Barnett slams GDC for being 'combative and narrow-minded'
"I have to listen to people who say things which I find ultimately stupid," says EA Mythic's creative director
The annual Game Developers Conference is a "combative" experience where developers show off in front of their peers and discuss tired subjects, according to EA Mythic's creative director Paul Barnett.
He said that while some of the session are interesting, there are many attendees he doesn't want to meet, discuss industry subjects with or listen to views he finds "ultimately stupid".
"I'm not going to GDC because it's combative, it's a peacock display and it's full of people who do what I do or want to do what I do or are doing what I do and don't want me to do it anymore," said Barnett, speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun.
"It's not open-minded. It's very narrow-minded. We're all talking about the same thing. We've all sharpened our knives for years at it, so we get into… well, not a fight, but it's always about the same things.
"We talk about design, mechanics, philosophy of design. All I was going to hear about was: WoW and the Activision merger. Whether Spore is going to be any good. How do I get into the games industry? Would you like a job? You're going to be fired. Why don't you start a label?
"While that's interesting, it's not interesting enough. It confuses me. I have to start to explain things I find blindingly obvious. I have to listen to people who say things which I find ultimately stupid. And I have to pay attention to people I don't want to pay attention to," he added.
Barnett acknowledged that his opinions might not be popular with other developers, and that he was mindful that criticising or questioning the annual conference is frowned upon by the development community.
"Mythic wanted me to go there. And I effectively said 'Well, I don’t like GDC'. Which turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Apparently I've now learned that if you're in the games industry, and someone says 'GDC' what you're supposed to do is say lots and lots of lovely things about how wonderful they are," he said.