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GDC 2014 wants submissions for 'ALT.CTRL' alternative controller exhibit

Game Developers Conference 2014 organizers have opened up a special call for submissions for developers to submit to ALT.CTRL.GDC, an on-site special exhibit focusing on unique control methods for playing games.
ALT.CTRL.GDC will make its debut showcase during GDC 2014's Main Conference, from March 19th-21st, and is seeking submissions until December 30th for indie-centric one-of-a-kind game peripherals, contraptions and novelties which enhance game experiences and challenge traditional forms of input.
Teams for each chosen submission will be asked to showcase their games at the ALT.CTRL.GDC exhibit area at Moscone's North Hall -- alongside the GDC Play area and revamped Career Center. They will receive for free 2 All-Access Passes and 2 Expo Passes for GDC 2014 (a total of 4 passes). (In exchange for Passes and free exhibit space, teams will be responsible for their own travel and the delivery of their exhibit submission to GDC in San Francisco.)
Those interested in participating in ALT.CTRL.GDC should fill out this online form in its entirety. And any questions about the form or the exhibit should be directed to ALT.CTRL.GDC's organizer, John Polson.

Join us for the Guacamelee! postmortem at GDC 2014

With the Independent Games Summit passes sold out and others going fast for the Game Developers Conference 2014, we're announcing even more sessions for the Main Conference that you'll want to check out.

Today's highlights are DrinkBox Studios' Chris Harvey giving a postmortem on the PSN and PC hit Guacamelee!, EA Mobile's Aaron Loeb on how retention is the driving force for success, and Immersyve's Scott Rigby and Troy Skinner on satisfying player autonomy.

14th annual GDC Choice Awards now open for nominations

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has opened nominations for the 14th annual Game Developers Choice Awards through January 4, 2014. Produced by the UBM Tech Game Network, the Choice Awards are one of the most prestigious honors in the video game development industry and will take place the evening of March 19, during GDC 2014 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.
The Game Developers Choice Awards celebrate the skills and expertise of developers recognizing them as leaders in their craft across multiple game development disciplines. Award nominations in 10 categories are now open for games that were released during the 2013 calendar year.

Lucasfilm Games stars in first-ever studio postmortem at GDC 2014

For March's Game Developers Conference 2014, we're announcing an exciting new type of postmortem panel: the Classic Studio Postmortem.
Noah Falstein, a storied game designer known for his work at LucasArts and DreamWorks Interactive, as well as his time as chair of the International Game Developers Association and columnist for Game Developer magazine, will be moderating a discussion of the creative and financial influences that shaped Lucasfilm Games among a panel of developers who worked there during its earliest days.
Panelists include Lucasfilm Games alums Ron Gilbert, Chip Morningstar, David Fox, Steve Arnold and Peter Langston.
Falstein and his fellow developers will talk about what it was like to work at Lucasfilm Games while the studio was finding its feet and releasing a diverse portfolio of games, including Habitat, Ballblazer, and Maniac Mansion. The postmortem seeks to explore what made Lucasfilm Games so iconic and successful, as well as to determine whether a similar studio could succeed today.
This postmortem is an hour-long session, and while the scheduling details aren't final yet -- we'll have more information about when and where the talk is being held when we're a little closer to GDC -- we figured many of you would like an early heads-up about what to expect from this new panel.

Influential game devs join IGF 2014's jury panels

GDC 2014's Independent Games Festival is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ever, thanks to hundreds of indie game developer entrants who are pushing the boundaries of video game development and design.
Some of the most notable people in game development will be evaluating IGF 2014's standout entries. Today we're happy to announce members of some of our discipline-specific jury panels. These panels -- composed of game industry professionals, notable independent game developers and former IGF award winners -- will determine the finalists and winners of the various IGF 2014 awards.
While the juries are still being finalized for other categories as we move toward selection of IGF finalists, here are the confirmed jurors for the Excellence in Narrative Award, Nuovo Award and Excellence in Design Award, in alphabetical order:

Independent Games Festival's 1999 finalists, then and now

The inaugural year for the Independent Games Festival (IGF) was over a decade ago. While over 1,000 entries exist for the 2014 competition, IGF was 10 times smaller in 1999, which may correlate to a time when it was more difficult to be financially successful and independent. Indie angel investors and incubators, console support, digital distribution channels, easy access to free tools and assistance, and online crowd funding initiatives were all but missing at the turn of the millenium.
Even if IGF recognized these innovative but incomplete games, there were more obstacles and fewer options for them to make it to retail. It should come as no surprise that some of the IGF 1999 games from smaller studios remain unfinished. Though not all the games earned success, the talent behind these games has persevered.
Master of remastering ceremonies Jason Scott has revisited some of the more widely known game talent from that year. To complement Jason's excellent preservation of the finalist show reel, this piece will explore what has happened to as many of the first IGF finalists as possible. It looks at what IGF has done for these sometimes repeat finalists, what else they have worked on, and even what they feel could improve IGF.

