People in attendance were able to attend multiple lectures, the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and even tutorials and roundtables. Another attraction was likely the keynote speech by Sid Meier.

This comes on the heels of the announcement that GDC will be in the Moscone Center again next year, starting February 28.

They were able to report “solid profitability” due to reduced cost structures and focused strategies. This is a significant turnaround from last year. Last year, THQ actually lost over $300 million in value and probably had many stockholders running for the hills. This year saw a modest profit of over $1 million. Not awesome, but hey, at least it’s a profit! (This does include a settlement from the termination of the THQ/JAKKS Pacific relationship in regards to producing World Wrestling Entertainment games.)

THQ gained some market share, becoming the #4 independent publisher in the US, and they’ve decided to increase their digital presence with two new digital studios, renaming Juice Games and Rainbow Studios to THQ Digital Studios Warrington and Phoenix, respectively.

These two studios will be creating games exclusively for digital distribution through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Network, and Apple’s App Store. They anticipate the first releases from these studios to occur in 2011.

Being an Indie Game Developer can be extremely satisfying and extremely frustrating. There is a lot to know and many times the developer just wants to see his or her game made.

Now comes some help. Gary Bracey, founder of Digimask, is encouraging visitors to his “Ask I.V” site to ask any business-related question. No matter how simple or naive you may think it is.

“In addition to Gary, we will have other industry specialists involved, such as Martin Brown of Team 17, Mark Morris of Introversion, and we have access to many more so we are in the position of sourcing the best information for the question asked.” says Richard Hill-Whittall, founder of indievision. “We shall also include guest slots with industry lawyers and accountants who will be able to give useful pointers and tips about diverse issues such as IP Protection and Tax Credits.
Networking is one of the most valuable resources in any industry and via the above people we have access to practically all of the key ‘movers and shakers’ in the business.”

The team hopes to help indie studios with questions that crop up on a daily basis and are common. Go to the Indievision website here for more details and information.