Las Vegas

This week I'm in Las Vegas, Nevada. Actually, let me back-up a little. I started the journey on Tuesday night. I was heading to Toronto for meetings on Wed. The plan was for me to get a good night's sleep and hit those meetings - catching a plane to Las Vegas that afternoon. Here's what actually happened. A big snow storm hit Boston on Tuesday. This delayed the departure from Logan Airport from 7:45pm until 2:30am. That's right - in the time I waited to get on the plane, I could have driven to Toronto. I arrived at my hotel in Toronto close to 5am. I tried to catch a couple of hours of sleep - and act like I was paying attention in my big meeting (I succeeded). My meeting went long and I ran to the Toronto airport - just to miss the check-in time. I waited there for several more hours and then flew to Las Vegas (via Chicago). The connecting flight was delayed, so that I didn't reach my hotel until 1:30am (4:30am EST). Whew! Are you still with me?

I'm in Vegas this week to attend an industry conference. It's called the DICE Summit. It's a unique gathering of executives and personalities from the gaming industry. It's hosted by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. I was a board member for this organization, back in 2000.

The cost to attend is very high, so you usually get a "cream-of-the-crop" type of attendance. I'm lucky they let me in ; ) I look forward to this event, as the quality of presentations is high. The quality of social networking is also very high. Since the cost is high - you actually get a "goodie bag" of material, when you register. The most interesting item in the bag this year was this:

It's a Wii Remote charger - in the shape of a Rayman Raving Rabbid. This is a character from a VERY fun series of games for the Nintendo Wii. I will proudly display this in my home...only if my wife agrees ; )

The DICE Summit takes place at the Red Rock Casino Resort - which is about 20 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip.

I loved the presentations today - one was about an imagined future where most of society was "gamized" - you earned bonus points or achievements for doing thing - buying the right products, brushing your teeth, watching TV, etc. If you want to know more about this - let me know, as I won't be able to do it justice in this post.

A sample of one of the roundtable discussions at the conference

Today, they also help the Interactive Achievement Awards - sort of the Oscars for videogames. It was hosted by Jay Mohr and was fun to watch awkward game designers try to deliver acceptance speeches.

Although I'm not a fan of Las Vegas - at all - I will say that I love some of the restaurants here. Tonight, I was treated to an amazing meal at Smith & Wollensky's Steakhouse

I had a Cajun Rib Eye steak that was delicious. Normally, I don't order anything with the word "Cajun" in it. I have an intense dislike for very spicy foods. However, this was different - the spice was really reduced, so that you could actually enjoy the steak. Yum...

Tomorrow will the the second - and last - day of conference sessions. From here, I will go to the SF Bay Area on Saturday. More to follow in the next blog post.