At GDC, I explored cutting-edge tools like ZBrush for iPad and played impressive VR demos like Metro Awakening, which evoked the cinematic intensity of Unreal (1998).
I also checked out indie games, motion capture tech, and cultural showcases — and walked away with a Meta Quest 3S!
Here's what I saw at GDC, first of all Google was there with an Android booth promoting their new tools for Game Developers. Google showcased a range of new tools and initiatives aimed at enhancing game development on the Android platform. Their presence included product demonstrations, meetups, and sessions led by teams from Android, Google Play, Gemini, and Gemma. Google introduced new tools like Vulkan and the Android Dynamic Performance Framework (ADPF) to assist developers in improving graphics and performance in their games. These tools aim to simplify the process of enhancing gaming experiences across the Android ecosystem.
ZBrush for iPad by Maxon looked really professional and deluxe. While I sold my iPad a couple years ago I know would have loved an app like this that let's you shape 3D models and color them with an Apple Pencil. I only had a few minutes with the app but it is full featured like a desktop app with a deep menu full of ways to get specific about how you are modulating the art in front of you. In this photo I drew some lines on the purple headed figure, which was a 3D model. It's good enough to where I could see this being a good tool for a business.
ZBrush for iPad by Maxon brings the renowned digital sculpting experience to the mobile platform, offering artists and designers a comprehensive set of tools optimized for touch and Apple Pencil input. The app includes over 200 of ZBrush's leading digital sculpting brushes and allows for the import of custom brushes, providing a versatile toolkit for detailed 3D modeling and painting. Its user interface is highly customizable, enabling users to arrange tools for a personalized workflow, and supports gesture controls to streamline the creative process. Apple
Performance-wise, ZBrush for iPad leverages the capabilities of modern iPad hardware, with the latest models supporting up to 90+ million polygons per mesh, facilitating the creation of intricate and high-resolution models. The app also offers seamless file sharing with the desktop version of ZBrush, allowing for efficient transfer of projects between devices. Apple
For a visual overview and introduction to ZBrush for iPad, you might find the following video helpful:
Next I went to the Meta booth and I tried the Metro Awakening VR game demo which was totally badass and awesome! I had never played Metro Awakening before but now it is on my wishlist.
I would say that the environment of the game of is reminiscient of Half Life Alyx, but the excitement of the opening scene before the title is reminiscient of the very first Unreal game from 1998.
Meaning that it felt like I was in a very well thought out movie. I'm excited to eventually purchase this game and play it further.
Developed by Vertigo Games, Metro Awakening is a story-driven first-person adventure built exclusively for VR. The game combines atmospheric exploration, stealth, and combat to deliver an immersive experience. Set in 2028, players assume the role of Serdar, a doctor navigating the treacherous tunnels of Moscow's Metro in search of his missing wife. This journey serves as an origin story for Khan, a pivotal character in the Metro universe.
Why is the opening scene of Metro Awakening similarly exciting?
The opening scene of Metro Awakening taps into a very similar emotional and sensory space as Unreal (1998), but updated for modern tech and narrative expectations. Here’s why Metro Awakening's opening hits that same “this is something special” nerve:
🌌 1. Immediate Immersion in a Broken World
Just like Unreal, you wake up in a damaged, enclosed environment — only now it’s a post-apocalyptic Moscow, and you’re in a crumbling underground medical ward or tunnel. It’s intimate, dark, and something’s clearly wrong. The claustrophobia and tension pull you in instantly.
🕯️ 2. Atmosphere Over Action
It doesn’t shove combat in your face. Instead, it immerses you in story and space. Flickering lights, rusted metal, ominous whispers, and minimal HUD — all signal that this isn’t just another shooter. Like Unreal, it uses space and pacing to slowly build dread and curiosity.
🎧 3. Sound & Music as Narrative
The Metro series has always used sound like a storytelling weapon, and Awakening takes it further. The creak of pipes, the drip of water, distant screams — every sound tells you about the world before you even see it. Paired with haunting music that swells emotionally but never overwhelms, it gives the moment weight.
💀 4. A Sense of Loss, Not Just Survival
Like Unreal’s ship full of dead prisoners and scattered logs, Metro Awakening opens with a tone of tragedy. You’re not just a survivor — you’re someone who's waking up to a reality they don’t understand. That feeling of What happened to the world? What happened to me? is deeply engaging.
🧠 5. Presence Through VR
This one’s huge — Awakening is in VR. That means you’re there, in a way Unreal could only simulate back then. Looking around corners, hearing your own breathing, seeing your hands tremble — the immersion is visceral. It’s like being inside Unreal’s Vortex Rikers, but with your whole body.
👁️ 6. Built for Discovery, Not Power Fantasy
Both games reward curiosity. Unreal had you read crew logs; Metro Awakening has you observe, pick up pieces of the past, and slowly understand the stakes. That quiet tension — that feeling of what the hell am I walking into? — is just as potent now as it was in 1998.
So really, Metro Awakening is a spiritual successor in tone: both games drop you into mysterious, dangerous environments where you are not yet powerful, and the first few minutes are about learning to survive, learning to see, and most importantly — feeling the world.
