A festival or a market? There was a lot of talk, but not so much action...

Digital Town was a cool idea but there were so few participants that it was hard to make any real connections. Again, the companies that were represented were selling and mostly selling technology, not content. I had some great conversations and met some nice people but there was not much professional progress to be made.

In general, I found the opportunities to sell very thin and the margin for learning very generic. The situation was compounded by the fact that all the major studios had decided to parcel off their participation in a separate hotel, in private rooms like an aloof aristocracy. In the end, I found the greatest successes were with the people I already knew. Festivals and conventions are always a great excuse to see old friends and Vegas is certainly a unique and fun forum.

So, next year, if you go -- don't expect too much. If you're new to the industry, it's a great place to get an overview. If you're not, you're sure to connect with old colleagues. On the spectrum of seriousness, it's a festival wrapped in a patina of a convention. Unless, of course, your booth's over in that other hotel.

Eric Oldrin is President of Telepathic Transmissions, an entertainment production company dedicated to the exploration of new interactive formats and the digital perfection of traditional animation. Prior to Telepathic, he was senior producer at AtomShockwave, where he developed much of their key content, including Tim Burton's Stainboy and David Lynch's Dumbland. Eric holds a BA in Philosophy from Pomona College and lives in San Francisco.