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We live in a world that has always been shaped by the media we consume, and with video games growing more popular by the day, their influence is only getting stronger.

And at next month's GDC China in Shanghai, Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies veteran Raph Koster will examine that very topic, noting how games not only affect the world we live in, but also the way we think.

As Koster sees it, video games inherently support certain ways of thinking, and by playing these games, we end up viewing the world through their unique lens, which ultimately affects the society we live in.

During his keynote, "How Games Think," the Playdom VP will examine how games are changing the world, how they influence the way we think, and what that means for our future.

This keynote will be open to GDC China's All Access and Main Conference pass holders. Online registration is now open on the GDC China website, and the show itself will take place November 17-19 at the Shanghai Convention Center in Shanghai, China.

Koster's talk joins numerous other sessions already announced for GDC China. For more information on any of the sessions in the show's growing lineup, check out the "Announced Sessions" page on the show's official website.

[In her Bosslady Blog update for the 2013 cycle, Game Developers Conference events GM Meggan Scavio details the official code of conduct for GDC and all of its related events.]

As the General Manager of all GDC events, I've been looking closely at how we explain to attendees what is -- and is not -- allowed at our shows. So I would like to take a moment to remind you that offensive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated.

As GDC enters its 27th iteration, I want nothing more than for it to remain a place where everyone is welcome, treated equally, and leaves feeling as if it was a week well spent.

I also want people to enjoy themselves -- whether waiting in line for a session, visiting the expo floor, or partaking in drinks at a hotel bar or after-event party. I don't know about you, but I enjoy myself most when I am not being threatened, discriminated against, or fending off unwelcome advances. So don't do that.

And more importantly, if someone tells you that they are bothered by your behavior, stop doing it. As has been the case in the past -- but as we are making absolutely explicit now -- any Game Developers Conference attendee, speaker, press member, or exhibitor behaving offensively or found to be harassing others will have their GDC badge confiscated and be asked to leave. Depending on the severity of the offense, we may consider a multi-year ban from our shows.

All of this only works, of course if you report harassment immediately. Every GDC has a Show Office where you will always find a staff member willing to help. And I can always be reached by email at [email protected], if you don't feel comfortable initiating a report face to face. But it's important that you tell us at the time of the incident while we are onsite and can do something about it.

Our GDC official code of conduct, which is modeled on Open Source Bridge's original, is below. Let's work together to keep GDC an open and safe place for all.

Here is the official Game Developers Conference Code of Conduct:

1. Purpose

GDC believes our community should be truly open for everyone. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, or religion.

This code of conduct outlines our expectations for participant behavior as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

We invite all sponsors, volunteers, speakers, attendees, media, exhibitors and other participants to help us realize a safe and positive conference experience for everyone.

2. Expected behavior

- Be considerate, respectful, and collaborative.

- Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory or harassing behavior and speech.

- Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. Alert conference organizers if you notice a dangerous situation or someone in distress.

3. Unacceptable behavior

Unacceptable behaviors include: intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning conduct by any attendees of GDC and related events. Many GDC venues are shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.

Harassment includes: offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability; inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces (including presentation slides); deliberate intimidation, stalking or following; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

[GDC organizers have digitized and made available for free on GDC Vault classic videos from Game Developers Conference 2004 on the debut of XNA, the essentials of behavioral game design, and more.]

This edition of Tales from the Vault looks back to 2004, where a Microsoft keynote announces and demos the XNA software development platform, a programming lecture from Sony PlayStation R&D focuses on simulating character animations, and a game design lecture ties heavily with behavioral psychology.

In the Microsoft keynote titled 'Turning Innovation into Impact', executives Robbie Bach and J Allard discuss the importance of software in game development amid surging development costs and consumer expectations.

Those wants in 2004 seem similar to what they are today: games of epic scale, more immersion, and more online social connection. The challenge escalates as consumers expect to pay the same price for each game, when development costs were already exceeding $5 million per title.

Allard says that it's software, not hardware, that is the "key that unlocks the potential" of developers and can move the industry forward. During this presentation, he announced and demoed the XNA software development platform that the second generation Xbox console would be firmly rooted in.

The Microsoft team used third-party testimonials to evoke hope in the future of XNA, too. Among those, Valve's Gabe Newell professes that "XNA combines the power of the PC and the power of the consoles into a best of breed platform." [GDC Vault free video]

Next, in the programming lecture 'Practical Physics for Articulated Characters', Vangelis Kokkevis from Sony PlayStation R&D speaks about using physical simulations as a source of animation for a skeleton. Kokkevis echoes the sentiment that hardware and its speed are not the issue with getting character animations up to the same quality of game visuals. He says the key is to find the appropriate algorithms.

These algorithms should produce character animations that respond naturally to typically unpredictable user input and to interactions between characters and between characters and the environment. He goes through the pros and cons of a series of algorithms his team implemented to build a simulator and arrive at these goals. [GDC Vault free video]

Next March's Game Developers Conference 2013 is now starting to take shape, and those interested in attending can secure their passes now, as online registration is now open for the major industry event.

