Latest News

Game Developers Conference 2012 show organizers have unveiled a trio of newer sessions for the Localization Summit, featuring Square Enix on multi-language development, Crytek on minimizing risk, and a series of microtalks on the key issues surrounding game localization.

These sessions join a number of other exciting talks for the event's Localization Summit, which will cover topics ranging from emerging translation strategies, tips for maximizing ROI, and how to expand a game's global reach.

As one of GDC 2012's eight specialized Summits, the Localization Summit will take place during the first two days of the show -- from Monday, March 5 through Tuesday, March 6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Those interested in checking out any of the Summit content can do so by registering for an All Access or Summits & Tutorials pass on the official GDC website.

Here are the newest localization-focused talks to be added to GDC 2012's lineup:

- In "Audio Localization Done Right: Simultaneous Scripting and Recording," Square Enix audio programmer Hikaru Taniyama and localization translator Masaharu Shibayama will showcase the Final Fantasy creator's internal localization tool to demonstrate how to enable simultaneous audio script translation and multi-language recording. Through this presentation, the speakers will demonstrate some key tips for streamlining the localization process and allocating developer resources.

- Elsewhere, Crytek localization manager Judith Matz will shed some light on what localization entails, and what other developers should take care of before the process takes place. The talk, titled "Crysis Management: Localization from a Developer's Perspective," will pinpoint critical localization risks that arise during game production, and will offer some strategies to prevent these risks from turning into real disasters.

- Finally, the Localization Summit will host its very first series of microtalks on the key issues facing the discipline. During "Localization Microtalks: Around the World with Five Topics in Sixty Minutes," speakers from U-Trax, NekoNeko, GamersFirst, Quirkat, and Monotype Imaging will discuss marketing, typographic considerations, indie adaptations, and much more.

Today, Game Developers Conference 2012 show organizers have chosen to detail the brand-new Games for Change @ GDC Summit, which features talks with Eidos life president Ian Livingstone, Sojo Studios on its charity-focused WeTopia, a panel of designers on how games can explore love as a thematic focus, and more.

This new Summit, scheduled for Tuesday, March 6th, and organized in partnership with the non-profit group Games for Change, will examine how video games can serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts.

In addition, the Summit gives funders, NGOs, government agencies, and educators a chance to meet and collaborate with some of the leading developers from the independent and commercial sector to further the development of games that promote social good.

Those interested in checking out the notable content within Games for Change @ GDC can do so by registering for an All Access for Summits & Tutorials pass on the official GDC website passes page.

The following are some of the major talks on offer at Games for Change @ GDC:

- In "From Dungeons to Downing Street - How Games are Growing Up for Good!," Games Workshop co-founder and Eidos life president Ian Livingstone will outline how video games can help players learn about solving puzzles, making decisions, and more. He will also discuss his efforts to demonstrate the positive elements of video games, and improve the perception of the industry within the UK government.

- Elsewhere, Sojo Studios founder and CEO Lincoln Brown will detail WeTopia, a recent social game that donates much of its profits to charitable organizations around the world. The talk, "WeTopia: Game Companies & Nonprofits Creating New Business Models," will examine the game's hybrid business model and its numerous relationships with private investment partners and non-profit charity groups.

- In the panel, "How Designing for Love Can Change the World," six notable game designers will explore how video games can explore love as a primary thematic element. Within this session, speakers such as Social Chocolate's Jane McGonigal and Chelsea Howe, Zoonami's Martin Hollis, Heart Shaped Games' Scott Brodie, The Tiniest Shark's Mitu Khandaker, and Namco Bandai's Michael Molinari will work with UC Santa Cruz's Jane Pinckard to explore how game mechanics can revolve around love and affection, how these games can affect a player's emotions, and more.

- According to Jan L. Plass from NYU's Games for Learning Institute, even the most educational-focused video games need finely-tuned mechanics to capture a player's attention. In his talk, "AAA Game Mechanics Inspiring Learning and Assessment Mechanics," he will consider what educational games can learn from blockbuster, AAA releases, and will showcase some strategies for designing game mechanics based on the learning sciences.

Game Developers Conference 2012 show organizers have revealed major new Japanese-helmed talks giving postmortems of Super Mario 3D Land and Resident Evil Revelations, also detailing the other translated talks for the event.

