel that the next day and I tell his buddy he’s a good friend. He seems appreciative, we wash our hands and walk out.
Back in the lobby, Tom’s sister and father arguing about when to pick him up tomorrow. He had a limo ordered to take him to the pier, he needed to leave by a certain time, we want to pick up him later, lets change the time, no that won’t work, so on, and so fourth. Tom tries to compromise, eventually forces the issues, and we end up leaving. Everyone is mildly happy with the outcome. This is the last I see of Tom’s father.
We get a cab, back to Tom’s sisters place. I end up in the front, the cab driver I think was Russian, and listing to clubby, fast techno the entire trip, not saying a word. Tom’s sister and wife are going on about the events of the evening while Tom and I tune out for a bit.
Back at Tom’s sister’s place. We chill out a again, watch Netflix streaming movies and shows on the laptop on the stool again, I sleep on the couch again. This time Tom’s sister tells me, her roommate isn’t there. Everyone is really drunk except for me. The only thing we need to worry about tomorrow is getting me to the hotel in time to shower and checkout. Then we are to meet Tom’s dad for lunch on the pier, which ends up not happening as it turns out, the limo time couldn’t get changed.
Another interesting day in San Fransisco. Tomorrow turns out to be the best one, or at least the most memorable.