The Game Developers Conference 2006 Thread (Part II)

A

Amir0x

Banned
GDC2006.jpg


_____________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY
_____________________________________________________________________________

The Game Developers Conference 2006
March 20-24
San Jose, California
@ the San Jose Convention Center

For those who missed it, you can visit PART I of this thread here.

We've got lots of keynotes, and all sorts of interesting panels... I'm sure we'll get plenty of great tidbits from all over the place. But will there be big news? I'm sure someone will say something worth a 20 page thread about. Wait, it's already a 20 page thread. Harrison speech is done. So what's next? Revolutionton with Zelda: Twilight Princess fly fishing? Xbox360ton with Microsoft announcing the death of core pack?

Something for everyone, I'm sure. GDC isn't E3, so... you know... keep the hype at a manageable level :p

Keynote/Seminar Summaries

● "Risks and Rewards of Going Global w/ Mobile Games"
● "Taking mobile games to the next level"
● "Getting excited about serious games"
● "Laskey dials up mobile gaming's future"
● "Juul's rules on games without goals."
● "Big Brands on the Small Screen"
● "World Tour of Mobile Innovations"
● "Epic shows off Unreal Tools (Gears of War 360, Unreal Tournament PS3)"
● "Games for brains: The effect of gaming on developing and sustaining cognitive abilities."

~Special thanks to Gamespot for most of these links.

_____________________________________________________________________________

MICROSOFT
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x360_logo_02.jpg


Here's a list of some speakers for the Microsoft group...

Brian Keller Product Manager Microsoft XNA Programming
Frank Savage Development Manager Microsoft XNA Game Design
Pete Isensee Lead Software Design Engineer Microsoft Xbox Programming
Jennifer Boespflug Software Test Engineer Lead Microsoft Game Studios Production
Nick Dimitrov Business Development Manager Microsoft Game Studios Business and Management
Kevin Goebel User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
Charles Harrison User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
Philip Hove User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
Marcos Nunes-Ueno User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
David Quiroz User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
Tracey Sellar User Research Engineer Microsoft Game Studios Game Design
John Wendl Art Director Microsoft Game Studios Business and Management
Greg Canessa GM, Xbox Live Arcade Microsoft Corporation Business and Management
Jon David Lead Xbox Live Arcade Program Manager Microsoft Corporation Programming
Click to expand...

For a full list, click here and go to schedule.

News

● Microsoft delivers pre-release version of the first XNA Studio tools and unveiled the XNA Framework. They also announced that the company is opening its Xbox Live® server platform to game developers and publishers, "allowing them to innovate and extend the Xbox Live experience in their titles." Thanks to Ecrofirt. (Press Release)
● Arne has posted some pics of the XNA demos showed today. (Images of "Culture" and "Pocket-Jong". For more comprehensive info on XNA news, click here.)
● Microsoft is going to distribute two to three times the number of Xbox 360 consoles than ever before starting this week. In addition, there will be new downloadable content for PGR3, PDZ and Kameo. (Press Release)
● Microsoft announced that its scheduled rollout of Windows Vista had been delayed until January 2007, setting back its planned "PC rededication". (News Article)

Not really sure what can be announced here... Arne suggested we're gonna get something "of interest" especially after the recent Sony conference, but he said definitely don't hype it up. So... should be fun.

_____________________________________________________________________________

NINTENDO
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Nintendo-revolution7.jpg


The IMPORTANT event that every Nintendo fan should be watching is the Iwata keynote.

Iwata2.gif


Satoru Iwata
President, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
"Disrupting Development"
Thursday, March 23
10:30 – 11:30am

Other time zones:

New York Thu 1:30 PM
San Francisco Thu 10:30 AM
Athens Thu 8:30 PM
London Thu 6:30 PM
Perth Fri 2:30 AM
Auckland Fri 6:30 AM
Tokyo Fri 3:30AM

~Thanks VOOK~

This year will see the arrival of more new portable and home game systems, and outside attention remains predictably focused on technical specifications and processing muscle. This is not trivial; but also not newsworthy. After all, every new system is more powerful than its predecessor.

