Yep. I sure did. I also find it funny that's been the number on question that I've been asked since I got back. No one seems to want to hear about any of the cool technologies I saw, the interesting people I met or the diseases I picked up at the Gamefest orgy. No one.
So, since swag is the number one topic of interest, it is swag you shall hear about.
For me, my number one piece of swag comes in the form of trash. I however, will be hanging on to this piece of trash for life. My conference badge will always have a very special place in my heart. I'm sure someday I'll stop sleeping with it around my neck at night, but it will always be dear to me. When I first draped this around my neck, that's when it finally hit me. I'm here. Here at Gamefest.
Ok, well, now that we've gotten that out of the way and the dramatic music has stopped playing. On to the other swag. They weren't handing out wireless XBox360 controllers or XBox360's at the door, but they did give us some very attractive
Gamefest Bags. I use mine to hold things.
Then inside those bags, every attendee was given a
1GB USB stick that contained every PowerPoint slide and associated media for all of the sessions over the next two days. I plan to use my 1GB USB stick to transport “The Most Awesome Game In The World That I Now Know How To Create After Attending Microsoft Gamefest“ (it's a working title), back and forth between work and home.
Next up, we have
the obligatory notepad. It's just not a Microsoft event if they don't give you something to take notes on (ask
Rory about a particular MSDN event that was held WITHOUT notepads and how disastrous it went). I personally am extremely appreciative that Microsoft includes the paper. I travel without any technology and like to take copious notes. So thanks Microsoft for still supporting us old school geeks. (oh, also in that picture you can see the Gamefest conference guide. That guide was every attendees best friend over the two days of sessions)
I only snagged
one piece of swag from any of the vendor tables. I was trying to limit my natural pack rat behavior and only take things that I might actually use and wouldn't just collect. So, since my wife and I both enjoy playing
Hexic online, why not get a free trial download of the game itself.
I also
grabbed an information pamphlet from
GarageGames. Hearing them talk about how they transported their old engine in to Managed code using the XNA framework was just a tad exciting, so I wanted to have that same sense of excitement while I read about it on the toilet. Well, worth it, recommended reading for everyone. I just wouldn't recommend you read mine. Unless you're cool with toilet germs. Because that's where it was. I read it there. While I was on the toilet.
Ok, last but not least. In an effort to get the attendees to actually turn in their conference evaluations. Everyone who took the time to circle 5's on every page without reading any of the questions was given this awesome Microsoft Gamefest T-shirt (
front and
back) in exchange for the 20-page document of circled 5's.
So there you go. That's my bundle of loot I picked up from Microsoft Gamefest. Now can I PLEASE share some of the other stuff about the conference?