Beyond Meta's VR apps I saw a really cool game called The Bustling World and their booth appeared to celebrate Chinese culture and language. It was lovely.
The Bustling World. This open-world RPG, developed by FireWo Games and published by Lightning Games, is set in a fictional ancient China and offers players a vast array of activities, including farming, crafting, building, management, and exploration. The game aims to provide boundless freedom, allowing players to recruit armies, establish regimes, and engage in diplomacy for an immersive experience. X (formerly Twitter)+4Steam Store+4Steam Community+4
The developers have emphasized creating a dynamic world where NPCs possess rich personal lives and respond uniquely to player interactions, contributing to an evolving and responsive environment. Features such as an innovative planting system with over 60 types of crops and advanced animal husbandry with more than 30 species add depth to the gameplay. Steam Community+2Bleeding Cool News+2Steam Store+2
The booth's celebration of Chinese culture and language reflects the game's dedication to authentically representing its setting. The developers have invested significant effort into capturing the essence of ancient Chinese traditions, as evidenced by their meticulous attention to detail. X (formerly Twitter)
For a visual glimpse into The Bustling World, you might find the following feature trailer insightful:
I tried a demo of an early shooter game from VRAL games at GDC, and it was genuinely fun. I can't sit here and tell you that it was the best game I've ever played before, but it was early, and promising. I'm optimistic that it will turn out to be great.
Discord:
The Discord booth at GDC is always awesome, I took a few photos, you gotta know what discord is in the modern era, it's almost as famous as Meta, and they really went all out this year in terms of decoration.
I told them that their entire booth was a work of art that ought to be re-created in VR. Discord if you are listening, please make a webXR application that let's us post messages and interact with other users in WebXR, connect with the folks at RPI https://rp1.com/spaces/sez-wuaz-sye Discord and RP1 should get married and have a baby because that would be an amazing next generation version of discord.
RP1's advancements in metaverse technology are noteworthy in this context. They've developed a platform capable of hosting large-scale virtual environments, supporting thousands of concurrent users. Their WebXR-based metaverse browser demonstrates the potential for scalable, immersive experiences accessible directly through web browsers. RP1+4Press Release Services+4Auganix.org+4Auganix.orgRP1+1YouTube+1
A collaboration between Discord and RP1 could indeed pave the way for a next-generation communication platform, blending Discord's robust community features with RP1's scalable virtual environments. This synergy could revolutionize online interaction, offering users immersive spaces to connect and collaborate.
Of course I had to stop by at the Meshy booth, who doesn't love using AI to make 3D models?
This is literally part of the future of VR AR and Games. Within about a year, mark my works, there will be something that integrates ThreeJS, Meshy, and ChatGPT or OpenAI to make video games or Virtual Reality apps quick and easy with excellent detail. That's the future folks, and you heard it here first.
Yeah I passed the Qualisys and saw a bunch of cool people performing with motion cap and really advanced technologies, the same kind used in triple A movies and videogames.
At GDC nights I tried a cool little game called Ctrl Alt Destroy, which is like a 2-4 player battle on a 2D square landscape. You had to battle your friends first by moving closer and plugging yourself in to a wall socket, then you try to smack your friends and knock them out of their electric wall socket, meanwhile your friends would try do the same. The game seemed kind of early in it's development, and the developer said it was slow because his laptop didn't have power and so his app was being throttled but otherwise it was cool.
GDC nights was cool. There was a lot of opportunity to see old games, rare games, and never published games.
If you love the games industry you should buy a ticket to attend GDC in San Francisco next year.
VICON was there demoing Mocap and looking professional. VICON, like the other MOCAP company at GDC is an indemand solution used by movie makers and game makers alike to tell stories with realistic motion.
Adobe Substance 3D is an exciting product. I was a fan of Substance 3D before Adobe purchased it, and if you are into 3D modelling and 3D printing I'm sure you are aware of the immense value.
While walking the EXPO floor I tried Pyramids of Ra II for the original Nintendo, it was never published which is a shame because actually it was really cool little game.
You can see in this photo a whole bunch of old Nintendo games that were never released.
At the Video Game History Foundation booth I gave a donation for a really pixelated grey-scale photo of myself using the Game Boy Camera. Honestly I'd rather have my two dollars back. LOL. Joking, but not completely.
I played some weird game from holoIndie "Myriad Death", it was cool but also completely unfair. After I got through the initial dungeon the boss killed me with one hit.
Of course it feels unfair they are using an OP Over Powered Boss as part of the story of the game obviously, it separates the game from the rest of the pack in one sense, and provides some novelty as you now are inspired to figure out a way to defeat this boss who can kill you with one hit.
At the Japanese Pavilian I tried a game called Monokie No Kuni, I caught a fish and my character onscreen looked super pleased with it.
At the India Pavilion I played a gamed called 1000 Deaths and almost finished the first level, I guess it reminded me of Super Mario Galaxy a little bit, hopping between spheres, lot's of jumping. I would say this game is pretty cool, but also pretty challenging.
That was the story of my visit to GDC, oh and I won the Meta raffle, they gave me a Meta Quest 3S.
FYI the last image was AI generated, I do not actually look like this, nor does the Quest 3S look like this. All the rest of the photos are real.