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GDC State of the Industry research exposes major trends ahead of March show

In order to paint a picture of the games business as it looks right before GDC 2013, the Game Developers Conference has polled more than 2,500 North American game developers who attended the conference in 2012 or plan to attend GDC 2013 in March about their development practices, revealing several notable trends with regards to platforms, money, team sizes and more.
The GDC intends to field a similar survey each winter, in advance of the conference in San Francisco.
Organized by the UBM Tech Game Network, GDC 2013 will take place March 25-29 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California.
The Rise Of The Indie
A key finding of the GDC 2013 State Of The Industry survey is that independent game development and smaller teams are on the rise like never before. In fact, 53% of the respondents identified themselves as 'indie developers,' and of those, 51% have been indie developers for less than two years.
In addition, 46% of the survey's respondents work within companies of ten people or less. Further proving the move to indie, only 24% of those surveyed worked with a publisher on their last game, while an even smaller 20% are doing so on their current projects.

GDC 2013 details DirectX 11, Intel gestural tech, Facebook dev days

GDC 2013 organizers are highlighting new details for the March show's Developer Days, including a multi-company DirectX 11 rundown, and sponsored Dev Days from Intel on gestural technology, and Facebook on its ecosystem.
Taking place on the first two days (Monday, March 25th and Tuesday, March 26th) of the San Francisco show, these full-day events offer GDC attendees a chance to learn about key development tools and platforms directly from the companies that make them.
In the multi-company presented 'Advanced Visual Effects with DirectX 11,' companies including NVIDIA, AMD, Crytek, and Crystal Dynamics will convene the day-long tutorial on the Direct3D technologies used in DirectX 11 and 11.1 and the ways they can be applied to cutting-edge graphics.
Along with hearing from tech experts at NVIDIA and AMD, Crystal Dynamics will offer a session on Tomb Raider on DirectX 11, and Crytek will speak about the rendering technologies of Crysis 3 with regard to Microsoft's technology.
Elsewhere, Intel's sponsored Dev Day will offer a full day of learning how to use its Perceptual Computing SDK for 'Natural, Intuitive, and Immersive Gaming', with the goal of taking game interaction beyond the mouse and keyboard, and toward gestures, finger and hand tracking, and face recognition.

GDC 2013 adds design talks on The Walking Dead, Short's Versu, The Witcher franchise

GDC 2013 organizers have added more design talks to its March conference, including Telltale on using empathy, character, and choice to involve the player; Linden Labs on its new storytelling app, Versu; and CD Projekt RED on techniques to go from great ideas to game features.
The Design Track is just one of seven Main Conference tracks to be held Wednesday-Friday, March 27-29 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
Telltale Games' Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman will discuss how to go against the apocalyptic zombie video game grain in 'Saving Doug: Empathy, Character, and Choice in The Walking Dead.' The two will share how they elicited in players emotions and experiences not often found in the mass market while creating a commercially and critically successful episodic game.
Elsewhere, creative director of Linden Labs (Second Life) Emily Short will dissect the studio's recently released storytelling app in 'Turning Comedy of Manners into Gameplay: Versu Postmortem.' Short, who has created over 2 dozen text games herself, will discuss the iOS App, focusing on "creating a game focused on social interaction as its primary mechanic, the UI issues in building interactive text for experienced readers," and more.
Finally, lead gameplay designer of CD Projekt RED (The Witcher franchise) Maciej Szczesnik will offer several creativity boosting methods to get 'From Great Ideas to Game Features.' Also included will be "feature assessment tools, backlog optimization and prioritization tools, and a structured approach to transforming ideas into optimal production plans that maximize the effect."

GDC 2013 adds key smartphone and tablet talks on virality, scalable cloud tech

GDC 2013 organizers are showcasing multiple new Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit talks for its March conference, including Applifier on making players your biggest advocates, bitHeads on building scalable cloud tech, and Capy on making it as a paid app in the F2P era.
The Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit is just one of eight Summits to be held Monday-Tuesday, March 25-26 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
In 'Supercharging Word of Mouth: Best Practices in Virality,' Jussi Laakkonen, founder and CEO of Applifier and creator of replay share tool Everyplay, will provide insights on how to encourage players to be the biggest advocates of your game. He will also analyze how and what players want to share most, such as achievements, high scores, screenshots, and video replays.
With 'Building Scalable Cloud Tech for Mobile and Social Games,' bitHeads' Paul Winterhalder will discuss what features to push into the cloud, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to have it all ready for the publisher pitch. Winterhalder will tap into his expertise as chief development officer of bitHeads (which provided back-end solutions for Trade Nations on Facebook) and Playbrains (Sideway: New York on PS3 and Steam).
Finally, 'Still Kicking: The Viability of Paid Apps in the Era of F2P' will see Nathan Vella, president of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP & Critter Crunch creator Capy, discuss the risks of free-to-play as a small studio and how to leverage the opportunities in the paid app space.