Sony, Tencent, Blizzard, Ubisoft to speak at this week's GDC Taipei Summit

GDC Taipei Summit 2013 will be held December 5-6 with onsite registration available, and we're highlighting some of the major talks from DeNA, Sony, Tencent, Unity, Ubisoft, and more.
The GDC Taipei Summit, now in its second year, is organized by Gamasutra parent UBM Tech in association with UBM Asia, also co-creators of the recent GDC China event - as well as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Game Industry Promotion Alliance.
The event will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center on December 5-6, 2013, and continues to be the premier professional conference for the creators of games and interactive entertainment in Taiwan. Each event pass will include access to all sessions, breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks, and the conference dinner for the two-day program.
This year's full agenda is now available online and includes newly announced sessions from internationally renowned teams:

Brenda Romero, Ubisoft's Patrick Redding join GDC 2014 speaker lineup

With discounted early registration for Game Developers Conference 2014 in full swing, we're announcing new sessions for the Main Conference that you'll want to check out.
GDC 2014 will have UC Santa Cruz's Brenda Romero talking about re-inspiring designers for greatness, Ubisoft's Patrick Redding on enabling setbacks in stealth games, and Operations Catalyst Consulting's Lucien Parsons on gender-based pricing and in-app payment psychology.
Now in its 28th year, GDC is the world's largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event, and will once again take place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California during March 17-21, 2014.
Brenda Romero of UC Santa Cruz hopes to reignite the passion for greatness that brought developers to their profession in "Jiro Dreams of Game Design." Inspired by the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", Romero will share how to achieve such goals, especially when shipping games often means compromising on an ideal vision.

GDC 2014 passes donated to IGDA student scholarship

Game Developers Conference has once again donated 25 All-Access Conference passes for students to attend GDC 2014 via the IGDA scholarship program.
The International Game Developers Association Scholarships Program is accepting applications for its GDC 2014 scholarships until December 17, 2013. The program is open to all students and recent graduates in fields related to game development.
The IGDA scholarships for GDC 2014 will include full access to the conference, mentorship from members of industry, and chances to talk to senior figures and to visit some of the Bay Area's development studios while in California for the show.
The IGDA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving individuals who create video games, and is dedicated to improving developers' careers and lives through community, professional development, and advocacy. GDC has been donating passes for students since the IGDA Scholarship program began in 2001.

Yu Suzuki revisits Shenmue in GDC 2014 Classic Game Postmortem

For March's Game Developers Conference 2014, we're announcing one of the most exciting game postmortems yet.
Yu Suzuki, the influential Japanese game designer famously known for his work at Sega, will be delivering a Classic Game Postmortem on the iconic Dreamcast game Shenmue. Mark Cerny, game designer and lead system architect for PlayStation 4 will be on-hand to translate Suzuki's presentation into English for the audience.
Suzuki, currently president of his own studio YsNet, will talk for the very first time about the creation of the console classic Shenmue. Beginning with the origin of the title as a Virtua Fighter-based RPG on the Sega Saturn, he will take the audience through the long journey of the game that led to its ultimate release in 1999 on the Sega Dreamcast.
This is an hour-long session - we'll have more scheduling details about the talk as GDC gets closer, but we figure a lot of you would like to get this on your radar! If you can't make it to GDC, be sure to watch the session livestreamed on GameSpot.

