Actual developers, an old-school couch, and a neon pink wig also make appearances.

Of all the conferences I go to each year, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) probably has my favorite vibe. Yes, the show has gotten a bit more "corporate" in recent years, with plenty of big-name publishers using the show to make big announcements or show off upcoming games. But the core of the show is still a few thousand people devoted to making and studying games getting together to talk, learn, and show off cool stuff. More than PAX (and much more than E3), attending GDC gives you the high potential for running in to someone unexpected in a hallway and having a conversation that changes the way you think about a certain genre, or stumbling upon an indie game demo that shows you something you've truly never seen before. For that, I hope the show never changes.

Combat

Two conference-goers enjoy some classic Combat action at the retro arcade set up in the hallway of West Hall's second floor. I thought the ugly '70s couch was a nice, authentic touch.

Kyle Orland

Combat

Two conference-goers enjoy some classic Combat action at the retro arcade set up in the hallway of West Hall's second floor. I thought the ugly '70s couch was a nice, authentic touch.

Kyle Orland
Truly old school

This rare, working, original Vectrex console was part of the classic gaming arcade that attendees could play for free during breaks in the schedule.

Kyle Orland
Please do not touch the revolution

The DualShock 4 and PlayStation 4 Eye were shown behind a thick coat of glass, because God forbid anyone would actually get a chance to hold Sony's "revolutionary" controller...

Kyle Orland
Waiting for somebody?

As you can see, Luigi succeeded in his quest! This guy was really committed to staying in character, saying stuff like "Okey dokey!" and "Yahoo!" in a convincing Luigi voice as I asked him to pose.

Kyle Orland
I <3 the ’80s: GDC style

A woman poses for a "class of GDC" photo, which had attendees dressing up for a stereotypical '80s yearbook shot.

Kyle Orland
And the nominees are...

The IGF pavilion showcased the nominees for GDC's 15th annual International Game Festival.

Florence Ion
Give me a beat

Beat Buddy, which made its public debut at PAX East just before GDC, is a musically driven action adventure game that features an adorable little blue "buddy" as the protagonist.

Florence Ion
Arts and GDCrafts

Some adorable papercraft bottles promoting indie game Thirty Flights of Loving at its IGF booth.

Kyle Orland
Read the instruction manual

A makeshift instruction card helped attendees get a handle on the intriguing Samurai Gunn at the IGF showcase.

Kyle Orland
Button, button, who’s got the button?

AMD was using Sonic 4: Episode 2 promoting some sort of all-in-one flat-screen arcade cabinet solution at its booth. So many buttons!

Kyle Orland
Cat cafe

Nintendo is more than happy to serve coffee to cat-girls. In case you were wondering.

Kyle Orland
Gamer tags

Just a small portion of the (sanctioned) marker graffiti lining the wall alongside the line to try out the Oculus Rift.

Kyle Orland
The need for speed

An attendee takes part in Softlayer's "Server Challenge II," attempting to correctly plug in color-coded CAT-5 cables and insert drive bays faster than any other competitor.

Kyle Orland
Live motion capture

This motion capture actor's every motion was being transmitted live to a wireframe character being displayed high above the show floor.

Kyle Orland
Don’t fret, there’s cosplay

I wish I knew what text message was making this rare GDC cosplayer smile so much.

Kyle Orland
You like me, you really like me

Each year, the Independent Games Festival hands out eight awards to a spectrum of independent developers. Pictured here are the developers behind Kentucky Route Zero and Cardboard Computer.

Florence Ion
Fez designer sighting

Fez designer Phil Fish also made an appearance at the IGF Awards.

Florence Ion
Double fine

Double Fine's Tim Schafer presents at the Game Developers Choice Awards, in which developers were honored by their peers in the community.

Florence Ion
Free your mind

It might look like the happy woman is throwing that helicopter into the air, but it's actually being raised by the mental energies of the dour looking man in the lower left corner.

Kyle Orland
Not Punchout

Riot Games was asking people to punch this boxing bag to prove their programming expertise, or something. Everyone who participated got a cool hat, so there was a line around the booth.

Kyle Orland
This is gonna be huge...

Halo 5: Khaki Force

Kyle Orland
Horsehead riding a missile

Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love free-to-play casual game monetization.

Kyle Orland
Unreal

Simply showing recorded video of Unreal Engine 4 in action was enough to get a walkway-clogging crowd to gather outside Nvidia's booth.

Kyle Orland
The ol’ Gunslinger

This guy is playing Gunslinger Stratos, a Japanese arcade game that involves joining two guns together in various configurations. Don't ask me what it was doing on the GDC show floor.

Kyle Orland
Lunch break

I couldn't tell if this woman was just eating lunch or filming some mo-cap for the next game in the Cooking Mama series, Eating Mama.

Kyle Orland
That’s Glass!

Just wearing Google Glass in the wild was enough to get this Google engineer swarmed by interested onlookers. When I asked, he said it was out of his field of view and not actively being used.

Kyle Orland