With its successful Kickstarter and clever approach to sci-fi strategy, Subset Games' FTL - or Faster Than Light - has been one of the most talked-about indie titles of 2012.
The game's massive popularity certainly took the two-man development team by surprise, and at next month's GDC China, Subset Games' Matthew Davis will look back on FTL's development to provide a full postmortem on how this quirky space combat game came to be.
During his presentation, Davis plans to tell the story of how "two guys who didn't really know what they were doing managed to make something people wanted to play." He'll examine FTL's early prototypes, its popular Kickstarter, and its eventual launch on Steam, noting how a small indie project can turn into a runaway hit.
Along the way, Davis will discuss what he and co-developer Justin Ma learned while creating FTL in the hopes of inspiring and empowering other indie developers.
This FTL postmortem is part of GDC China's Independent Games Summit, and will be open to GDC China's All Access and Summits & Tutorials 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.
In addition to the above presentation, GDC China organizers have also added the following talks to the show's lineup:
- As part of the show's Business & Marketing track, Tenshi Ventures' Ian Baverstock will offer some tips for reaching out to a European audience in "Working in the European Market." Baverstock will provide a general overview of this valuable market, noting the opportunities and challenges developers can expect if they hope to bring their games to Europe.
- Elsewhere, Final Form Games' Tim Ambrogi will host the Production track lecture "Small Steps in the Dark: Embracing the Continuous Prototyping Mindset." Here, he will explain how developers can more effectively integrate prototyping into their entire development process. By prototyping every step of the way, he believes developers will be better prepared to adapt to change and make better games.
These talks join the 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.
Be sure to keep an eye out for even more updates on GDC China in the weeks ahead, as show organizers have plenty more to announce for the upcoming event. For all the latest information on registering for GDC China, visit the show's website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