Developers know what drives the video game business. It is our work. We are the creators, the innovators, the entertainers. We understand that people who imagine things, even more than the people who engineer them, are the key to reaching players.

Unfortunately, the application of imagination is getting more and more difficult. Larger games require more hours, more manpower, and a lot more money. And as budgets rise, the appetite for risk falls.

As Nintendo has demonstrated with Nintendo DS, our goal is to expand the industry to new players—and to surprise existing players.

In a speech entitled, ”Disrupting Development,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will reveal the backstory of how a string of recent disruptive products from Nintendo—the Nintendo DS, the ‘brain-training’ games, and Nintendo WiFi Connection—surprised the market. He will share his thoughts on the role Nintendo’s video game systems will play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers.
Click to expand...

For a full list of people scheduled to speak from Nintendo group, click here.

News

● Nintendo announced Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the NDS. "The game appears to use the stylus in a few different ways, such as drawing an hourglass shape to open a door, plotting out the path of a ship on the ocean, and writing numbers, though the reasons for the number writing are currently unknown. You'll also be able to use the touch screen it to direct your boomerang shots." (Article)
● Nintendo announced partnerships with SEGA and Hudson to bring "the best" of SEGA Genesis and Turbografx games for download on Revolution's "virtual console." (Article)
● Nintendo's goal is to "offer tools to disrupt traditional methods of game creation." Revmote is one such tool, for example. (Article)
● Talked up Brain Training again.
● Talked up Metroid Prime Hunters again.
● Watch a video of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass here.
● For a full breakdown of the conference, go here

Well...

_____________________________________________________________________________

SONY
_____________________________________________________________________________

ps3-logo.jpg


For the Sony fans, they've got a nice keynote to look forward to. Hopefully for some clarification of the events of Wednesdayton.

Phil2.gif


Focusing on the new creative, technical, and business opportunities provided by the arrival of PlayStation 3, the keynote will share Sony Computer Entertainment's innovative plans for the format and will provide a look at how new technology and new business models will help fuel the growth of the computer entertainment industry by attracting new consumers.

SCE is recognized as the global leader of the video game business with over 200 million hardware units and billions of software units sold across the three PlayStation formats. The recent global success of PlayStation Portable has shown the company’s commitment to continued innovation—developing the market beyond the traditional definitions of the game consumer.

This keynote will look at the tremendous opportunities presented to game developers worldwide as the industry goes “beyond the box.”
Click to expand...

Phil has already given his speech, and you can see the results below.

For a full list of people scheduled to speak from Sony group, click here.

