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GDC also ponders invite-only model

by Xav de Matos { Mar 5th 2008 at 7:30AM }

At the close of the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC) this year we heard rumblings that change was in store for the industry event. After achieving a record setting 18,000 attendees, about 1,000 of which were press, event coordinators are contemplating an invite only stance to the media.

Speaking with Kotaku, GDC event director Jamil Moledina expressed his fear for the industry learning event, "I am concerned that if we don't focus on what makes GDC work we will face some complications down the road." To alleviate those fears, GDC is considering changes to who will be allowed to cover the 2009 event from the show floor.

While other industry professionals lineup to question the validity of press presence, we're reminded of the invite changes made to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (DICE) to streamline the event coverage.

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X3F interviews Peter Molyneux about Fable 2, BC, XNA

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 28th 2008 at 5:15PM }

We've already posted the audio of our interview with Peter Molyneux, but we know not everyone is down with spoken word. As such, we've transcribed the entire interview for your reading pleasure. In this massive interview, Molyneux discusses Fable 2 co-op (he thinks Live co-op is a great idea by the way), the possibility of versus multiplayer (which is also a good idea according to Molyneux), and we even manage to squeeze in questions about Microsoft's new XNA initiative and the ill-fated BC. Find the lengthy and informative interview after the break.

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X3F interviews James Silva, creator of Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 27th 2008 at 1:30PM }

The annual Game Developer's Conference played host to something of a Cinderella story this year, plunging a once unknown game developer into the limelight. We're talking, of course, about James Silva, creator of Dishwasher: Dead Samurai and Microsoft's new poster child for XNA Community Games. We managed to catch up with James during the conference and ask him how things have changed since the last time we spoke. We also discussed just how James feels about Peter Molyneux and whether or not he's still considering the "Pulling a Peter Moore" achievement for Dishwasher's guitar segments (see 360 Fancast 044 at around 1:05:00). Find the interview after the break. The audio version of the interview is also available in our latest Fancast.

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GDC08: Hands-on with Bangai-O Spirits

by JC Fletcher { Feb 26th 2008 at 8:00PM }

One of the first appointments I had when I got into San Francisco for GDC was with D3 Publisher. This appointment was what I was looking forward to most out of the trip, because I was going to get to play Bangai-O Spirits. And play it I did, while gushing unprofessionally at the D3 QA person giving the demo. I did my best to learn as quickly as possible how all the new parts of Bangai-O Spirits work. It's the same as the N64 and Dreamcast games in a number of ways, but it's also very different in a few fundamental ways. Unfortunately, I didn't get to play with the sound transmission feature, one of the most different things about the game.

Head past the break for detailed impressions, and be sure to check out our gallery of brand-new screens!

Gallery: Bangai-O Spirits

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GDC08: ... and that's a wrap!

by David Hinkle { Feb 25th 2008 at 10:30PM }

Well, the Game Developers Conference has finally come to a close. So, if you were otherwise occupied and missed out on the boatloads of news from the show (including our man of the hour JC's hands-on write-ups of several titles available), hit up our coverage below.

DS Fanboy gets in on the action:

Other news and items of interest

GDC08: ... and that's a wrap!

by David Hinkle { Feb 25th 2008 at 10:30PM }

Wow, what a fantastic week we had. The Game Developer's Conference has come to a close, and with it, the flurry of megatons and other fantastic news you may have gotten used to over the last week. In case you missed it (or were, you know, there), take a chance to get caught up with all of the stuff you either overlooked or were too busy to read.

The big stuff:

Wii Fanboy gets in on the action:

Other news and items of interest:

GDC08: Sony details latest Home tools

by Jem Alexander { Feb 25th 2008 at 10:15PM }

The latest version of the Home Developer Kit was detailed at a GDC session last week and Joystiq has all the juicy details. Finally developers are able to create assets for Home, including trophies, games and environments. This is great news for everyone waiting for the Home open beta; the more content developers create, the sooner a populated and functioning service can be released to the public.

The Joystiq article also includes a good number of photos taken during the session. These show various aspects of Home that we may or may not have seen before. Included is a shot showing a stress test of the new Home Items feature, which allows people to use various objects within the world - in this instance we can see a large number of people dancing around their bubble machines. Speaking of the bubble machine, it was one of the added features in the new Home beta upgrade which goes live this week. Between the improved beta and the almost-fully-functional developer tools, it can't be too long until we finally see Home in the flesh. So to speak.

