GDC 2014 passes donated to IGDA student scholarship

November 27, 2013

Game Developers Conference has once again donated 25 All-Access Conference passes for students to attend GDC 2014 via the IGDA scholarship program.
The International Game Developers Association Scholarships Program is accepting applications for its GDC 2014 scholarships until December 17, 2013. The program is open to all students and recent graduates in fields related to game development.
The IGDA scholarships for GDC 2014 will include full access to the conference, mentorship from members of industry, and chances to talk to senior figures and to visit some of the Bay Area's development studios while in California for the show.
The IGDA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving individuals who create video games, and is dedicated to improving developers' careers and lives through community, professional development, and advocacy. GDC has been donating passes for students since the IGDA Scholarship program began in 2001.

Yu Suzuki revisits Shenmue in GDC 2014 Classic Game Postmortem

November 26, 2013

For March's Game Developers Conference 2014, we're announcing one of the most exciting game postmortems yet.
Yu Suzuki, the influential Japanese game designer famously known for his work at Sega, will be delivering a Classic Game Postmortem on the iconic Dreamcast game Shenmue. Mark Cerny, game designer and lead system architect for PlayStation 4 will be on-hand to translate Suzuki's presentation into English for the audience.
Suzuki, currently president of his own studio YsNet, will talk for the very first time about the creation of the console classic Shenmue. Beginning with the origin of the title as a Virtua Fighter-based RPG on the Sega Saturn, he will take the audience through the long journey of the game that led to its ultimate release in 1999 on the Sega Dreamcast.
This is an hour-long session - we'll have more scheduling details about the talk as GDC gets closer, but we figure a lot of you would like to get this on your radar! If you can't make it to GDC, be sure to watch the session livestreamed on GameSpot.

GDC Taipei Summit 2013 opens reg, reveals speakers

November 15, 2013

Registration for the GDC Taipei Summit 2013 has officially opened, with a discount to the event available until the end of November, along with preliminary talks announced from DeNA, PopCap, Crystal Dynamics, PlayStation, Unity, Ubisoft, and more.
The GDC Taipei Summit, now in its second year, is organized by Gamasutra parent UBM Tech in association with UBM Asia, also co-creators of the recent GDC China event - as well as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Game Industry Promotion Alliance.
The event will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center on December 5-6, 2013, and continues to be the premier professional conference for the creators of games and interactive entertainment in Taiwan. Each event pass will include access to all sessions, breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks, and the conference dinner for the two-day program.
While organizers of this year's event are still finalizing the schedule, several sessions are already planned. Visual arts and audio-focused talks from major multiplatform hits include 'Scoring Tomb Raider: The Music of the Game' with Crystal Dynamics sound designer Alex Wilmer and 'The level art of Splinter Cell Blacklist' with Ubisoft senior art director Liu Yan Feng.

GDC 2014 registration opens, first talks announced

November 13, 2013

Discounted early registration for Game Developers Conference 2014 is now open, and the first set of announced Main Conference talks include devs on Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Skylanders Swap Force, and Dragon Age.
Now in its 28th year, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the world's largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event, and will once again take place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California during March 17-21, 2014.
You can register for the event by visiting the info page on the official GDC 2014 website. Early Bird pricing, with discounts up to 30%, will remain in effect until January 31st, and some passes including the Indie Games Summit pass have limited amounts, so interested parties should register now.
GDC 2014's Main Conference, held on Wednesday-Friday, will contain the following seven Tracks: Advocacy, Audio, Design, Production, Programming, Visual Arts, and Business, Marketing & Management.
To kick off, conference organizers have announced three talks in the Design and Production Tracks - just a few of the hundreds of talks going live between now and the show:

IGF 2014 sees record Student Competition entries, over 1,000 total

November 11, 2013

The organizers of the 16th annual Independent Games Festival -- the longest-running and largest festival relating to independent games worldwide -- are proud to announce another year of record entries for IGF 2014's Student Competition.
This year's Student Competition, which will display finalists and show winners at Game Developers Conference 2014, took in almost 350 game entries across all platforms -- PC, console and mobile -- from a wide variety of the most prestigious universities, games programs, and even high schools from around the world.
Together with the Main Competition submissions, this year's IGF has taken in over 1,000 total entries -- once again surpassing the festival's record across the Main and Student Competitions.
This year's Student Competition includes lauded entries such as University of Washington-developed and over 400% Kickstarted action platformer roguelike-like Risk of Rain and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht-developed Wild West action adventure Westerado.

