5 tips for GDC Tip3: Clothing

22nd Feb 2017

San Franciscan weather is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get. Sun, rain, fog, cold, cool, warm, hot, shade, pools of sunshine; you name it.

San Francisco is a great city whatever the weather, but if you don’t have the right clothing it’s a lot more difficult to make the most of your time there.

The conference centre is, as you would expect, pretty much perfect. Consistent, air-conditioned spaces without windows mean you can’t really go wrong. Outside, however, it’s the sheer variance that can catch people out.

Walking down to the conference centre in the morning it can be positively cool, especially if the marine layer of sea fog hasn’t cleared. Even when the sun is shining, there is a pronounced difference in temperature between areas in shadow and those in the sunlight. Taking a lunchtime break in the Yerba Buena Gardens can be incredibly hot, and you can guarantee all the patches of shade under the trees will have been claimed by those in the know. Walking back to your hotel at the end of the day when the weather is fine can be a very warm experience, but as the sun is occluded by the skyscrapers, the temperature starts to fall very quickly.

So have options – t-shirt or shirt, light jumper or sweatshirt, and a lightweight waterproof coat. Shorts might seem a good idea after a glance out of the window, but you might find yourself feeling the cold before 1000 and after 1800. As mentioned yesterday, having a bag that you can keep your excess items in during the day makes a lot of sense.

Take a hat, my favourite Fjällräven cap always comes with me. For a jacket I have a Karrimor Elite Phantom which is excellent for keeping dry but is still compact. It’s warm enough when it’s cold, but also has zip vents to keep cool when it’s wet and warm.

Don’t forget sunglasses, and sun block as well. It might only be March, but hopefully the sun will be shining on the #gamedev community next week.