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Piracy and discoverability are the top issues facing app developers today, according to new research conducted by the organizers of GDC Next sister event the App Developers Conference.
In order to paint a picture of the app development landscape as it stands right before ADC, more than 250 app creators were surveyed on topics ranging from targeted platforms and app stores to app verticals, monetization methods and more. The full text of the survey results is available for free.
Organized by UBM Tech (also owners of Gamasutra), creators and producers of the largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry conference, the Game Developers Conference, ADC will take place November 5th-7th at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will be co-located with another inaugural event, the future-facing GDC Next.
26% of surveyed devs had their apps pirated; of those with IAP, same percentage saw them hacked

[With the 'first-500' pass deadline almost due for November's GDC Next, GDC's Director of Online Community Patrick Miller reached out to many games industry luminaries to see where they think the future of video games is headed. This interview is the latest installment of a multi-part series that will run up until shortly before the 'future of games' conference, which takes place in Los Angeles, CA from November 5-7, co-located with the App Developers Conference.]
Thomas Bidaux has worn many hats in the game industry; former development director at NCsoft, CEO of online game consulting firm ICO partners, and advisory board member for GDC Next. Read on to find out why he thinks cloud computing, crowdfunding, and user-generated content are key for developing the next generation of games.

[With 'first-500' pass deadline almost due for November's GDC Next, GDC's Director of Online Community Patrick Miller reached out to many games industry luminaries to see where they think the future of video games is headed. This interview is the latest installment of a multi-part series that will run up until shortly before the 'future of games' conference, which takes place in Los Angeles, CA from November 5-7, co-located with the App Developers Conference.]
Ubisoft Blue Byte senior online game supervisor Teut Weidemann has had an extensive career in the games industry. I could introduce him simply by his credits, which span from Turrican, to Panzer Elite, to The Settlers Online, among others. But the name of his upcoming GDC Next talk, "Why Everything in Games Today is Irrelevant" says enough. I spoke to him about why he sees mobile games as the center of the future game industry -- and how he sees the mobile games sector changing over the years.
Patrick Miller: Your talk at GDC Next appears to be pretty bold on the prospects of mobile games as the future of the industry. I've spoken to many devs that are having problems in mobile right now, though, due to discoverability and user acquisition issues, and bottomed-out price expectations (among other concerns). What do you think devs need to do differently to succeed in mobile? What do you think needs to change in the app stores, platforms, hardware etc. to enable a wider variety of devs and games to succeed?

With early-rate pricing rapidly running out, 'future of games' conference GDC Next organizers have revealed Capy Games's Super TIME Force and Team Dakota's Project Spark as the latest two titles included in the 'GDC Next 10' showcase of innovative, yet-to-debut games.
As part of the Los Angeles event's cutting-edge content, each game's creator will be invited to give a world-exclusive talk about the concepting, inspiration, and design behind the title. Each 'GDC Next 10' game has been picked by GDC's organizers as a game to watch for the future -- one that is doing something decidedly different in today's increasingly crowded game market.
This week's first inductee to the Next 10 is Sword & Sworcery developer Capy Games's Super TIME Force [trailer], an upcoming Xbox 360 Live Arcade sidescrolling shooter which Game Informer praised for its "retro style, fun-loving sense of humor, and clever time altering mechanic."
Capy co-founder Nathan Vella's talk 'From Game Jam to Full Game - Super TIME Force & Other Shining Examples' will cover the creative and production challenges they faced while making their game jam project into a game for a major platform -- as well as some of the learnings from other 'game jam to complete title' projects from other studios.

The organizers of the Independent Games Festival, the leading showcase for independent video games worldwide, have announced a renewed agreement with Valve for IGF 2014.
Once again, all IGF Main Competition finalists for this year's event will receive the opportunity to accept a distribution agreement for Steam, a leading platform for distribution in today's burgeoning independent gaming market.

Game Developers Conference Next 2013 organizers have added new sessions to the November "future of games" event in LA, including an exclusive demo-heavy Xbox One Kinect talk, an "evolution of eSports" panel featuring speakers from Riot, Twitch, and Team Dignitas, and another key panel on veteran triple-A developers (from Bungie, EA, and Zynga) going indie.
GDC Next is the spiritual successor to GDC Online. The new event aims to highlight the future of video game development, with tracks including 'Next Generation Game Platforms,' 'Free To Play & New Business Models,' and 'Smartphone & Tablet Games,' as well as cloud and indie game tracks.
It will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Organizers are announcing three new talks today, as follows:
In 'The Next Generation of Kinect,' Microsoft senior software engineer Claude Marais will cover the technical details of the hardware and software for the Xbox One's newest motion controller iteration. The exclusive session will include demonstrations of what developers can do with the new Kinect's high-fidelity natural user input.

[Ahead of November's GDC Next, GDC's Director of Online Community Patrick Miller reached out to many games industry luminaries to see where they think the future of video games is headed. This interview is the fourth installment of a multi-part series that will run up until shortly before the 'future of games' conference, which takes place in Los Angeles, CA from November 5-7, co-located with the App Developers Conference.]
Considering thatgamecompany's standout success with Flower, FlOw, and Journey, it's hard to think of a more forward-looking studio -- so, naturally, when I was tasked with seeking out people to speak with about the future of games, Sunni Pavlovic naturally came to mind.
The thatgamecompany studio manager is giving a talk at this November's GDC Next on "An Experimental Approach to Interactive Entertainment", so I asked her about how her work with TGC has informed her perspective on the future of the industry.