Once again this year, GDC is the only Western conference to feature a series of Japanese-language talks from some of the region's most influential developers. In order to bring this content to GDC's English-speaking attendees, the show has partnered with prominent localization firm 8-4, which has sourced speakers and will provide simultaneous English translations for all of these Japanese talks.

With this expanded partnership, GDC has ramped up the amount and quality of the simultaneously translated Japanese and English presentations. These talks will all take place between March 7 through March 9 in the San Francisco Moscone Center's North Hall, Room 132, and are part of GDC's robust Main Conference.

Here are the latest Japanese-language talks to be featured at GDC 2012, including two major new announcements:

- As part of GDC's Game Design track, Nintendo game director Koichi Hayashida will detail the use of stereoscopic visuals drove the design and development of the recent 3DS hit Super Mario 3D Land. In his talk, "Thinking In 3D: The Development of Super Mario 3D Land," Hayashida will share his insight on developing for and understanding the fundamentals of 3D-enabled devices. In addition, he will share several key development philosophies learned from Mario creator and legendary Nintendo designer, Shigeru Miyamoto.

- Elsewhere in the Game Design track, Capcom producer Masachika Kawata will host "Revealing the Truth About Resident Evil Revelations." Here, he will explain why Capcom chose to bring this major franchise to Nintendo's newest 3DS handheld, and will delve into how the team made some key changes to the game's controls and design, while maintaining the series' classic survival horror feel.

- In yet another Game Design talk, Mikio Watanabe, the vice president and COO of shoot 'em up game developer Cave, will host "Retro and Japanese Social Games on Smartphones." This session will detail how Cave adapted several of its classic bullet-hell shooters to modern smartphones, while simultaneously exploring the current Japanese mobile game business, and what Western developers should be careful of when bringing their games to Japan.

In addition to the above sessions, GDC 2012 will also feature translated Japanese-language talks featuring Groove Coaster and Space Invaders Infinity Gene creator Reisuke Ishida on unique game design, Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune on the future of Japanese development, Sony's Yoshiaki Yamaguchi on developing Gravity Rush for the PlayStation Vita, and a special Classic Game Postmortem from Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada.

The Game Developers Conference will continue its examination of the industry's most influential landmark titles as the Classic Game Postmortem series returns to the show's Main Conference for a second consecutive year.

After its acclaimed debut as part of GDC's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration last year, the series returns to GDC 2012 with postmortems of the original editions of seminal games such as Alone in the Dark with designer Frederick Raynal, Fallout with producer, lead programmer and designer Tim Cain, Gauntlet with creator Ed Logg and Harvest Moon with producer and co-designer Yasuhiro Wada.

As part of GDC 2012, these talks will take place March 5 through March 9 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. The following are the notable Classic Game Postmortem talks to be featured at the upcoming show:

- Infogrames' atmospheric 1992 action-adventure title Alone in the Dark is widely considered the forefather of the survival horror genre, establishing conventions like claustrophobic areas, stories revealed through expository items, and giving players limited ammunition to deal with hordes of monsters.

Its cinematic presentation and fixed third-person camera angles went on to influence many non-survival horror releases, too. Alone in the Dark's designer Frederick Raynal will share how he and his team crafted the seminal game and helped spawn a genre that still scares millions today.

- The Fallout series has changed development or publishing hands a number of times (most recently to Bethesda Softworks), switched perspectives, and jumped from turn-based to real-time gameplay, but the series' survival and consistently high quality games are a testament to the strengths of the original.

Interplay Entertainment's first Fallout in 1997 offered players a post-apocalyptic open world filled with distinctive characters, moral dilemmas, and quests that could be solved in multiple, oftentimes-unconventional ways. Tim Cain, producer, lead programmer, and one of the primary designers for the beloved game who is now at work at Obsidian on the new South Park RPG, will deliver a talk on how he helped create a franchise that set a new standard for open-world RPGs and still resonates with players.

- Atari's 1985 title Gauntlet was the first video game to bring the now-pervasive multiplayer feature of class-based heroes to arcades and later to consoles. The game also was one of the pioneers of the co-op dungeon crawling/looting game.