GDC08: SNK shows off some PSP fighter anthologies

by Nick Doerr { Feb 25th 2008 at 10:00PM }

We already know 2008 is going to be the year for new fighting games, both 2D and 3D. What we didn't quite expect was the huge display over at the SNK area of classic fighters and their respective compilations also getting a 2008 release. The video details some of the PS2 anthologies, but also goes into some of the PSP versions. If you're a fan of fighting games, new or old, this is your year. Embrace it, buy it roses, but keep it at arms length or it will say you're suffocating it and it needs some time to itself. Then the year will never, ever come back.

[Thanks, LeadTester!]

PS3 Fanboy presents: Insomniac music video, director's commentary

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 25th 2008 at 9:15PM }

Did you watch the Insomniac recruitment video? Of course you did. (Download a higher-res version here.) Here's an exclusive for PS3 Fanboy readers. Ryan Schneider from Insomniac joins us to give a few behind-the-scenes commentary for the video. Find out a few new tidbits about the development team and get a few more hints about this Resistance 2 game they have going on.

What was the inspiration for creating a recruitment music video?
Well, when you go to things like GDC, everybody has their typical video. In general, everyone has their recruitment video – it's very "been there, done that." We just wanted to do something different. We wanted to create a video that captures who we really are and this video does. It shows that we take our games very seriously but not ourselves.

Gallery: Resistance 2

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GDC08: Hands almost-on with Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

by JC Fletcher { Feb 25th 2008 at 8:00PM }

D3 Publisher's big surprise at GDC this year was the newly rebranded Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, the sci-fi spiritual sequel to the hit Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. We weren't able to play the game -- we were forced to sit tantalizingly close as we watched the PC version of the game (also coming to DS and Xbox Live Arcade) being demonstrated. The new game explores the question "What if people didn't have souls?" in the medium of match-three puzzle games. No, we don't know what that means either.

Enjoy our gallery of spaceship concept art, screenshots, and this thing, and continue past the break for what gameplay details we could glean from the demo.

Gallery: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

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GDC08: The Uncharted post-mortem

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 25th 2008 at 4:15PM }

At Game Developer's Conference, our pal, Richard Lemarchand from Naughty Dog hosted a post-mortem on Uncharted entitled "Amazing Feats of Daring." His talk covered the various challenges the team encountered on their first PS3 project, and the tricks they've learned along the way. The audience was jam-packed, as representatives of gaming's most proclaimed development teams attended the session.

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Fancast Xtra: Peter Molyneux interview at GDC08

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 25th 2008 at 1:30PM }

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.

GDC08: Dennis Dyack is worried about GDC

by Xav de Matos { Feb 25th 2008 at 12:15PM }

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?"

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Spotted@GDC: the PSP GPS receiver

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 25th 2008 at 11:45AM }

We know GPS is coming to PSP some time this year (in fact, we predicted it). So, when we see the peripheral being touted at GDC at Sony's booth on the show floor, our interest gets piqued. Considering the booth was underground, the device apparently had trouble figuring out a precise location. Oh well.

Let's hope for more news on an official release soon.

[Via Engadget]

PS3 Poll Police: So, how was GDC 2008?

by Nick Doerr { Feb 24th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Another week, another visit from your local precinct's Poll Police. Grammatically unsound, ethically clean, and legitimately insane, we ask you questions that you answer and react accordingly. This past week, the Poll Police were on a trip to the Game Developer's Conference. Through the many sites you undoubtedly visited, you got enough information to have vicariously attended the event. So, what did you think?

How was GDC '08?
	It seemed awesome. Lots of info and announcements.
	It was pretty good. I heard what I wanted, mostly.
	I was neither here nor there with it. Nothing major happened.
	I felt there was a lack of anything exciting happening.
	It was mostly a waste this year. I am upset.
	So you're saying there was some kind of gaming event last week?

pollcode.com free polls

Sony didn't have a very large presence, but we got enough stuff to keep you in the loop. Even if you aren't a Sony fan, there was definitely a lot of great information presented by Microsoft and third party companies to keep you on the edge of your seat. GDC wasn't the biggest announcement center for non-US companies (Microsoft seemed to blow its wad of titles all in one presentation), but it gives us the notion that the Sony Gamer's Day coming up will really let the PS3-related announcements shine bright. Last week's poll result, as always, is past the jump.

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