On March 7, 2025, UT Game Development and Design (GDAD), in conjunction with the school-sponsored student organization, the Electronic Game Developers Society (EGaDS!), hosted its first ever official South by Southwest (SXSW) event.
“GDC²” is an annual event hosted by EGaDS!, with the mission of bringing the local Austin gaming community together to exchange ideas, guide, and prepare young game developers to break into the game industry. The name of the event is a play on words, representing both the inspiration for the event (the California-based Game Developers’ Conference) and the name of the building (the Gates-Dell Complex) on the UT Austin campus where EGaDS! hosts the event.
On March 7, 2025, EGaDS! and the GDAD Program opened the two-day event with a career fair, featuring individuals representing Unity, Thursday Strategy, Far Bridge, Pocket Worlds, and more. Shortly thereafter, EGaDS! President, Zayaan Rahman, delivered the opening address, followed by keynote speaker, Jimmy Xu. Xu discussed the future of gaming by leveraging his experience as the co-founder and current CTO of Pocket Worlds, and stressed the value of creating a social aspect within games. This discussion was followed by a conversation led by Gracie Arenas Strittmatter, Supervising Director at EA Sports, where she shared opportunities available at EA and how to prepare for an entry-level career in the industry.
On March 8, 2025, GDC² opened with a speech by Zach Hoffman titled “How to win 100% of your Game Jams.” Zach Hoffman shared how he won Pirate Software’s 14th Game Jam despite being self-taught and having a background being predominantly health-related. Hoffman organized his suggestions based on a 14-day timeline, suggesting that teams prioritize “unique interpretations” of the jam’s prompt, and playtest often. Hoffman stated that “the only way to lose a game jam is by having a bad time,” and that regardless of results, students should look forward to learning new skills and connecting with their peers.
Following Hoffman, Virginia Leo, Composer and Sound Designer for Team Terrible, led a live demonstration in preparing audio contributions for a video game when given a tight schedule. This was then followed by a game showcase featuring both EGaDS! and GDAD students, and celebrated a variety of game genres and styles. Throughout the showcase, industry members, SXSW attendees, and student game developers had the opportunity to test and vote on their favorite game; this year, the winner was Glitch Janitor by student Pascal Garcia.
To close the event, Melody Geiger, Co-Founder and Producer of Merge Conflict Studios, shared her insights in starting a game studio. This was then followed by a conversation led by Craig Allen, Snackshop CEO, on the use of AI in gaming. Allen discussed potential opportunities related to artificial intelligence, and addressed concerns regarding its influence on the human element.
Throughout GDC², students had the opportunity to learn from high-level industry professionals, and network with their peers and potential employers. “GDC² has been an annual event of EGaDS! for a long time, but this year’s was unprecedented due to our official partnership with South x Southwest,” stated Zayaan Rahman, president of EGaDS!. “We’re super thrilled that GDC² is going to be even bigger and better next year, and invite all game developers and gamers to join us in 2026.”
The Game Development and Design (GDAD) Program at The University of Texas at Austin is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program between the departments of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, Computer Science, and Radio-Television-Film. The program produces graduates ready to design, develop, and provide leadership for the exploding growth in game, metaverse applications, and creative media agencies and studios in Texas and around the world.
