News - GDC 2009

0 comments by stenchy on Mar 16th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Organizers of the Independent Games Festival (IGF) have launched the IGF Audience Award voting website. Visitors can download and play 15 of the Main Competition finalist games and vote for their favorite independent game. Online voting will continue through March 20th, and the winner will be awarded the $2,500 prize at the IGF awards ceremony on the same evening that the voting closes, along with the winners of a total of $50,000 in prizes as part of the IGF Main and Student Competitions. The full list of finalist games for download and voting is available at Igf.com.

In addition to digital download, all finalist games will be playable at the IGF Pavilion, March 25-27, on the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Expo floor. Finalists were chosen from a record 226 entries and represent the growth of the independent games movement with innovative games of excellent quality, across various platforms. GDC, Think Services Game Group's annual conference dedicated to the art, science and business of games, takes place Mar. 23-27, 2009 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

The games with eligible demos or full versions on PC, XBLA, XNA Community Games or PSN are: Retro/Grade, Dyson, Brainpipe, The Maw, IncrediBots, Osmos, Musaic Box, Cortex Command, CarneyVale Showtime, Coil, The Graveyard, PixelJunk Eden, Mightier, You Have To Burn The Rope, and Between.

"The Audience Award is always one of my favorite categories, as such a big part of the independent movement is about giving the public a voice," said Simon Carless, IGF chairman. "With the quality of the finalist games that have been nominated this year, we hope to have a record amount of votes on the website."

Mountain Dew's Green Label Gaming is the 2009 Platinum Sponsor, alongside Microsoft's XNA division and Sony as the Gold and Silver Sponsors respectively, and DigiPen Institute Of Technology is the Platinum Student Showcase Sponsor.

The IGF was established in 1998 by the CMP Game Group (now Think Services) to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers, in the way that the Sundance Film Festival honors the independent film community. For more information on the Independent Games Festival and to register for GDC, please visit www.gdconf.com.

0 comments by stenchy on Mar 16th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. will deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, kicking-off the main conference's schedule of lectures, panel discussions and roundtables that provide the central forum for learning, inspiration, and networking in the games industry. The address, "Discovering New Development Opportunities" marks Iwata-san's first return to the GDC keynote stage since 2006. The Game Developers Conference takes place March 23-27 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

Being a developer himself, Iwata's keynote lectures at the Game Developers Conference are known for inspiring other developers to think about creating games in new and different ways. His 2005 keynote gave developers the first information about the technology being used for the next-generation console then codenamed "Revolution" which has since become known as the Wii. In 2006, Iwata spoke about "disrupting development," and introduced the Western development community to philosophies on engaging new players, surprising existing players and the role the company's video game systems would play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers.

"The Game Developers Conference is thrilled to welcome Satoru Iwata back to the keynote stage," said Meggan Scavio, Event Director of the GDC. "His previous talks at the GDC can be credited with setting the stage for much of the huge growth the games industry has since seen, and attendees continue to talk about how both lectures impacted their perspective on development. We are confident that Iwata's keynote this year will be added to the list of memorable GDC talks. Attendees are eager to know how he will inspire them this year."

Born in 1959 in the Hokkaido Prefecture of Japan, Iwata studied at and graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology University, where he majored in computer science. Shortly after graduating, Iwata joined HAL Laboratory, Inc. and in 1983 began coordinating the software production and development of Nintendo titles, such as the Kirby series. By 1993, he had become president of that company. In 2000, Iwata moved to Nintendo Co., Ltd. as the head of the Corporate Planning division, where he was responsible for Nintendo's global corporate planning. In 2002, he was named president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. where he continues to guide development of games with the passion of a game creator.

Satoru Iwata's keynote, "Discovering New Development Opportunities," is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PST in the Esplanade Room of the Moscone Center's South Hall.

0 comments by stenchy on Mar 16th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Fallout 3 game designer Emil Pagliarulo will be the keynote speaker for the Game Career Seminar, a single-track event at the Game Developers Conference® (GDC), at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The special interview-style keynote, with Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley, will explore Emil Pagliarulo’s life story to explain how he got to where he is today. The keynote talk, “Unlikely Beginnings: Fallout 3’s Lead Designer on His Path into the Game Industry,” will guide attendees through his career path, from nearly becoming an elementary school teacher, to working as a game journalist and eventually to designing one of 2008’s most critically-acclaimed games.

The Game Career Seminar is programmed by the GDC in association with GameCareerGuide.com for individuals interested in learning how to build a career in the videogame industry. The Seminar takes place at GDC on Friday, March 27 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. The GDC Career Pavilion and Expo is open Wednesday through Friday, March 25-27.

Before he became a game designer with a defining role on one of the most highly acclaimed video games of 2008, Pagliarulo was a videogame journalist. Even before that, Pagliarulo was destined to be an elementary school teacher. He and Keighley will uncover when and how this career trajectory evolved, including what role, if any, professional networking, corporate ladder-climbing and luck played in his success. The special interview format will facilitate a lively and engaging conversation on the trials and tribulations of a career in game development.

“Emil’s story helps illustrate what can happen when we choose to pursue something we’re really passionate about,” says Meggan Scavio, the director of Game Developers Conference. “Geoff and Emil’s chat is the perfect way to learn how a unique life, passion and capitalizing on opportunities can lead to a career in game development at any stage in one’s life.”