News

● AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, today announced that the latest version of AGEIA PhysX™ SDK version 2.4 will become available to registered PLAYSTATION® 3 game content developers on March 31, 2006. (Press Release)
● Two new PS3 demos shown - New LOD demo, and an underwater demo featuring thousands of fish. (Article, Videos)
● Blu-Ray talked up. Blu-Ray was said to promise 200 times more space for gaming than other platforms. With this much space, one global SKU (or version of the game) could be developed for all regions across the globe. Getaway demo shown in real-time, the system pulls data from the BRD to display all the detail and data and population of the hotspot. (Article)
● Heavenly Sword demo shown, like the one at E3. Except this time it was real-time. (Video)
● A Car demo was shown. In it, a car was subjected to bullet shots as paint chipped and the car eventually exploded. (Article)
● A real-time demonstration of Warhawk was shown. Across a massive battlefield, you could see ambient warfare everywhere, with background battles raging far away from you. (Article)
● Sony discusses more about its online plan. Sony's online network will offer downloadable content and online commerce using micropayments. The company also plans a subscription service. (Article)
● Ratchet and Clank demo shown. The demo featured a bright, lush, bustling city somewhat similar to Coruscant from Star Wars or designs from The Fifth Element. Gagetron vehicles hustled here and there -- the whole environment was busy with activity. (Article)
● Phil Harrison confirmed that online would require broadband, and confirmed that every PS3 will come with a HDD. Update - Kotaku says HDD is NOT confirmed. "First, he declined to talk about whether the hard drive will be included in the PS3. Instead, he said that all PS3 games will require the hard drive." (Article)
● Sony reiterates that PS3 will be fully backward compatible from day one.
● Sony reveals that PS3 will be playable at E3. Warhawk is one of the games that will be playable. (Article)
● New "real-time" Motorstorm demo shown. "Compared to the E3 presentation, the game looked surprisingly like its promise. The game featured buggies and motorcycles running through a rugged desert." (Article)
● Songstar announced for PS3. Songstar is a singing title which supports downloadable games, as well as adding pics and videos using the EyeToy camera peripheral. (Article)
● Resistance: Fall of Man demo shown. The new realtime demo showed the game in much more complete form than the simple FPS that was shown at E3 in 2005. (Article)
● Harrison reveals PS3 games will be region-free. (Article)
● Sony showed a video of God of War II: Divine Retribution. The trailer consisted mostly of Kratos fighting off a 3-headed dog (where he viciously ripped off heads), then grabbing a griffon in flight and chopping off its wings. (Article)
● Sony talks up PSP. GPS launch in winter, Eyetoy launch in Fall.
● SNK Playmore confirmed today that the PlayStation Portable will be receiving a new compilation pack in the wildly wild shooter series, Metal Slug. Metal Slug Collection features six games from the series, including Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 and Metal Slug 5. The PSP version will also feature 2-player wireless co-op play. The collection is planned for release this November. (Article)


An anonymous source said there will be at least 1 live PS3 gameplay demo during Harrison's keynote. Possibly 2-3. Guess he was right.

_____________________________________________________________________________

MISC
_____________________________________________________________________________

Here's the spot for everything else. Who knows what that would be...

News

● NVIDIA Corporation and Havok, the game industry's leading supplier of cross- platform middleware, will be demonstrating a physics effects solution that runs completely on a graphics processing unit (GPU) -- an industry first. (Press Release)
● Nokia unveiled a new software development kit (SDK) and consumer interface for its next generation mobile gaming platform. Its next-gen mobile game platform is set to launch in 2007. (Press Release)
● Dell Enhances Its Commitment to High-Performance Computing With Planned Acquisition of Alienware Corporation. (Press Release)
● Crysis GDC 2006 Trailer
● Ageia PhysX GDC Videos ~ Thanks BlueTsunami

Anyway... that's all for now. Discuss.
 
S

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
i wont be able to see the thread for about 12 hours after the bomb drops so dont forget to make a summar thread!
 
I

IAmtheFMan

Member
Nice idea. So can we expect GAF to chug better, the same or worse then today due to the influx of N-fans that are bound to show?
 
A

ant1532

Banned
Now Nintendo's up to bat. (we need a Iwata baseball photoshop with Reggie next to him waitin to bat) :D

After Sony's giant speech, I really think Nintendo is gunna say more than they had planned.
 
V

VOOK

We don't know why he keeps buying PAL, either.
Amir0x said:
It was already updated into the main post :)
Click to expand...

lol damn too fast :lol


Sadly I am a N-Bot Shmo who will be waiting up till 2:30am :lol

Tokyo will be Tokyo 3:30AM
 
T

TekunoRobby

Tag of Excellence
Choice Awards:

Darwinia fucking rocks but we already knew that.

Tallarico is short

Harmonix needs to work on their kareoke skills

Gabe Newell said beef

Shadow of the Colossus raped all
 
S

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
This thread's rebirth will be bigger than the last I think. We'll probably get several spin-off threads as well :lol
 
A

Ark-AMN

Banned
mj1108 said:
It's a Nintendo news day... will be a larger thread than the other one -- guaranteed.
Click to expand...
Well, I meant more for me. :D

Still, there's lots to do and even though I plan sessions there are things that come up which interfere with that like today in which I missed both the Collosus and HL2 sessions (though after seeing UE3, I was less interested in HL2 :p).
 