GDC Taipei Summit 2013 opens reg, reveals speakers

Registration for the GDC Taipei Summit 2013 has officially opened, with a discount to the event available until the end of November, along with preliminary talks announced from DeNA, PopCap, Crystal Dynamics, PlayStation, Unity, Ubisoft, and more.
The GDC Taipei Summit, now in its second year, is organized by Gamasutra parent UBM Tech in association with UBM Asia, also co-creators of the recent GDC China event - as well as the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Game Industry Promotion Alliance.
The event will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center on December 5-6, 2013, and continues to be the premier professional conference for the creators of games and interactive entertainment in Taiwan. Each event pass will include access to all sessions, breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks, and the conference dinner for the two-day program.
While organizers of this year's event are still finalizing the schedule, several sessions are already planned. Visual arts and audio-focused talks from major multiplatform hits include 'Scoring Tomb Raider: The Music of the Game' with Crystal Dynamics sound designer Alex Wilmer and 'The level art of Splinter Cell Blacklist' with Ubisoft senior art director Liu Yan Feng.

GDC 2014 registration opens, first talks announced

Discounted early registration for Game Developers Conference 2014 is now open, and the first set of announced Main Conference talks include devs on Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Skylanders Swap Force, and Dragon Age.
Now in its 28th year, the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the world's largest and longest-running professionals-only game industry event, and will once again take place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California during March 17-21, 2014.
You can register for the event by visiting the info page on the official GDC 2014 website. Early Bird pricing, with discounts up to 30%, will remain in effect until January 31st, and some passes including the Indie Games Summit pass have limited amounts, so interested parties should register now.
GDC 2014's Main Conference, held on Wednesday-Friday, will contain the following seven Tracks: Advocacy, Audio, Design, Production, Programming, Visual Arts, and Business, Marketing & Management.
To kick off, conference organizers have announced three talks in the Design and Production Tracks - just a few of the hundreds of talks going live between now and the show:

IGF 2014 sees record Student Competition entries, over 1,000 total

The organizers of the 16th annual Independent Games Festival -- the longest-running and largest festival relating to independent games worldwide -- are proud to announce another year of record entries for IGF 2014's Student Competition.
This year's Student Competition, which will display finalists and show winners at Game Developers Conference 2014, took in almost 350 game entries across all platforms -- PC, console and mobile -- from a wide variety of the most prestigious universities, games programs, and even high schools from around the world.
Together with the Main Competition submissions, this year's IGF has taken in over 1,000 total entries -- once again surpassing the festival's record across the Main and Student Competitions.
This year's Student Competition includes lauded entries such as University of Washington-developed and over 400% Kickstarted action platformer roguelike-like Risk of Rain and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht-developed Wild West action adventure Westerado.

GDC Next, App Developers Conference see nearly 4,000 in attendance

Two inaugural events, the App Developers Conference (ADC) and Game Developers Conference Next (GDC Next), closed Thursday, Nov. 7 after hosting close to 4,000 industry professionals at the Los Angeles Convention Center, more than 40 percent up in attendees from the show's spiritual predecessor GDC Online in 2012. Both conferences were produced by UBM Tech, the creators of the largest and longest-running professionals-only event for the games industry, the Game Developers Conference (GDC). ADC and GDC Next will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 4-6, 2014.
Both ADC and GDC Next brought their respective industries' leaders together to share best practices and help developers fine-tune their crafts by providing valuable insights on the future of digital interactivity. Together the conferences welcomed more than 170 speakers across more than 150 sessions from influential and distinguished companies within the app, game and entertainment industries. Talks at ADC included those given by speakers from Evernote, Netflix, Pandora, Tumblr and more, while GDC Next featured talks by Double Fine Productions, Google, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Ouya, thatgamecompany, Ubisoft, Walt Disney Imagineering and several others.
In addition, The Combined Expo Floor featured more than 80 of the top game and app companies as exhibitors and sponsors, including Google, Sony, Microsoft, Oculus VR, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm and more. The Expo Floor also hosted the ADC Best in Apps contest which was presented by way of a partnership with AppCircus, the unique global traveling showcase of the most innovative and creative apps. Sixteen finalists presented their apps to a panel of industry leaders and one winner was selected in each of four categories. Each winner was awarded a nomination for the prestigious Mobile Premier Awards, held by AppCircus during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early 2014.
The ADC Best in Apps winners are:

GDC Next 10: SWERY on the new Kinect and D4's inspiration

"I think my own life, the people around me, and my relationships with them have an influence on my creative process. "

In advance of GDC Next, which runs in Los Angeles next week, GDC director of online community Patrick Miller talked to D4 creator Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro about working with the new Kinect, and the creative influences behind his work.
Suehiro will be speaking about D4 in his GDC Next 10 talk in LA on Wednesday, Nov. 6th titled " D4: Dawn of the Dreaming Director's Drama".

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