gdc08
Latest
GDC Quest Quiz II: Steve Purcell
We did a terrible thing at last week's Game Developer's Conference. Aside from our usual barrage of photographs and "reporting," a select group of attendees had to endure a particularly inane and utterly pointless line of questioning -- just for laughs. This is what happens when you hunt down several adventure game connoisseurs and challenge them to solve a typically obnoxious adventure game puzzle.The PlayerSteve Purcell, illustrator and writer best known as the creator of Sam & Max. We're surprised he even talked to us after last year's drunken debacle. The PuzzleYou're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first.The Inventory (1) perforated parasol (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (1) sealed manila envelope (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue Find Steve Purcell's solution to the "meta-puzzle" after the break.
GDC08: Home tools released, new images revealed
James Cox, Warren Keyes, and Liam Wickham from Sony Computer Entertainment are currently hard at work on Sony's upcoming online initiative, Home. At GDC, they spoke to interested developers about creating content for the online service, and revealed a few new images of the service in action.The Home Development Toolkit (HDK) is currently available for all developers, and includes the things necessary for 3D asset creation, object creation, and creation of arcade and mini-games. Support for 3D trophies is also available, although its currently as an "evaluation." Samples are included in the HDK, and documentation is offered in English, Japanese and Korean.
GDC Quest Quiz I: Ron Gilbert
We did a terrible thing at last week's Game Developer's Conference. Aside from our usual barrage of photographs and "reporting," a select group of attendees had to endure a particularly inane and utterly pointless line of questioning -- just for laughs. This is what happens when you hunt down several adventure game connoisseurs and challenge them to solve a typically obnoxious adventure game puzzle. The Player Ron Gilbert, designer of The Secret of Monkey Island (amongst other LucasArts adventures), consultant on Penny Arcade Adventures and designer of Hothead's upcoming episodic series, Deathspank. The Puzzle You're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first. The Inventory (1) perforated parasol (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (1) sealed manila envelope (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue Find Ron Gilbert's surprisingly direct solution after the break.
GDC08 as retold through food
Among the few guaranteed assurances that come with GDC, one is perhaps the most constant: in the precious minutes you have to eat -- assuming you have any minutes at all -- you will cherish whatever sustenance you can cram down your gullet. It is with this in mind that we decided to snap pictures of (almost) everything we managed to eat this week, thus bringing the masses one step closer to really being there. Without further ado, enjoy the various foodstuffs (and the many, many sandwiches) of GDC.%Gallery-16865%
Fancast Xtra: Peter Molyneux interview at GDC08
Don't ask us how we did it, but we managed to corner Peter Molyneux at GDC this year. We subsequently tied him to a chair and forced him to answer our questions about Fable 2. No, no, of course we didn't do that. Peter Molyneux is, in fact, an entirely amiable man -- perhaps too amiable -- and was happy to answer our questions. We learn a few details about Fable 2's newly announced co-op features, the Xbox Live Arcade tie-in, and we even wedge in a question about the ill-fated BC. We've posted the audio from the interview below. The audio will also be delivered to subscribers of the Xbox 360 Fancast. Feel free to download the MP3 using the "Read" link as well. Finally, if you can't be bothered to listen to things -- we know how important you are -- stay tuned for the transcription coming later this week.
Europe to suffer the horror of a Brawl-free summer
The last GDC edition of the 1UP Yours podcast reveals a vaguely depressing tidbit about Super Smash Bros. Brawl. How depressing it is depends on your outlook. Shane Bettenhausen reported that during a lunch meeting with Reggie Fils-Aime, he said that Nintendo is planning to release Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the fall.Specifically, the discussion was framed in terms of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii. The reason given that those two games are being released in Europe first is that "they don't get Smash Bros. until fall." The part about Reggie starts at about the 37 minute mark. It's worth a listen in general for some (secondhand reports of) surprisingly strong anti-Xbox posturing from Reggie.Why do we say that this is potentially not very depressing? Because fall of this year is still this year, and that's pretty good for Nintendo of Europe.