You can register for the show by visiting the info page on the official GDC 2013 website, and discounted Early Bird pricing will remain in effect until February 13. If you're looking to host a Summit presentation at the 2013 event, however, be sure to act soon, as GDC 2013's call for Summit submissions will close tomorrow, October 23, at 11:59pm ET.

The GDC Summits, which take place the first two days of the five day conference, are one and two day events that cover relevant topics in emerging sectors of the game industry, with a focus on broadening the scope of games to incorporate new audiences, new platforms and new gameplay ideas.

This year, the show will add three new Summits to its robust lineup: The Game Narrative Summit, the QA Summit, and the Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit. (Submissions for the GDC 2013 Main Conference have already closed.)

The Game Narrative Summit comes to GDC in San Francisco after being held for seven years at GDC Online in Austin, Texas. The two day program covers interactive narrative in all its forms, from AAA blockbusters to indie games to transmedia projects. The summit is looking to feature an all-star lineup of speakers from every corner of the discipline, with session content ranging from the advanced and theoretical for writers, designers and others seeking to hone their skills.

The introduction of the QA Summit, meanwhile, marks the first time that the GDC will have dedicated content to quality assurance, which is a critical component in game development. Since there is no standard methodology to QA, this summit will discuss new and/or current tools, processes and organization methods being used in QA today and to show how QA is an integral part of development.

Finally, the Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit (the successor to the Social & Online Games Summit) will be taking submissions covering a range of topics relating to free-to-play (F2P) titles - from postmortems on new and successful F2P games, to the latest and greatest monetization techniques, to lessons learned in designing F2P titles from the ground up, to experiences on social features, among other pressing trends that F2P developers face.

In August, the game industry lost one of its pioneer artists with the passing of Paul H. Steed, who served as a major 3D modeler for the Quake and Wing Commander series.

He served as an Advisory Board member for the Game Developers Conference for a number of years, and now the Board is highlighting, via the official GDC website, a memorial fund to support his family in this tragic time.

Steed spent more than two decades working as a video game artist, and had served on the GDC Advisory board for several years. In addition to working on some of the industry's most influential and critically-acclaimed titles, he also helped other game artists hone their craft with his Thinking Outside the Box column for Loonygames, and his numerous books on animating and modeling 3D characters.

"Unlike most of us, Steed didn't labor in obscurity. If you were involved in games during the '90s -- whether as a professional or as a fan -- it was hard not to pay attention to Paul Steed. He worked on some of the seminal titles of the decade, notably the Wing Commander series and the Quake series," recalled Steve Theodore, a GDC Advisory Board member and technical art director at Undead Labs.

"He produced the first demo for Xbox 360, presented a Game Career Seminar keynote at the Game Developers Conference, and was a leading exponent of art outsourcing -- proving that he could remain topical for nearly two decades. Always outspoken and always controversial, he was not a typical game artist -- but he was the most public exemplar of what we do for people both inside and outside the business."

As part of the continuing "Tales from the GDC Vault" series, the Game Developers Conference presents a new batch of classic lectures from the show's past.

GDC Europe and GDC Online have come and gone, but there can never be too much GDC content, so "Tales from the GDC Vault" returns with three new free talks from roughly a decade ago.

These lectures include a look at the development of Halo: Combat Evolved, lessons on building MMO worlds such as Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, and a keynote on the shifting importance of computer graphics pioneers at the turn of the millennium.

First, Marty O'Donnell, Jaime Griesemer, and Mat Noguchi from Bungie speak at GDC 2003 in 'Halo: Development Evolved' about how experimentation and communication were key to designing, engineering and scoring the first Halo. The members describe how they rapidly concepted and prototyped level, character, and gameplay designs to figure out which direction they wanted to go.

The team even touches on some development lore, discussing how Halo was a real-time strategy game and third-person title before it finally became a first-person shooter. [GDC Vault free video]

Going further back in time to GDC 2001, Raph Koster and Rich Vogel (both of whose credits include Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies) give an advanced lecture in 'Design Patterns for Massively Multiplayer Environments'. According to their recipe, online worlds need a spatial environment of a virtual world (not just a gaming lobby), some kind of persona or avatar, and a sense of persistence.

The pair also explores classic models for such games. These included the scavenger model (derived from Zork and seen in Pokemon) which requires players to gather objects and return them somewhere, the impositional model (D&D style) based on earning points from dominating the environment, and the expressive model (seen in many PvP games) where players determine social hierarchy. [GDC Vault free video]

Going even further back to GDC 2000, Silicon Graphics, Incorporated (SGI) co-founder Kurt Akeley delivers the programming keynote ''New Pioneers at the Graphics Frontier'. Here he examines how the shifting importance of computer graphics pioneers, along with corporations and the open-source community, affects the evolution of the graphics industry. He also describes some of SGI's experiments, and lack of success, with programmable hardware and microcode. [GDC Vault free video]