Another games conference has come and gone, but don’t worry if you didn’t realise there was even one going on – GDC doesn’t get that much press. So here’s a rundown on the Game Developers Conference and some of the rare announcements and rumours that came out of it.
When everyone thinks of games and technology shows they immediately think of the Electronics and Entertainment Expo (E3) or the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and these are normally the sites for a company to reveal their newest console or game. The Game Developers Conference, or GDC, is a very different kind of show – it is designed for gaming professionals to share ideas and to see the newest advancements in design and art. Networking is a major part of GDC, and most of the news that comes out over the week is from the conversations the developers have in the bars after the day’s events are over. The actual day events are very lecture based, with different gaming professionals talking about new methods of advertising and paying for a game, as well as discussions on what games inspired them the most and led to the games we love now.
Of course, getting into the conference is a task in itself, as you need to pay for a pass or have a press pass to even get any of the giveaways. One way you can get in is to register as a volunteer – you get into the conference and all you have to do is volunteer for a few hours over the week. If you are interested in some of the talks and lectures that were presented you can go to the conference website (which also includes the European and Chinese GDCs) www.gdcvault.com, where you can view some of the talks for free.
All this discussion and tech panels doesn’t mean there are reveals of new games, the conference does get its fair share of announcements. One of the new big name games to be announced is LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, the sequel to the most original of the LEGO games. While LEGO games have traditionally been based on a specific movie trilogy or TV show, the Batman game was based around three entirely original storylines involving several super-villain team-ups. The new game will feature original storylines once again but will also include new villains and allies, not just from the traditional Batman stories. On the side of evil, Lex Luthor will be joining the villains, bringing madness and the money to back it up. On the side of good will be Superman, who will join up with Batman and Robin to stop the villains. While Superman is the only extra hero announced, I think the title DC Superheroes and the fact that the physical Batman sets have been expanded to also include Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, means that more character announcements will be coming soon. Interestingly the new game is going to break away from all the previous LEGO games by hiring voice actors – yes, there is actually going to be dialogue in this game instead of the normal pointing and gesturing (My favourite is Darth Vader showing Luke a picture of Anakin and a pregnant Padme and continually pointing at himself – Anakin – and Luke, before Luke finally figures it out and does a silent NNNNOOOOOOooooooo!!!!!). I don’t know if the change will be good or bad, there has always been a kind of quirky fun about the LEGO games and I think the silent characters was a big part of that.
A recent rumour that didn’t get any attention at GDC was the possibility of a Steam-based PC console system from Valve. The system would be based on an open system structure, meaning you could upgrade and replace components. While Valve Marketing head Doug Lombardi has said that the company is “a long way from shipping any sort of hardware” that hasn’t stopped people speculating. Some of the rumours hint towards a high end PC type system that would be connected into the Steam system and other downloading spots to offer an open Steam-based system. The problem with this scenario is the potential price, as the moment you get into the price range of a high end gaming PC then you should really just get a PC. Pricing the system too low means that the hardware probably won’t be that advanced because of the need to cut costs. Unfortunately that would probably lead to many top tier PC games being too advanced for the system to handle – and again the solution is to get a gaming PC.
The big gaming companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have been able to put out advanced systems (well, they’re advanced if you don’t count the Wii) for relatively affordable prices. However this is because they have a devoted fan base and they use a closed system architecture so that they are really the only source for their specific games. Valve on the other hand would have to deal with the problem of trying to convince someone to buy a Steam-branded PC console and play Steam-based games on it instead of using their PC and playing the exact same Steam-based games.
I don’t think this kind of system would work in the current gaming world. At the moment mobile gaming systems are gaining momentum mainly because they are part of a device you already have for calling, rather than being a separate device that really only serves one purpose. Now, I am saying this with a partial retraction of some previous comments, as it has recently been brought to my attention that the Nintendo 3DS is apparently doing better on sales than the original DS did. While I find this very surprising I think it might be due to the fact that I don’t know anyone in the main target age group of the DS and the PSP. Maybe people are buying their kids a portable gaming system because they think they are too young for a cell phone. I don’t know, I just don’t want to outright say I was wrong.
So that is it for this article, good luck with exams or the last month of the co-op term, and remember to take a break from studying to Keep on Gaming. See you in the Spring term.
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