GDC Next, App Developers Conference see nearly 4,000 in attendance

November 8, 2013

Two inaugural events, the App Developers Conference (ADC) and Game Developers Conference Next (GDC Next), closed Thursday, Nov. 7 after hosting close to 4,000 industry professionals at the Los Angeles Convention Center, more than 40 percent up in attendees from the show's spiritual predecessor GDC Online in 2012. Both conferences were produced by UBM Tech, the creators of the largest and longest-running professionals-only event for the games industry, the Game Developers Conference (GDC). ADC and GDC Next will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 4-6, 2014.
Both ADC and GDC Next brought their respective industries' leaders together to share best practices and help developers fine-tune their crafts by providing valuable insights on the future of digital interactivity. Together the conferences welcomed more than 170 speakers across more than 150 sessions from influential and distinguished companies within the app, game and entertainment industries. Talks at ADC included those given by speakers from Evernote, Netflix, Pandora, Tumblr and more, while GDC Next featured talks by Double Fine Productions, Google, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Ouya, thatgamecompany, Ubisoft, Walt Disney Imagineering and several others.
In addition, The Combined Expo Floor featured more than 80 of the top game and app companies as exhibitors and sponsors, including Google, Sony, Microsoft, Oculus VR, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm and more. The Expo Floor also hosted the ADC Best in Apps contest which was presented by way of a partnership with AppCircus, the unique global traveling showcase of the most innovative and creative apps. Sixteen finalists presented their apps to a panel of industry leaders and one winner was selected in each of four categories. Each winner was awarded a nomination for the prestigious Mobile Premier Awards, held by AppCircus during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early 2014.
The ADC Best in Apps winners are:

GDC Next 10: SWERY on the new Kinect and D4's inspiration

November 4, 2013

"I think my own life, the people around me, and my relationships with them have an influence on my creative process. "

In advance of GDC Next, which runs in Los Angeles next week, GDC director of online community Patrick Miller talked to D4 creator Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro about working with the new Kinect, and the creative influences behind his work.
Suehiro will be speaking about D4 in his GDC Next 10 talk in LA on Wednesday, Nov. 6th titled " D4: Dawn of the Dreaming Director's Drama".

GDC Next 10: Designing Project Spark to make game-building fun and easy

October 31, 2013

"...We know that as soon as we ship, we will realize which features will really matter to the community, and no amount of planning in our office can truly predict that."

In advance of GDC Next, which runs in Los Angeles next week, GDC director of online community Patrick Miller talked to Microsoft Studios's Soren Hannibal about the inspiration and challenges behind making Project Spark, a free-to-play game-making-game due out for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows.
Nielsen will be speaking about Project Spark in his GDC Next 10 talk in LA on Wednesday, Nov. 6th titled "Project Spark: Enabling and Inspiring the User to Make (Almost) Anything".

Design for mobile at GDC Next; online registration ends today!

October 31, 2013

Don't forget: Online registration for GDC Next ends today! Conference organizers are highlighting a selection of talks on designing for mobile devices, including Disney's Where's My Water? designer Tom Smith on holistic content design, The Silent Age's Thomas Ryder on minimalist design, and University of Michigan's Sean Petty on accessibility concerns for visually rich apps.
GDC Next will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The new event aims to highlight the future of video game development, with session tracks organized around 'Next Generation Game Platforms', 'Free To Play & New Business Models', and 'Smartphone & Tablet Games', as well as cloud and indie game tracks.
Disney Mobile's level designer Tom Smith will discuss in 'Where's My Flow? Holistic Content Design' how creatively organizing content throughout your game is critical to its overall success. Along the way, he'll be taking cues from some of the hit mobile titles he's been involved with, including Where's My Water? and Where's My Perry?.
Point-and-click adventure game The Silent Age (pictured) from House on Fire was tailor-made for mobile devices. Designer Thomas Ryder will share how his team overcame challenges of its unique approach to interaction design, sound, and more in 'Minimalist Game Design for Mobile Devices.'

GDC Next 10: Toejam & Earl creator on making a 'sweet, simple, genuine' game

October 30, 2013

"You don't need great complexity to touch people."

In advance of GDC Next, which runs in Los Angeles next week, GDC director of online community Patrick Miller talked to Toejam & Earl creator Greg Johnson about the inspiration behind HumaNature Studios's upcoming Doki-Doki Universe [trailer], which is currently slated for a December release for PS3, PS4, PS Vita, and mobile.
Johnson will be speaking about Doki-Doki Universe in his GDC Next 10 talk in LA on Tuesday, Nov. 5th titled "Doki-Doki Universe: Sweet, Simple and Genuine".

