GDC 2012

03.09.12

The story behind Activision’s attempt to revive its True Crime series is an interesting one and, at one point, a sad one.  The company hired United Front Games to work on True Crime: Hong Kong, and even announced it during the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards show.  However, months after its development (and a pretty good E3 showcase), the company chose to cancel the project, feeling it wouldn’t live up to its potential.  Now that COULD’VE been a sad story, had Square Enix not picked up the pieces and opted to release the game as an original adventure called Sleeping Dogs.  But it did.

03.09.12

When you develop something that’s considered one of the better games out there, it’s often hard to move on to the next project, as most folks will usually demand more of the same or, as tradition usually calls for, a sequel.  Kim Swift, the developer of Valve’s uber-hit Portal, has managed to do this, though, as her team at Airtight Studios showed us the other night at the Square Enix event with its upcoming Quantum Conundrum.  We gave this delightful little digital treat a run-through in a hands-on demo.

03.09.12

Deadly Premonition is one of those weird cases in the game industry.  There’s some stuff that just doesn’t make sense about it, and its production values aren’t as high as other games you’ll find on the market, but somehow you just can’t help but be mesmerized by what it has to offer within its strange little world.  It’s been a huge hit on Xbox 360, and now, according to news we’ve stumbled across at the Game Developers Conference, PS3 owners will soon get a turn.

03.08.12

SAN FRANCISCO – The cloud gaming service Gaikai cut deals with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to begin the streaming of the Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons Online to players across North America directly from each game’s own website. For the first time ever, Gaikai is streaming massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) from the cloud, straight to players without the need for any download or installation.

03.08.12

SAN FRANCISCO – During the Game Developers Conference (GDC 2012), Epic Games took a trip next door to take the stage at Apple’s media event to showcase its new Infinity Blade: Dungeons game. The new adventure set in the award-winning Infinity Blade universe is coming to the new iPad and other iOS devices later this year. Cliff Bleszinski, design director of Epic Games, talks about the new game and looks back at 20 years of Epic Games in this exclusive video interview.

03.08.12

SAN FRANCISCO -- Montreal-based developer Polytron Corporation proved 2D and 3D environments can get along in Fez, the unique perspective-shifting platformer which earned the Seumas McNally Award for Best Independent Game and the $30,000 grand prize this evening at the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival, hosted by the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. 

03.08.12

Sony is really making a push for independent game development right now.  A couple of days ago, the company hosted a pub crawl that focused on independent developers working on PSN projects, and on the show floor, you can really see what kind of original games they’re shooting for here at Game Developers Conference.  Among them is Dyad, a nouveau racing/strategy game from creator Shawn McGrath that will remind you of the glory days of Tempest, even if it plays completely different.

03.07.12

Game Developers Conference 2012 is just about to kick off here in San Francisco, but Electronic Arts started the party off right last night with a private event.  Not only did the company show off some promising new maps for Battlefield 3, but it also stunned the audience with the first official gameplay footage from Medal of Honor: Warfighter, which wages war on store shelves this October.

03.07.12

SAN FRANCISCO -- With mobile gaming a major theme at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC 2012), Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that it will release the open beta version of PlayStation Suite SDK to content developers in April 2012 and the official version later this year.  Through the introduction of these SDKs, SCE will offer a more streamlined content development environment for content developers — from large game development companies to small, independent shops — and further expand the world of PlayStation® to open operating system based portable devices.

03.07.12

At the Game Developers Conference, there are plenty of surprises making the rounds, with new reveals happening and information dropping on new projects.  Sony was expecting to make some PlayStation Vita announcements over the course of the week, big new games that would carry their new handheld system into the fall system.  However, thanks to a leak over at Play.com, we have an idea of what these projects could very well be…

03.07.12

SAN FRANCISCO -- The franchise that laid the foundations of the city building simulation genre is back, empowering players to create the world of their imagination. Electronic Arts announced that SimCity is breaking new ground in 2013. SimCity for PC, a brand new entry in the franchise is currently in development at Maxis Emeryville, and was revealed today during Game Changers @ GDC, a symposium that featured inspirational speeches from Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, and charity: water CEO and founder Scott Harrison.

03.07.12

SAN FRANCISCO -- According to Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, “a good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” And that’s exactly how the game is being played in the thriving Ontario Technology Corridor, as evidenced by “hockey stick” expansions by companies including Google Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), Gameloft and Arkadium.

03.05.12

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 2012 Game Developers Conference (GDC 2012), the world’s largest and longest running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games begins today and will run through Friday, March 9 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. The premiere conference for game development professionals worldwide, GDC offers attendees a consummate forum to network, share information and uncover new insights and learning opportunities as they look towards the future of interactive entertainment.   

03.05.12

With Game Developers Conference kicking off this week, many game companies are making announcements regarding new projects.  Lionhead Studios, headed up by Peter Molyneux, is no exception.  And while the company is expected to talk about its new Fable project for Kinect, it’s also ready to ramp up Fable Heroes, a game that was unveiled on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week.  But don’t go expecting just an ordinary Fable adventure.

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