GDC08: Dennis Dyack is worried about GDC
During the Game Developers Conference, 1UP.com was able to record interviews with developers in the guise of their weekly 1UP Yours podcast, one such episode was with outspoken Silicon Knights boss Dennis Dyack. In the episode on February 21, Dyack outlined his worries for the future of GDC based on the marketing spin put on the, "once sacred," developer gathering."I worry about GDC [because] how many talks are you learning something versus when somebody is trying to sell you a product?" Dyack asked the crew made up of editors Garnett Lee, Shane Bettenhausen, Bryan Intihar and former 1UPer Mark MacDonald. "Are we calling this the Game Developers Conference [or] are we calling it the Game Demo Convention?"
See Mega64's IGF videos
Just because you may not have heard of most indie game developers doesn't mean they don't have the same rights as more mainstream devs. One of those inalienable rights? Getting made fun of by the Mega64 guys, which they got a hot, steamy helping of during the IGF Awards during GDC.Our personal favorite? Watching a grown man appear to hump a keyboard. We're sure there was more context to it than that, but damned if we can tell you what it is. Hey, you go for all of GDC week without sleep, see how sharp you are. We've got two more after the jump, check them totally out.
GDC08: Raph Koster's 'Reinventing MMOs, a Metaplace 'antemortem''
Raph Koster, president of Areae, and Sean Riley, Lead Programmer, held a panel the final day of GDC '08 called 'Reinventing MMOs: a Metaplace 'antemortem'', which was all about dissecting why the concept of MMOs needs updating. Going in, I was hoping for insight, which I got, but wasn't expecting a lot of technical talk, which I also got.And the takeaway I got from this session is this: Koster's doing some good, forward-thinking work, but Metaplace doesn't really shine for me just yet. Details on both after the break.
GDC08: A time-lapse farewell
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GDC_2008_as_seen_in_time_lapse_photography'; GDC 2008, we were just beginning to get to know you. After a week of hectic posting, you're already gone. While we're still catching up with final posts from the show, we bid San Francisco farewell with this time-lapse video. Because nothing captures the bittersweet end of a tradeshow like time-lapse. Shots include the crowd filling into the Fable 2 and Portal sessions, respectively. Plus, you'll see attendees swarm through the lunch area and might catch a glimpse of your favorite bloggers. For the full effect -- especially if you're trying to spot people in the crowds -- be sure to watch the HD original in full-screen.Music: "After the Curtain" by Beirut
Seen@GDC: An ever-watchful BioShock splicer statue
Watching us from afar in San Francisco's Grand Café (the one where, legend has it, Justin ate six PlayStation 3s and drank a PSP shake) was the ghost of a one-time splicer from BioShock (here's visual reference). Even weirder still, our waiter was a Big Daddy -- don't ask with what (or rather, on whom) he wrote our orders.
GDC08: Cloning and mental confusion in Experimental Games session
One of our favorite annual sessions, in addition to the developers rant and the design challenge, is the Experimental Games session. Whereas last year we saw audio-infused titles and a then-lesser known Portal, this year's themes were replay, obfuscation, user-generated/controlled levels and "two levels at once," with a presentation by Rod Humble halfway through. (We unfortunately had to miss the two final themes to catch the Boom Blox presentation. Sorry, folks!) The first theme was "replay" and dealt with idea of, erm, playing with yourself. It's not as dirty as it sounds:
Video: Jonathan Coulton performing 'Still Alive' Rock Band DLC
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Video_Jonathan_Coulton_performing_Still_Alive_in_Rock_Ban'; On Friday night we were lucky enough to witness a pretty special event: geek-rock troubadour Jonathan Coulton performing his song "Still Alive" at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. There's nothing new about that, he's been performing it since Portal's release last year. What is new is that he was playing it in Rock Band, where it's due to be released as downloadable content, and we just so happened to get it all on camera. Unfortunately, most of Coulton's Rock Band band wasn't quite up to his level, with the lone exception of ... hey, it's Mahalo Daily's Veronica Belmont, who you should recognize from her GDC videos here on Joystiq. One of the Harmonix folks there told us the track was only in production for an unusually short six weeks, thanks in no small part to Valve's willingness (you might even call it eagerness) to license the song. They also said that, though nothing has been finalized yet, they're expecting the track to be attractively priced at $0.99 leaving you no reason to avoid it. High-def video embedded after the break.
