Games for Change announces 2013 festival keynote speakers  
by Kris Ligman [05.10.13]
Games for Change has announced the line-up of keynote speakers for its tenth annual Games for Change Festival, this June 17th to 19th in New York City.
Indie, Serious, Design

---

Blog: Why we took our game design back to the drawing board 3
by Gamasutra Community [05.10.13]
It seemed like a great idea for a game, but playtesters just weren't into Henchmen! That's when the developers decided to start fresh.
Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

Warren Spector: Use the storytelling tools that work for games 27
by Christian Nutt [05.10.13]
"Respect the medium and the player" was Warren Spector's message in his presentation at UC Santa Cruz's IFOG symposium. There are strengths to games that must be harnessed to tell better stories.
Console/PC, Design

---

Time to move on from the gameplay vs. story debate 43
by Christian Nutt [05.10.13]
UC Santa Cruz's Michael Mateas (Facade) argued in an impassioned presentation this morning that the time for debate on whether games should have stories has passed -- it's the work that matters.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Design

---

Video: The Unfinished Swan - From student prototype to PS3 exclusive 1
by GDC Vault Staff [05.10.13]
Giant Sparrow creative director Ian Dallas shares how The Unfinished Swan began as a week-long prototype in school and became a Sony-published PlayStation Network game.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Design, Production, Video

---

Blog: The baggage that comes with 'personal' video games 23
by Gamasutra Community [05.10.13]
Elizabeth Ryerson (Dys4ia) responds to Darius Kazemi's "Fuck Videogames," and argues that we are in danger of letting games, and our reactions to them, be defined not by the work but by what surrounds it.
Indie, Design

---

Security firm ensuring Watch Dogs hacking is believable 10
by Mike Rose [05.10.13]
"Sometimes they say, 'Yeah, that's possible, but change that word'" - Watch Dogs' Dominic Guay explains how the game's hacking goes through a security firm to make sure it's fairly realistic.
Console/PC, Design, Business/Marketing

---

Blog: Making players feel important 6
by Gamasutra Community [05.10.13]
Making players feel like they can have an impact on the world is crucial, but doing so is far from easy. How do you do it? Here are some observations and suggestions.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

Leaving AAA: Why Naughty Dog's star designer became a teacher 14
by Kris Ligman [05.10.13]
"Game developers should not walk but run towards their nearest academic institution," says Richard Lemarchand, design lead on Uncharted 3 who in 2012 left AAA to teach game design.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Exclusive, Student/Education

---

If games are art, what's next? 39
by Staff [05.10.13]
Jonathan Blow, academic Grant Tavinor and indie Erlend Grefsrud argue for the creative future of video games and explore what they can be capable of.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

---

Blog: Why I am making games 3
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
When asked why you make games, what would you answer? One developer shares the reasons he makes games, after giving it some serious thought.
Console/PC, Indie, Design

---

All GDC 2013 content live and mobile-ready on the Vault 2
by GDC Vault Staff [05.09.13]
GDC Vault, the most comprehensive collection of talks and slides from game industry thought leaders, has gone live with all GDC 2013 content on the newly-redesigned website.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

---

Video: The Legend of Zelda's evolution, from Nintendo's Aonuma 7
by GDC Vault Staff [05.09.13]
The Legend of Zelda designer-turned-director Eiji Aonuma discusses how the franchise evolved, how A Link to the Past won him over, and how he handles the "Miyamoto Test," in this special GDC Vault video.
Console/PC, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Video

---

Get a job: Linden Lab is looking for a Game Designer  
by Kris Ligman [05.09.13]
"Linden Lab seeks a Game Designer to be responsible for generating detailed concepts covering all aspects of gameplay and using software tools to implement the designs."
Console/PC, Design, Recruitment

---

One indie's long road: Making You Have to Win the Game 4
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
Kyle Pittman reflects on the four-year journey from conception to release, taking in the successes and failures, the inspirations and mistakes he made along the way.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

---

The challenge of modifying a design for asynchronous play 5
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
David Sirlin hadn't designed his card game Codex to allow for asynchronous play -- but he wanted to see if it was possible. This deep design post details what he had to do to get it there.
Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design

---

Reminder: GDC China 2013 talk submissions due Friday  
by GDC Staff [05.09.13]
Friday, May 10 is the deadline for English and Mandarin submissions to present talks at the 2013 Game Developers Conference China, organizers are reminding.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Serious, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

---

Playtesting for indies 4
by Gamasutra Community [05.09.13]
Getting player feedback is key, but harnessing the power of playtesting isn't always easy when your resources are limited. One indie team shares its methods.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing

---

Video: Diverse game characters - write them now! 4
by GDC Vault Staff [05.08.13]
"The more stereotypical characters we create, the more we write ourselves into corners," warns Assassin's Creed III: Liberation writer Jill Murray in this GDC 2013 talk.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Design, Production, Video

---

Star Wars 1313 dev on talking to the player through design 1
by Kris Ligman [05.08.13]
Matthias Worch, recently attached to the cancelled Star Wars 1313 project, talks in this encore presentation of his GDC 2013 session on how games are the perfect medium of modern culture.
Console/PC, Design, Video

---