GDC 2013, Wild Rumpus debuting 'Rumpus Royale' indie game world champs

GDC organizers have announced the next in its series of new onsite events at GDC 2013, in the form of 'Rumpus Royale MMXIII'.
This week-long 'indie game world championships' is created in a partnership with raucous UK multiplayer indie party organizers Wild Rumpus.
The event will span the entire week of GDC, March 25th-29th, will be located on the Street Level in the West Hall of the Moscone Center, and will provide an all-day "training arcade" and daily tournaments to all GDC attendees.
The Wild Rumpus exists to bring together the best of indie multiplayer games for live events. Members behind the organization include Honeyslug co-founder and Hohokum developer Ricky Haggett, artist and designer Richard Hogg, whose work includes Poto & Cabenga and Frobisher Says, Die Gute Fabrik's George Buckenham and Penguin Books digital producer Marie Foulston.
Wild Rumpus' GDC event invites attendees to "come take on the gaming titans" in this event, with guest commentators and surprises to be announced in the near future.

GDC Awards to honor Spacewar!'s Steve Russell, Smithsonian curator Chris Melissinos

The 13th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), the peer-awarded highest honors in video game development, have revealed the recipients of the remaining two of its Special Awards.
These are the Pioneer Award, given to developers for creating breakthrough video game genres or concepts, and the Ambassador Award, given to those who have helped the game industry advance to a better place.
The Pioneer Award will be given to Steve Russell for his creation of the legendary game Spacewar!, one of the earliest functioning titles and a vital precursor of early computer games of the '70s and onward.
The Ambassador Award will be given to Chris Melissinos for his work curating 'The Art of Video Games,' an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012. The exhibit explored the 40-year evolution of video games showcased as an artistic medium.
The third special award, for Lifetime Achievement, has been previously announced as going to BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk.
In 1962, Steve "Slug" Russell, a computer programmer working for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), invented Spacewar!, the first popular and earliest known digital computer game. Throughout the years, Russell's iconic computer game generated multiple imitations including Asteroids, a popular and now classic arcade title.

GDC 2013 adds 'Advocacy Track' talks on women in games, games' public image

GDC 2013 organizers have revealed new Advocacy Track talks for its March conference, including sessions on discussing women in games, improving the public image of games, and writing more diverse game characters.
The Advocacy Track is just one of seven Main Conference tracks to be held Wednesday-Friday, March 27-29 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
GDC has programmed its own sessions and also partnered with the IGDA for this track to present topics such as diversity, censorship, and quality of life, with the goal of offering "a forum for discussion and ultimately a place to effect change for the development community."
In a newly announced panel inspired by the #1ReasonWhy and #1ReasonToBe Twitter hashtag discussions, researchers, critics, and designers will present what it means to be a woman in the games industry and what actions everyone can take to foster more inclusiveness.
The panel will include Gamasutra editor at large Leigh Alexander, game critic and San Francisco State University Masters student Mattie Brice, Funomena co-founder Robin Hunicke, Microsoft Studios game designer Kim McAuliffe, game designer and IGDA's Women in Games chair Brenda Romero, and Storm8 game designer Elizabeth Sampat.

Art talks from Psychonauts, SimCity co-creators revealed for GDC 2013

GDC 2013 organizers have revealed three new Visual Arts talks for its March conference, including performance capture insights from veteran director Remington Scott, a live character creation demo by Scott Campbell, and Ocean Quigley's overview of the dynamically constructed visuals of the new SimCity.
The Visual Arts Track is just one of seven tracks to be held Wednesday-Friday, March 27-29 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
This particular track "strives to educate artists and technical artists about methods for producing game art and animations," focusing this year on producing "exceptional art while reducing costs."
In 'Performance Capture: Insights from the Edge,' industry pioneer Remington Scott will explain how to bring realistic, digital humans to life, as he does currently as freelance director for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Activision, THQ and Electronic Arts. Scott's talk will combine his experience of over 25 years, during which he worked on Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects winners The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Spiderman 2.
Independent artist Scott Campbell, who served as Psychonauts and Brutal Legend's art director while working with Double Fine, will design a new character in front of his audience in 'Creating Amazing Characters.' Along with the live demo, he will show past works and techniques for creating memorable and distinctive characters.
Finally, Maxis' Ocean Quigley will give an overview of how SimCity's art works within aesthetic, technical, and UI constraints in 'Building SimCity: Art in the Service of Simulation.' Insights will include the motivations behind the game's aesthetics and the methods that Maxis developed to achieve them.

Audience Award voting now open for 2013 GDCAs and IGF Awards

Game Developers Conference organizers have announced that Audience Award voting for both the 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCAs) and the Independent Games Festival (IGF) Main Competition Awards is now open through March 1, 2013 at 5PM ET.
This year marks the first time the Choice Awards have had an Audience Award category. Winners from both Awards shows will be announced Wednesday, March 27 during the 2013 Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
Anyone who would like to vote for the GDCA and IGF Audience Awards can visit the links below, enter the name of the game they'd like to vote for, and a valid email address; voters will then receive an email to confirm their vote. Certain rules for voting do apply; more information on Audience Award voting can be found at the below links:
· Game Developers Choice Audience Award nominations
· Independent Games Festival Main Competition Audience Choice Award nominations
Voters may only select their Audience Award nominees from the list of finalists for the Game Developers Choice Awards and the Independent Games Festival Main Competition Awards.