S

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
Going to add this since I'm sure people will ask anyway.

For Iwata's keynote speech:

Brisbane time: 4:30am
Rest of Eastern Australia: 5:30am
 
T

TekunoRobby

Tag of Excellence
Amir0x should be official thread creator of GAF. OH AND I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID, NO COMPLETE SHADOW KEYNOTE PHOTOS FOR YOU.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
TekunoRobby said:
Amir0x should be official thread creator of GAF. OH AND I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID, NO COMPLETE SHADOW KEYNOTE PHOTOS FOR YOU.
Click to expand...

You are a turncoat! All it took was a few drinks from Arne! "PS2-quality!?" Where is your dignity?

also, official thread creating is more exhausting then it looks!
 
G

Gek54

Junior Member
Note in the following comparisons how differently two media avenues cover the PS3.

WARHAWK

IGN says...
Quote:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697628p1.html
In the demo, the game was shown with a full HUD of the new futuristic Warhawk ship. Across a massive battlefield, you could see ambient warfare everywhere, with background battles raging far away from you. Our editors report great lighting, volumetric cloud effects, and incredibly fast motion. One of the coolest events involved burning pieces of capital ships raining down and falling into the gorgeous ocean below.

Gaming Age says...
Quote:
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2006/3/22-53
Warhawk, while looking great, was essentially a barren section of ocean with a lot of fighter ships (they were aiming for a hundred for the final game) going around destroying larger vessels and some nice looking water (wave simulation with procedural animation) and clouds (volumetric raytracing). Overall it was a great demo but a far cry of what was shown last year and gave a nice sobering introduction to the rest of the demos which was shown towards the end. Fortunately it will be playable at E3.

MOTORSTORM

IGN says...
Quote:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697633p1.html
Compared to the E3 presentation, the game is close in presentation and functionality and look to its promise, with detail not reaching the level of the astounding E3 demo but still running with some very cool technology to provide a new way of playing in the mud. Developed by Evolution Studios, the game's presentation featured buggies and motorcycles running through a rugged desert. The game's advanced new mud physics were incredible, leaving ruts behind in the mud using real physics. For example, a motorcycle was seen cutting a deep groove in the mud while kicking up muck at a white truck following it, the trailing vehicle buckily wildly as it battled off the streaming mud while also trying to find a line to drive in the groove-etched bog. The particle effects, however, were not nearly at that level of quality, looking a little temporary at this stage of early development. Hopefully, the unfinished details will be sweetened up as the game goes on, and the gameplay already showed signs of achieving the frantic nature of the E3 2005 teaser video.

Gaming Age says...
Quote:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697633p1.html
Next up was Motorstorm and just like Warhawk was no where near the E3 target render. The car models and physics were decent although the texturing and the environment was PS2 level of quality. The real star of the demonstration was the deformable terrain which worked quite well with the physics of the cars. The demo also had HDR, post processing effects, and occlusion.

Resistance/I-8

IGN says...
Quote:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697636p1.html
In development at Insomniac Games (the makers of early Spyros and all the Ratchet and Clanks), the new real-time demo showed the game in much more complete form than the simple FPS that was shown at E3 in 2005. In the demonstration (which may still an alternate version of historic warfare, although the latest trailer showed more of a post-apocalyptic, alien-invader look), the gameplay was shown with new weapons very much like Ratchet and Clank, only now with a more realistic slant. How real did the game demo get? There were body parts tossed about that rolled around on the ground... with realistic physics, of course. The demo also showed off effects such as smoke trails on grenades, tactical troop movements, and enemies that came from the ceilings as the lead character ran down a devastated corridor.

