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The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next month is overflowing with great stuff to see and do, so today organizers want to quickly let you know about some of the ways the conference is being organized with sustainability in mind.

This is important because a lot of people converge on San Francisco to attend GDC every year, and organizers want all of them to feel informed about what, specifically, is being done to minimize environmental impact and ensure the event is an ethical, sustainable business.

It's nearly here: the 2018 Game Developers Conference! As you prepare yourself accordingly, the folks organizing the show (which runs March 19th through the 23rd) want to make sure you don't overlook a fascinating presentation from 343 Industries about the design of the latest Halo Wars game.

In his UX Summit talk on "'Halo Wars 2': A UX Postmortem" 343 Industries' Max Szlagor will review the trade-offs and successes of designing great controls and experiences for two very different platform audiences (console and PC).

Check out this talk and you'll walk away with an understanding of how establishing solid design and UX pillars can help focus game dev teams and specialists working around the world to deliver a compelling, approachable experience across multiple platforms and input options.

Given that today's the day so many people celebrate Valentine's Day, organizers of the 2018 Game Developers Conference thought it might be fun to highlight some of the great talks taking place at the conference next month which tackle the tricky topics of how to handle love, lust, and friendship in the games you make.

Some of these are tongue-in-cheek suggestions, while others are earnest explorations of how to write great relationships into your work, but all promise to be both fun and informative.

For example, veteran game writer & narrative designer Michelle Clough is coming back to GDC this year to deliver a great talk on "Eros in Play: Writing and Designing Sex Scenes (Part 2)."

With the Game Developers Conference just weeks away, we're excited to announce that indie video game showcase collective Wild Rumpus is returning for GDC 2018 to welcome attendees as friends and celebrated guests in their 'Mild Rumpus' game lounge.

A small oasis amid the hustle and bustle of next month's exciting conference, the Mild Rumpus promises to be a relaxing island of calm where GDC 2018 attendees can take a quick break from their action-packed GDC week.

Visitors to this welcoming island will also have the chance to check out a fresh, hand-picked selection of independent games, and they may even have the opportunity to see a live talk or performance from one of the games' talented designers.

The business of esports, while fresh and exciting for many in the games industry, also comes with a lot of risks, unexpected costs, and surprising developments. Fortunately, at this year's Game Developers Conference, there's going to be a whole day dedicated to solutions for those in the business of electronic athleticism.

Lurking in the shadows of this event will be Riot Games game designer Patrick Miller, who has organized a day full useful and exciting talks about the topic of esports. For your benefit, we've reached out to him to pick his brain about practical ways to talk about the business and design of esports, and find out what attendees can expect from this event.

Don't miss out! The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next March is going to be full of interesting and informative sessions like Miller's. For more visit the show’s official website.

Strategy games are about evaluating strengths and weaknesses of many moving parts. These strengths and weaknesses influence how players engage with the game, and it also affects AI decision-making. As a designer, the balancing of these parts is crucial to make the game engaging and interesting.

If you are such a designer trying to improve your game’s design, you should know you should know that Creative Assembly's Leif Walter will be giving a talk at GDC 2018 discussing the company's new approach to several old AI problems.

To get you ready for Walter's talk, which will be in the design and programming tracks, we've reached out to him for a few answers about life as a game designer that may prove illuminating for GDC attendees.

Don't miss out! The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next March is going to be full of interesting and informative sessions like Walter's. For more visit the show’s official website.

As you plan out what to do and see at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next month, be sure not to overlook Sony Bend's intriguing talk on the open-world AI of its upcoming post-apocalyptic game Days Gone.

Under the aegis of the AI Summit, Sony Bend Studio's Darren Chisum and Tobias Karlsson will be giving a great talk with a gret title: "The "Freak-O-System": The Dynamic Open World of Sony's 'Days Gone'."

Their talk looks at the AI and gameplay components used to create the dynamic and interactive open world of Days Gone. They'll cover some of the different AI units, and how they interact with one another in the Freak-O-System.