GDC08: Lucasarts prioritizing PS3 development for future projects
At a GDC lecture Haden Blackman, the project lead on The Force Unleashed, stated that Lucasarts has now learned a valuable lesson from its development of the game. All future multiplatform projects will prioritize development on the PS3 before being ported over to the 360. This is a direct result of problems and delays during the development of The Force Unleashed caused by trying to port the 360 version to the PS3. The game is now, thankfully, on track, despite these delays. A live demo of The Force Unleashed was also shown and, from what we've heard, it looks absolutely stunning. We can't wait for its release this summer.[Thanks Paul]
GDC08: IGF finalist interview - Noitu Love 2
Noitu Love 2: Devolution is described by its designer as being similar to Metal Slug, but easier (thankfully), and controlled entirely with the mouse. It didn't walk away with any awards from this year's Independent Games Festival -- having been beaten in the Seumus McNally Grand Prize category by Crayon Physics Deluxe -- but Noitu's sharp graphics and frenetic gameplay have certainly caught our eye.Check out our interview with the developer Joakim Sandberg above, courtesy of Mahalo Daily and vampire slayer/Mahalo correspondent Veronica Belmont.
The House Containing Some Dead 2 & 3
I didn't see The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return at GDC -- and I looked -- but Gamespot got a hands-on preview of the new release of Sega's light gun classics. Had I been there, I would have asked about the captioning. "Suffer the same way G did?" The audio's the same (from what can be heard on the video) so why the change in captioning? And why just that line?In addition to rewriting Zeal's big line, Sega has added six different crosshair options and online rankings. What hasn't been added, unfortunately, is The Typing of the Dead. How could anyone do this?%Gallery-10506%[Via NeoGAF]
Joystiq Podcast GDC08 Special (Part 3)
This is the way the world ends ... or at least our podcast form coverage of GDC. We talked about the blogger breakfast, Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando and some other things that we honestly can't even remember. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for hanging in there with us through some of our weirdest episodes ever. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3) [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [Digg] Like the show? Digg it. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann and Justin McElroy Music: "Get Ready for Love" by Nick Cave, "Red Eye," Ben Kweller
GDC08: The how, what, and why of LEGO Universe
Though anyone who has played the existing LEGO games would understand their charm, from an outside perspective you might be wondering why LEGO needed to go to the massively multiplayer scale. At GDC this past week, Mark Hansen, Director of Business Development for LEGO, explained the ideas behind their MMO to be, LEGO Universe. It's all about playing with LEGOS, of course! Playing and building with LEGOs is a creative experience, an imaginative experience -- and LEGO wanted a version of their product that would relevant for children of the 21st century who had grown up (and are growing up) around computers and technology.%Gallery-16723%
GDC08: Requiem: Bloodymare
After our previous posts on Gravity Interactive's upcoming title Requiem: Bloodymare, we were interested enough to want to see more of the game, and lucky enough to be invited to do so at the Game Developer's Conference this year. Already playing in Korea, R:B will enter closed beta in about a month's time.Expecting a simplified hack 'n' slash with overdone Gothic elements, R:B surprised us with some really cool features and a deep character growth system. Our full report and trailer after the break!%Gallery-16743%
GDC08: Motion capture is serious business
We don't claim to be experts on motion capture technology, but here's what we gleaned from walking around the GDC Expo Hall: it's complicated. So complicated, in fact, that Organic Motion's system can claim to be a simpler solution than most even though it uses an array of 14 cameras and ships with a structure in which to record motion capture. That's right, you don't have to use the familiar mocap suit thing, but you buy the room. Apparently one artist can record the motion capture from this in real-time with no training. No word on whether or not the system comes with a dude doing continuous tae kwon do.
