Last Saturday, Retro Affect attended Boston Game Loop 2010. Self described as an "unconference", BGL starts with absolutely no plan. Attendees spend a half an hour or so discussing topics they'd like to learn more about, and sessions form from those talks. The schedule is put on a board that morning and voilà! You have yourself a one day conference, jam packed full of sessions that pique your interest.


On the outside it seems haphazard. However, now in its third year with nearly double the attendance from 2009, something is clearly going right. What makes BGL different is its flexibility. Often lectures became discussions, topics changed slightly (for the better!), and genuine experiences were shared.


We had the fortune of showing off (the new) Snapshot for the first time publicly! It felt great to show the game in motion to fresh eyes. The feedback has been incredibly positive and we can't wait to share more. In one session, we gave a tour of our proprietary engine (RAE) that Dave's been cooking up for the past year. Then later, we were able to talk a bit more design as we showed a room full of onlookers the first few levels of Snapshot. Don't worry! We haven't forgotten about our readers, a video tour of our engine is coming soon...


While the conference was without its share of kinks, it's still young and will, without a doubt, get better with each year. Keep an eye on Boston Game Loop!