Above is a photo I took during last year's Game Connect Asia Pacific. It's about multi-threading, which is fascinating (and scary) as hell to a programmer, but a sleeping pill in slide form to the common person.

Yet, this is the type of presentation you can expect from the conference. It's not eGames. Or Go3. Or Atomic Live. For every Steve Fawkner chatting about casual and hardcore games or Martin Slater giving APIs a bum rap, there's your not-so-enthralling discussions on inverse kinematics and Z-buffering: The 3rd Dimension.

Having coded the odd program, edited a gaming tech magazine and now a gaming blog, there aren't many presentations at GCAP I don't get something out of, either professionally or personally.

But GCAP isn't the same event it once was. Over the last few years, it's become harder for me to justify the trip to Melbourne (Brisbane this year). Game Connect was once called AGDC, or the Australian Game Developers Conference. As AGDC, it was run by the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. I can't say much about the administration of the event, but as a journo and a hobby developer, there was a lot more content to sink my object-orientated fangs in to. The Game Developers Association of Australia is now in control (and has been for a couple of years), and I feel in its attempt to make an honest, for-the-industry event, some important details have been neglected. The debacle with speaker fees is one example.

I believe GCAP is in good hands now, but what the organisers need are suggestions. Ideas. Offers. It's an event that has to be taken seriously. So what I want to know is: If given the chance, would you attend a developer focused event such as Game Connect? And if so, what would you like to see there?

If you're after more information about GCAP, be sure to check out Kotaku AU for last year's coverage and the official website.

Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) is probably the biggest annual event in the country aimed at both seasoned and budding developers. I know I'll be doing my best to get to Brisbane for the conference, even though it's not quite the show it used to be. And the warmer climate makes my fingers sweat.

Say you're an experienced dev. You'd like to go to GCAP and share your hints, tips and valuable advice. Heck, the reason people will be coming to the conference is to hear you, and many others, share your knowledge. Then you find out that, in addition to paying for admission to the conference, you have to pay to speak as well.

Pandemic coder (and part-time console performance judge) Tony Albrecht found himself in this situation. Here's what he had to say:

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