gdc07
Latest
GDC to host Miyamoto keynote
We don't want to alarm anyone, but Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto will be coming to San Francisco this march to conduct a keynote at the Game Developers Conference. Before anyone gets the wrong impression about this and rushes to Wal-Mart for some poster board in an attempt to be internet famous, please, don't. It makes for fantastic blogging fodder to be sure, but lets spare the development community what should be reserved for the internets.As his first GDC keynote since 1999, Miyamoto's appearance could possibly be the most popular event at the conference. It's not indicated exactly as to what Mario's papa will be talking about beyond "the creative process behind his work on highly-regarded software as well as his thoughts on new Nintendo hardware", his keynote is titled "A Creative Vision." Maybe if we're all good boys and girls, he'll drop less "bombs" and clue us in on the secret of the DS printing money.
Molyneux, others join GDC lineup, Fable 'talk' imminent
Having the inside scoop, Gamasutra reports that Peter Molyneux, Killer 7's Goichi Suda, and a team of Final Fantasy XII developers led by Taku Murata are joining the GDC 2007 lineup. Molyneux, well known for his mastery of hype-building (and subsequent apologies), will by lecturing on Fable 2, musing aloud about the brilliant innovations that might or might not make the final cut -- Molyneux promises to reveal "a totally unexpected feature" (we've heard that before).Teasing aside, Molyneux is one of the most forward-thinking developers in the industry today. He might not always deliver, but he's earned his street cred for being a risk-taker. Molyneux's colorful presence is a key addition to GDC.Also making appearances during the conference will be Goichi Suda, who will illustrate the experience of working on a small development team (in this case, Grasshopper), along with Taku Murata and other core members of the FFXII team, who will reflect on the lessons learned during the game's development.
New Fable 2 feature to be revealed at GDC
GDC 07 (Game Developers Conference) is set to begin in March, and speakers are already being announced. Among these scheduled speakers is Peter Molyneux, the man behind Fable and its upcoming sequel, Fable 2. Molyneux will be at the conference to perform a lecture entitled, "Innovations in Fable 2." The lecture will discuss how elements from Fable have been changed and made better for Fable 2. Furthermore, Molyneux promises to reveal a new and "totally unexpected" feature in the game. What could it be? We have no idea, and after the amazing amount of hype built around the first Fable, perhaps its best if we don't get carried away.Our readers (that's you), on the other hand, can get as carried away as they like. Do you have any ideas for a great new feature in Fable 2?
Independent Games Festival finalists announced
The finalists for the 9th annual Independent Games Festival have been announced, with Bit Blot's Aquaria taking the lead with four nominations, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Interesting note: Aquaria co-creator Derek Yu's other games include the popular Metroidvania platformer Eternal Daughter and the Jack Thompson-provoking I'm OK!.Other finalists include the beautiful browser game Samorost 2 (play it now!), Xbox Live Arcade titles like RoboBlitz and Castle Crashers, episodic early-birds like Bone: The Great Cow Race (that's episode 2), student projects like DigiPen's Toblo, and more! The winners in each category will be announced at the IGF awards ceremony Wednesday, March 7th at the 2007 Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco.As a judge in this year's Festival, the only game in my allotted roster was Samorost 2 which (perhaps unsurprisingly) was the only game that I had previously played. Check out the full list of finalists (congratulations everyone!) after the break.