GDC 2013 Education Summit adds curriculum 'deathmatch,' industry-academia collab panels

GDC 2013 organizers highlight three new talks for its Education Summit in the March conference, including a panel on commercial and educational collaboration, a "deathmatch" of professors arguing their curricula, and a lecture on tabletop RPGs used to teach game design.
The GDC Education Summit is just one of eight Summits to be held Monday-Tuesday, March 25-26 during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
The popular Summit is designed to "explore experimental and inventive educational approaches that established game curriculum builders can bring back to their faculty and classrooms."
As one of the newest lectures, Sam Roberts will share how to teach formal elements of game design using tabletop RPGs in 'Catacombs and Curriculum: Role-Playing Games for Teaching Design.' Roberts will bring his combined experience as assistant director of the Interactive Media Division at USC and co-organizer of the IndieCade festival of independent games for the talk.
In 'Beyond the Dialogue: Perspectives on Industry and Academia,' four panelists will discuss ways that those in commercial game development and academic video game education can benefit from more active cooperation.

Share your 'GDC Story' to win an All Access Pass to GDC 2013

GDC organizers have announced the 'My GDC Story' campaign, which asks past attendees to share their life-changing GDC experiences for a chance to win an All Access Pass to GDC 2013.
Anyone who has participated in a GDC can submit a story. Every story submission will be considered, with one lucky individual winning an All Access Pass to this year's conference to be held March 25-29 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.
Organizers hope to hear any of the following stories:
-If you met someone at GDC who ended up becoming an important person in your life - a friend, a spouse, a business partner
-If you got a job through connections you made at GDC
-If you were uniquely inspired by a GDC session, and how
-If meeting one of your game development heroes at GDC had an impact on your career
-If the Experimental Gameplay Sessions, Independent Games Festival, Game Developers Choice -Awards or another event at GDC helped push you or your game into notoriety
-Any other way that the GDC has had a positive impact on your life or career

Those who wish to participate in the drawing for an All Access Pass to GDC 2013 must submit their story before midnight (PST) on February 28, 2013, following these specific instructions.

GDC 2013 reveals Valentine-themed set of talks on love, NPC romance

[GDC 2013 organizers are highlighting special Valentine-themed talks taking place at March's conference, including Dragon Age's David Gaider on sexuality in games, a talk on NPC romance, and Frank Lantz on 'Strange Love'. Here's their message to you!]
It's Valentine's Day and even video game trade shows have a little love to share. To get you in the mood for the March event, here's a taste of the love potion that is GDC.
Our Design track is aflutter with love and lust. We've got talks from Dragon Age's David Gaider on sexuality in games, a talk on NPC romance, and Frank Lantz on 'Strange Love'.
In 'Sex in Video Games,' BioWare EA's Dragon Age series lead writer David Gaider will tackle how addressing or ignoring social issues such as sexism and sexuality in games can affect not only sales, but public perception about the company who makes them.
Frank Lantz, Parking Wars and Drop7 developer and NYU Game Center Chair, will explain game theory (the mathematical analysis of conflict and decision making) and how it can inspire and influence game design in 'Strange Love: Game Theory vs. Game Design.' The talk will especially appeal to those interested in human behavior or the intersection of math and art.
For those trying to find love, Schell Games designer Heidi McDonald will share research on how men and women approach NPC romance in a poster session entitled 'Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Ferelden.' Narrative designers can learn from her 500-person survey how to address "the romance motivations of several types of players at once."

GDC 2013 adds NASA, Wii U, Dishonored, Journey, DayZ talks

With just a day until the early registration deadline, Game Developers Conference 2013 organizers have revealed talks from NASA on game tech used for robots in space; Nintendo on Miiverse, HTML, and Javascript for Wii U; and lessons from designing DayZ and Journey and co-directing Dishonored.
These lectures are part of the Programming, Production, and Design Tracks in GDC's Main Conference, to be held March 27-29 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center.
The highlights of each lecture are as follows:
- In 'We Are the Space Invaders (Presented by NASA),' Victor Luo and Jeff Norris will explain the crossover between video games and the systems that command real spacecraft. Highlights include the agency's first console video game and how they pilot giant spider robots and humanoids with video game technology.
- Bohemia Interactive project lead Dean Hall will discuss how online multiplayer game DayZ went from mod to commercial game and how it remained "largely intact" after going viral in 'Designing DayZ: Lessons from Cherno.'
- In Empowering the Player in a Story-Rich World: Co-Directing Dishonored,' Arkane Studios' Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith will discuss how they aimed to create "spaces that enable the player to improvise and experiment, devising their own solutions to gameplay obstacles," and engage them "dramatically through interactive systems."

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