The Game Career Seminar provides opportunities for aspiring game developers to meet with hiring managers and executives from leading game companies, and to network with industry professionals to learn how to begin or advance their careers in the $18 billion dollar industry. The speaker lineup includes top game and industry experts willing to share their experience and expertise with attendees. Access to the Game Career Seminar is available with any GDC pass option which also grants access to the GDC Career Pavilion and Expo floor featuring the top tool, platform, and software companies recruiting today.

For more information about the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and scheduled events and seminars, please visit www.gdconf.com.

0 comments by stenchy on Mar 16th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Think Services Game Group’s 2009 Game Developers Choice Awards, the highest honors in game development acknowledging excellence in game creation, will honor Hideo Kojima with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony taking place at the Game Developers Conference (GDC).

Kojima is Corporate Officer, Executive Producer and Director of Kojima Productions and creator of the seminal Metal Gear series. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the career and achievements of developers who have made an indelible impact on the craft of game development, as Kojima has with over twenty years of work on Metal Gear and other notable franchises.

Renowned as one of the world’s most influential contemporary game developers, Hideo Kojima first decided to get involved in the game development business while studying economics. Driven by the hardware limitations of the MSX personal computer, he pursued a fresh approach to the action game genre – and thus the stealth genre was born with 1987's Metal Gear for Konami.

After creating the cult Snatcher and Policenauts franchises, the global breakthrough for Kojima’s career took place in 1998 when Konami's Metal Gear Solid was released on Sony’s PlayStation platform. This seminal title has been followed by a host of important sequels and franchise additions, including the critically acclaimed Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and 2008's multi-million selling Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Kojima also produced the well-received mech action Zone of the Enders series, and also created Boktai: The Sun in your Hand, a Game Boy Advance game which contained a photometric sunlight sensor in the cartridge that charged a vampire’s solar weapon, another example of the designer's signature disruption of traditional gaming mechanics.

“For years, Hideo Kojima’s contributions to game development have broken new ground and inspired the community to think about creating games in never-before-imagined ways,” said Meggan Scavio, event director of the Game Developers Conference. “From giving birth to the stealth action game genre to showing game makers how to interact with their players by breaking the ‘fourth wall,’ Kojima’s achievements make him an obvious choice for an award that in previous years has gone to luminaries including Sid Meier, Shigeru Miyamoto, Richard Garriott, Eugene Jarvis, Mark Cerny, Gunpei Yokoi, Yuji Naka and Will Wright.”

Presented by GDC and Webby-award winning Gamasutra.com, the awards ceremony is held in conjunction with the Independent Games Festival and will be hosted on March 25, in the Esplanade Room in the South Hall of San Francisco’s Moscone Center. For complete details, please visit www.gamechoiceawards.com.

The editors of Gamasutra.com, who are in charge of award management, worked in association with the Choice Awards Advisory Committee, which includes notables such as Doug Lombardi (Valve), John Vechey (PopCap), Ben Cousins (EA DICE), Ray Muzyka (BioWare), and Clint Hocking (Ubisoft), to pick the Special Award winners following audience nominations.

Hideo Kojima will also be making his Game Developers Conference speaking debut at GDC09 when he gives the keynote lecture, “Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible,” the morning after the Choice Awards Ceremony, on Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PST in the Esplanade Room of the Moscone Center’s South Hall.

For further information about the Game Developers Choice Awards, please visit www.gamechoiceawards.com. For further information about GDC and to register for attendance, please visit www.gdconf.com.

0 comments by stenchy on Mar 16th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Hideo Kojima, Corporate Officer, Executive Producer and Director of Kojima Productions, will deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference® (GDC). Known for giving rise to the stealth action game genre with his creation of the acclaimed Metal Gear series more than two decades ago, Kojima’s keynote will focus on conquering various development obstacles with creative game design, using the driving game design philosophies behind the Metal Gear series as reference. The address, “Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible,” marks Kojima’s debut appearance at the GDC. The Game Developers Conference takes place March 23-27 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

Renowned as one of the world’s most influential contemporary game developers, Hideo Kojima first decided to get involved in the game development business while studying economics. Driven by the hardware limitations of the MSX personal computer, he pursued a fresh approach to the action game genre – and thus the stealth genre was born with Metal Gear. The debut title was then ported to the Famicom, known Stateside as the Nintendo Entertainment System, and received an unofficial sequel titled Snake’s Revenge. The global breakthrough for Kojima’s career took place in 1998 when Metal Gear Solid was released on Sony’s PlayStation platform. Before the sequel in 2002, Kojima also produced the mech action game Zone of the Enders. Kojima also created Boktai: The Sun in your Hand, a Game Boy Advance game which contained a photometric sensor in the cartridge that charged a vampire’s solar weapon, sending gamers outdoors to catch some fresh air. This type of idea is something that Kojima has become known for—breaking the “fourth wall” and forcing the player to interact with the game in ways outside of traditional gameplay.

“The Game Developers Conference has invited Hideo Kojima to keynote every year for as long as I can remember, so we couldn't be more excited that, at long last, he feels that it is time for him to address the game development community,” said Meggan Scavio, event director of the GDC. “The anticipation is already huge to see how one of the community’s most revered and elusive creators will inspire attendees to further push the limits of game development.”

Hideo Kojima’s keynote, “Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible,” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PST in the Esplanade Room of the Moscone Center’s South Hall.