Gaming Age says..
Quote:
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2006/3/22-53
The next game was Resistance, the title formally known as I-8. Out of all the games this one was the farthest along but unfortunately the least interesting. It was your standard FPS affair with highly linear levels, decent A.I. and moderately interesting weapons. The lighting/texturing/modeling was all decent but nothing groundbreaking.

psm14-encircled.jpg
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
So is GameDaily also part of IGN, because here's their impressions of Warhawk

Anyway, out of all the demos shown, this was easily the most impressive. The water effects were ultra-realistic, with rippling waves and a beautiful reflection of the sunset. When your plane gets low, you really appreciate the level of detail as you see bullets that are barely missing hit the water with a satisfying splash.

Of course, we didn't play it, and this is mega-early. But for those of you who remember the Warhawk trailer earlier in 2005, you can rest assured that it looks to deliver on its visual promises.
Click to expand...

http://blogs.gamedaily.com/blogs/
 
T

TekunoRobby

Tag of Excellence
Oh yes, it's going to be hard and horrible. :(

The funny part is that I'm actually excited for the PS3 and think it's going to be a great system. I just felt that it didn't match what was shown at E3 and I wanted to make sure to point that out. I'll agree that Warhawk was definitely the most impressive, the water and the clouds along with all the other ships was pretty cool.

I also played with the duck demo today, that was fun.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Amir0x said:
Conspiracy unearthed.
Click to expand...
Away from the hyperbole for a sec - it IS a massive conflict of interest to be doing direct business with Sony on that level and providing coverage and reviews at the same time. Wow.
 
C

Count Chocula

Banned
TekunoRobby said:
Oh yes, it's going to be hard and horrible. :(

The funny part is that I'm actually excited for the PS3 and think it's going to be a great system. I just felt that it didn't match what was shown at E3 and I wanted to make sure to point that out. I'll agree that Warhawk was definitely the most impressive, the water and the clouds along with all the other ships was pretty cool.

I also played with the duck demo today, that was fun.
Click to expand...

do they at least look on par with Xbox 360 games?
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
TekunoRobby said:
Oh yes, it's going to be hard and horrible. :(

The funny part is that I'm actually excited for the PS3 and think it's going to be a great system. I just felt that it didn't match what was shown at E3 and I wanted to make sure to point that out. I'll agree that Warhawk was definitely the most impressive, the water and the clouds along with all the other ships was pretty cool.

I also played with the duck demo today, that was fun.
Click to expand...

I wasn't saying you were wrong, just pointing out that there just seems to be a difference in opinion with it. Some are really impressed and think it looks like the E3 demo, others are impressed but don't think its at that level. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with a conspiracy as (unsurprisingly) TeamXbox is suggesting.
 
F

Flo_Evans

Member
alpha kits? :lol

I really couldn't judge anything from what shakey-cam footage I have seen. The ocean demo looked cool. I immediately thought - ZOE 3 make it happen Kojima!
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
GhaleonEB said:
Away from the hyperbole for a sec - it IS a massive conflict of interest to be doing direct business with Sony on that level and providing coverage and reviews at the same time. Wow.
Click to expand...

Guess they should stop covering Nintendo too. Just become a PC, Sports, Movie and Xbox website.
 
S

sableholic

Member
does Microsoft not have a keynote speech? Didn't see it on the main schedule page. Just Sony and Nintendo. Thought it was right after Nintendos?
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
sableholic said:
does Microsoft not have a keynote speech? Didn't see it on the main schedule page. Just Sony and Nintendo. Thought it was right after Nintendos?
Click to expand...

Microsoft doesn't have one this year. Sony, Nintendo, Will Wright, dude from Battlestar Galactica, etc... they have keynotes.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Amir0x said:
Guess they should stop covering Nintendo too. Just become a PC, Sports, Movie and Xbox website.
Click to expand...
My point is that there is a conflict of interest when you start doing business like that, AND do product reviews for the same company. It's basic journalistic integrity.
 
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