I was originally supposed to attend GDC for the first time in 2020. Like many people, my plans were canceled barely a few weeks before the event.

Anyway, GDC 2022 is happening in-person for the first time in three years, and I’m going! I’ll write a follow-up post about how it went in a couple weeks (given the pandemic situation, how this event was dealt with should be of high interest). In the meantime, if you happen to also be attending in San Francisco from March 21 – 25, 2022, don’t be afraid to say “hi!” and swap a business card or two. I don’t have anything new to show, but I’m looking for opportunities and collaborators that I can work with as early as this summer.

After two full years, I’m finally getting to travel again. So… yay?

For the past two years, I didn’t even consider travelling. Partly because we weren’t allowed to: planes were shut, international borders were closed. But even when they slowly opened, I was hesitant, due to health concerns and a sense of responsibility.

As far as that goes, I’m optimistic that we’re pretty well ready to be back to normal. There are enough resources to protect us. And at this point, I suspect most everyone who could get sick, has gotten sick. GDC 2022 happens to be taking place at a time when cases are much lower than a couple months ago, so it feels safe-ish.

Not everyone can go, though. Most international borders require a negative test before crossing, which is free in some places, and very expensive in others, and just a plain headache of paperwork for all. Even domestic people I know aren’t going this year: the past few years have affected people’s finances, has given other trips higher priority, and has allowed small local events to take the place of what GDC was intending to do. Based on recent offers to take further discounts off a GDC pass, I suspect attendance will be lower than the organizers’ already-low expectations.

I’m not worried about getting sick. But I am worried about WWIII. Which, despite so much hesitancy to call it as such, I believe has already started.

I don’t personally know anyone in Ukraine. But as a Ukrainian-Canadian, part of a community that had already long suspected the worst from Moscow, I’m devastated to watch events unfold. I’m heartbroken to see how relatively little foreign countries have done to support Ukraine. I check the news every day, and am affected by new anxieties. I was planning this trip to GDC a few months ago, but held off until the last minute to book things after threats of escalation began. I didn’t know if I’d have the stomach to travel and relax. I secretly hoped that the war might have been over by now:, with Ukraine the victor: the latest reports instead suggest this could last several months.

I’ve already donated. I’ve joined shows of support. And I’ll continue to do these things. But aside from traveling to Ukraine myself, there isn’t much more I can do. Studies talk about how to deal with your anxieties by understanding what you don’t have control over, and not worrying about those things. This is how I’ve allowed myself this trip to California. Its’ conference and museums and sites are a pilgrimage I meant to make for a long time. And like a lot of things, I don’t have high hopes for the future: 2023 might, somehow, be worse yet. Best to do things now before I regret missing it.