GDC Prime kicks off...with bacon and eggs

SAN FRANCISCO--This morning, the two-day GDC Prime, a parallel event to GDC which presents a single, executive level track of presentations, launched with a media breakfast. In addition to some nationally known reporters and editors, including Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News and Chris Morris of CNN/Money (center photo, Takahashi on the left), the low key nosh also collected a crop of new- and old-school movers and shakers from the game industry.

Craig Allen, founder of Spark Unlimited, design expert Mark Cerny, Eidos tech boss Julien Merceron, and Junction Point founder Warren Spector chatted up the journalists on hand. GDC program director Jamil Moledina started his day at the breakfast, as did Acclaim's Howard Marks and Dave Perry (photo at left, Marks on left). Best known as the founder of Shiny, Perry is currently working on a number of projects for Acclaim, including 2Moons and Project: Top Secret.

Mark Long of Zombie Studios chatted up a graphic novel-to-game project he is working on, and there was the constant chatter surrounding Sony and the day's Phil Harrison keynote. "Why doesn't Sony just fess up say the launch was a failure," one industry source asked rhetorically. "Not their style," was the response from another. Also attending the breakfast were Hal Halpin, founder of the Entertainment Consumer Association and Ian Bogost, assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology (pictured at right, Halpin on the left).

At the end of the breakfast, held at the W Hotel, the invited journalists made their way to the exits as GDC Prime is a journalist-free event. Not that those on hand took it personally, given the plethora of sessions yet to cover at GDC's main digs, Moscone West.