Discounted GDC Next/ADC registration ends on Thursday 10/31

October 30, 2013

Don't forget: online registration for next week's inaugural GDC Next and App Developers Conference in L.A. ends on Thursday, October 31st. Attendees can save up to $200 off admission to one or both events if registered before the deadline.
GDC Next will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
GDC Next aims to highlight the future of video game development, with session tracks organized around 'Next Generation Game Platforms', 'Free To Play & New Business Models', and 'Smartphone & Tablet Games', as well as cloud and indie game tracks. The brand new App Developers Conference (ADC) offers professionals a venue to share their knowledge about building, designing, marketing, and selling their apps.
The future is paved with new technology, and GDC Next has several demos and talks on the newest and hottest hardware, including free-to-play on PS4, Xbox One and Kinect, ex-Valve devs Jeri Ellsworth and Rick Johnson demoing their CastAR augmented reality headset on the expo floor, and more.
As part of the Future of Gaming track, Kate Flack will speak on toy industry insights she brought to Ultima Forever and Ubisoft Blue Byte's Teut Weidemann will discuss why mobile is everything. eSports are also taking off, and GDC Next will feature several talks from Riot, Turtle Entertainment, Twitch, and Day[9] on the future of that industry sector.

GDC Next 10: Why Lego and Neil Gaiman were key for Wayward Manor

October 29, 2013

"...Together we set out to make a story machine where game mechanics and story would blend together through play." In advance of GDC Next, which runs in Los Angeles next week, GDC director of online community Patrick Miller asked The Odd Gentlemen's Matt Korba about their collaboration with Neil Gaiman for Wayward Manor.
Korba (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom) will be speaking about his company's latest project in his GDC Next 10 talk in LA on Thursday, Nov. 7th titled "An Odd Collaboration: How Neil Gaiman and The Odd Gentlemen Decided to Make Wayward Manor Together".

eSports @ GDC Next includes Riot, Turtle Ent, Twitch, Day[9]

October 29, 2013

eSports are skyrocketing, and next week's GDC Next has several talks to discuss the future of the phenomenon, with famed Starcraft II commentator Day[9] on what makes a game fun to watch, Turtle Entertainment on how the ecosystem works for games such as League of Legends and World of Tanks, and a panel including Twitch and Riot on the evolution of eSports.
GDC Next will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The new event aims to highlight the future of video game development, with session tracks organized around 'Next Generation Game Platforms', 'Free To Play & New Business Models', and 'Smartphone & Tablet Games', as well as cloud and indie game tracks.
Starcraft II commentator and eSports personality Sean "Day[9]" Plott will explain how to design games with spectators in mind in 'The Observer Friendly Game.' Plott will discuss what makes a game as fun to watch as it is to play, in order to tap into the community-building potential of streaming eSports events, Let's Play videos, and other spectator-friendly applications for games.
Turtle Entertainment's VP of gaming communities David Hiltscher will explain the ins and outs of the eSports industry in a talk called 'Inside the eSports Ecosystem: A Business Overview.' Hiltscher, who oversees the ESL eSports leagues, will use his work with companies like Riot Games (League of Legends) and Wargaming (World of Tanks) to discuss how the eSports ecosystem works, who the major players are, and how big it has become.

GDC 2014 Summit submission deadline extended to Nov 1st

October 25, 2013

In response to repeated requests, GDC organizers have extended the call for submissions deadline to Friday, November 1st to present lectures and panels for the specialized Summits that kick off the 2014 Game Developers Conference in California next March.
Organized by the UBM Tech Game Network, GDC 2014 will take place March 17-21 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California.
Beginning on the first two days of the conference, the GDC Summits cover topics in emerging sectors of the game development industry, with a focus on broadening the scope of games to incorporate new audiences, new platforms, and new gameplay ideas.
The 2014 GDC Summits accepting submissions are as follows:

F2P @ GDC Next: How to gain and retain your players

October 24, 2013

Learn how to engage with and retain new users next month in GDC Next's Free to Play & New Game Business Models Track, with Disruptor Beam on their social and soon-to-be mobile Game of Thrones: Ascent, KIXEYE on user retention and monetization, and Visa's PlaySpan and Frank N. Magid Associates on alternative payment methods.
GDC Next will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The new event aims to highlight the future of video game development, with session tracks organized around 'Next Generation Game Platforms', 'Free To Play & New Business Models', and 'Smartphone & Tablet Games', as well as cloud and indie game tracks.
In 'Game of Thrones Ascent: Creating an Engaging Social Game Through Story,' Jon Radoff and Tim Crosby of Disruptor Beam will discuss what it takes to create content for a notable free-to-play, story-driven social game based on a popular IP. Attendees will gain an understanding of what it takes to create engaging, steady content with low player acquisition costs for the high-profile licensed title.
KIXEYE's Seran Chen will provide key analytics and best practices towards building an engaging new user experience that increases retention and monetization in 'The Sticky Science of New User Experiences.' Chen will analyze different design concepts and offer methodologies that enhance the overall user's experience with regards to flow, fun, immersion and playability.
Also, in 'Should I Pay or Should I Go? Consumer Attitudes on F2P and Alternative Payments' Robert Crawford of Frank N. Magid Associates and Andre Machicao of Visa's virtual goods monetization platform PlaySpan will share studies conducted on virtual goods and free-to-play market trends. Their findings will include data on spending habits, genre and platform preferences, influential factors for purchases, and general consumer sentiment about free-to-play games and alternative payment methods.

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