If your life revolves around making video games, then you would be in San Francisco this week. The annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (http://www.gdconf.com/) is THE major event for the game development industry. GDC is five days of educational sessions, specialized summits, networking events, and expo & career pavilions.
The main part of the show opened today with the Career Fair and Expo Hall as well as more session for Art, Programming, Design, Production, etc.
Also featured today was a Keynote Address from Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, who spoke about how Nintendo & Independent Developers can both be successful in the same market and how Nintendo’s Star Designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, approaches design and development.
Some things that caught our attention on Wednesday were:
If you are an old gamer like me, then you have fond memories of Lode Runner, a hit game from the 80’s. Now Tozai Games have brought a greatly updated version to the Xbox Live Arcade for your Xbox 360 game console. This game is really cool and a lot of fun.
It’s an all-new Lode Runner gold mine: 3D graphics, frenzied 2D action, lodes of modes, 220 levels, multiplayer options, puzzles, a level editor and more! Run, climb, blast blocks, outsmart enemies and grab the gold on your own or with a partner! It’s classic action with lodes of new twists. Battle up to three friends on Xbox LIVE in a frantic game of tag, where the first to die are the first to avenge…as enemies! Survive endlessly spawning foes to earn medals. Create devious levels to challenge the Community. For long-time fans or first-time runners, it’s the mother lode!
Lode Runner legacy: Inspired by the ground-breaking action title, the all-new Lode Runner was recreated block by block for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Just as in the original award-winning game, the new Lode Runner rewards fast, smart and gutsy moves. Preserving the classic style of play was the foundation for creating the definitive Lode Runner experience!
Game modes for everyone: Play expansive single-player and co-op Journey campaigns, frantic Hang On survival challenges, complex puzzles, and a four-player Last Man competition that rewards sabotage, revenge, and outright deviousness.
No player left behind: Revive a fallen teammate and continue play without penalty in Co-op Journey mode, and avenge an untimely death reborn as an enemy in Last Man matches!
New content: Explore five worlds inhabited by unique enemies and featuring special terrain such as avalanche blocks, stalactites and teleports. Blast blocks with bombs and collect energy balls to add lives. Unearth hidden enemies! Transition from one level to the next seamlessly. Master new co-operative play techniques like blasting blocks while riding on a buddy’s head.
Level Editor and Community: Design custom levels for any game mode and environment to challenge your friends. Host Xbox LIVE matches with your own cunning creations or download the coolest custom levels from the Lode Runner Community!
Sony showed a number of current game titles in their booth as well as development tools and technology, but the coolest thing was two of their racing games in TrueHD 3D. Using a basic pair of glasses, you got a clear, sharp 3D picture on an HD display. It was impressive. Too bad it is mainly a technology demonstration at this time and there is no release date or price for it. Hopefully it will come to your Playstation 3 soon.
If iPhone development is something you are considering, then check out Unity (http://unity3d.com/unity/). Unity is a complete development environment and toolset for development and publishing. Versions are available for different platforms such as iPhone, Wii, Online, etc. The pricing is very reasonable for development tools as a complete set of iPhone development is under $3,000 USD per user. Prices will vary depending on the exact set of features you want.
And finally, NeuroSky (http://www.neurosky.com/) was showing their brain-computer interface technology. The NeuroSky Mindset is basically a set of headphones that you wear and while using special software, it allows you to manipulate a game or software program by concentrating or focusing on objects. The mindset essentially monitors your level of calm or stress and combines that with your level of concentration to control elements of a game. Of course the technology is not ready to actually allow you to say, drive a car or play a shooting game. The basic NeuroSky technology is being used in toys such as the Star Wars Force Trainer. The Mindset will be available this summer and you can check it out on the NeruoSky web site.
Stay turned for more news and products from GDC San Francisco.
—Harvey Lee
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