GDC

The annual Game Developers’ Conference, which I attended as a speaker in 2016 and 2017. It’s the games industry’s largest and most influential conference, as far as American and European branches of the medium are concerned. GDC attracts speakers and attendees from all over, including post-release discussions on big-budget releases and indie showcases, as well…

Train Jam 2017

A grand, game-making adventure from Chicago, Illinois to Emeryville, California. Train Jam is an annual event which precedes the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco. In this, the only year in which I’ve been able to attend, the Amtrak California Zephyr was almost cancelled or diverted due to heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada. As…

Railway-spotting Aboard “California Zephyr”

Trackside sights of- and from Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” route, which I took in late February 2017 whilst participating in Train Jam. This route connects Union Station in Chicago with Emeryville in California, travelling via Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Colorado and Nevada. Passengers can then swap to a coach in order to reach San Francisco. When we…

Chicago ‘L’

Though I only spent some 14 hours in Chicago ahead of Train Jam 2017, that granted me enough time to add a Ventra card to my collection. I also had cause to visit a few stations on the blue, pink and green lines.