Ed Logg, designer of Gauntlet who was also responsible for helping to design ground-breaking games including Super Breakout, Asteroids, Centipede, and Millipede, will share his thoughts on creating the game that popularized the phrase "Wizard needs food badly" and paved the way for class-dependent experiences like World of Warcraft, Phantasy Star Online, and others.

For today's update regarding the 2012 Game Developers Conference, show organizers are revealing initial information on a series of sponsored Developer Days, showcasing numerous talks from major companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Unity, and more.

Taking place on the first two days (Monday, March 5th and Tuesday, March 6th) of the San Francisco show, these full-day sponsored developer events offer GDC attendees a chance to learn about key development tools and platforms directly from the companies that make them.

These events are open to attendees with Summits & Tutorials and All Access passes -- to register for your own, please visit the official GDC website.

Without further ado, here are a selection of the sponsored Developer Days to be featured at GDC 2012:

- Offering a robust lineup on its latest game-focused tech, Google will host two separate Developer Days, going in-depth with web- and Android-based development, respectively. Each of these events will help attendees become even more familiar with Google's game platforms and technologies, and will feature some key development tactics for leveraging Google+, YouTube, mobile platforms, and more.

- Elsewhere, engine developer Unity Technologies will host a number of case studies, tutorials, and other sessions to help attendees better make use of the company's popular development tools. Along the way, the event's speakers will help developers focus their Unity-based projects and better position their games in front of their target audiences.

- At Microsoft's dedicated event, the company will present numerous sessions on the latest developments with Xbox Live, Windows 8, Windows Phone, and more. These presentations will detail new and upcoming services for these platforms, including new APIs, cloud-based storage, asynchronous gaming, and much more.

- With Facebook gaming quickly becoming one of the industry's most influential markets, the company behind the social networking giant will host a series of talks detailing how to better integrate social apps with Facebook's newest services. Throughout these sessions, attendees will learn the fundamentals of social game development, and will get an in-depth look at how to better leverage Facebook's new Timeline and Open Graph features.

Deus Ex game director and producer, and Disney Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCAs) for his contributions to the art and science of games. The Game Developers Choice Awards, held at GDC yearly, are the leading peer-based video game industry awards celebrating the industry's top games and developers.
With a career in games spanning nearly 30 years, Warren Spector has earned a reputation in the industry as a seminal designer and a champion for the proper execution of ideas in video games.
His work on the career-defining Deus Ex took place while he was serving as a partner at development company Ion Storm and running their Austin-based office. Upon its release in 2000, Deus Ex received wide critical and industry acclaim and in 2009 was named "Best PC Game of All Time" among a list of 100 other titles in PC Gamer magazine.
In 2004 Spector left Ion Storm and the following year established Austin-based video game development firm Junction Point. Junction Point was acquired by Disney Interactive Studios in 2007. Immediately following, Spector began leading the design of Disney Epic Mickey, which released in 2010 and marked his first title as part of Disney Interactive Studios.
The game featured Spector's hallmark style of choice and consequence gaming, which he refers to as "Playstyle Matters," and was praised for its unique storyline, charming art design and tribute it paid to 80 years of rich Disney history.

Since beginning his gaming career at Steve Jackson Games in 1983, Spector has played a key role when it comes to redefining genres. As a producer and designer on titles like TSR, Inc.'s Top Secret/S.I. and Marvel Super Heroes, ORIGIN's award-winning Ultima game series, including Ultima Worlds of Adventure: Martian Dreams, Ultima VII: Serpent Isle and Ultima Underworld, as well as Looking Glass Technologies' critically-acclaimed System Shock, Spector demonstrated his ability to open up new avenues in the role-playing arena and provide players with a fresh gameplay experience.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole, and Warren Spector, who has earned a sterling reputation as an innovator able to merge the deep gameplay elements of multiple genres, stands as a shining example of those principles.

"Warren, whose rarified 'big picture' thinking and ideals have done a great deal for the games industry, exemplifies the exact qualities that a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient should possess," said Meggan Scavio, general manager of GDC Events at UBM TechWeb. "In presenting him with this honor, we continue a tradition of highlighting individuals whose work stands as a benchmark for the next generation of developers."