Inside the PlayStation 4 with Mark Cerny 22
by Christian Nutt [03.27.13]
Gamasutra got over an hour with the PlayStation 4's lead architect, and in this story, he explains how he began the process of designing Sony's new system -- with developers' desires.
Console/PC, Programming, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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DICE's Frostbite 3 engine will debut with Battlefield 4 1
by Mike Rose [03.27.13]
Although it was previously thought that the next installment in the Battlefield series would utilize DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, the company has revealed that a new version of the engine will debut later this year.
Console/PC, Business/Marketing, Video, GDC

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The five reasons freemium sucks (according to QWOP's developer) 24
by Leigh Alexander [03.26.13]
The free-to-play business model has five big problems, says Bennett Foddy -- but being creative about solving them can result in a more meaningful application of free-to-play games.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Exclusive, GDC

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Kongregate's 6 habits for keeping F2P players playing (and paying!) 12
by Frank Cifaldi [03.26.13]
Kongregate COO and co-founder Emily Greer has built her company on maintaining players for the long haul. At a GDC session she described the six pillars her company has identified for keeping players happy (and keeping the revenues flowing).
Social/Online, Design, Business/Marketing, GDC

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Designing without a pitch - An FTL postmortem 2
by Simon Parkin [03.26.13]
FTL: Faster Than Light developers Matthew Davis and Justin Ma didn't bother with a design document -- after all, they expected it to be a three-month side project. But when development got serious, they had to adjust.
Indie, Design, Production, GDC

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How Plague, Inc topped the mobile market 1
by Leigh Alexander [03.26.13]
Ndemic Creations CEO James Vaughan outlines some of the business decisions that made mobile disease simulation game Plague, Inc one of the most successful and top-grossing mobile games of 2012.
Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Programming, Design, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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How to use live events to promote your game 4
by Kris Graft [03.26.13]
For all the talent that small, independent game developers may possess, they're not typically so skilled in the art of marketing and self-promotion. Antichamber dev Alexander Bruce and Double Fine's Greg Rice offer some tips.
Indie, Business/Marketing, GDC

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GDC 2013 Day 1: Indies speak out  
by John Polson [03.26.13]
Highlights from the first day of GDC 2013 include Double Fine's Kipnis on the game jam inspired by @petermolydeux, Terry Cavanagh calling for indies to curate their own games, and Giant Sparrow on The Unfinished's Swan's journey to PSN.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Design, GDC

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Project Anarchy: Free mobile development tools from Havok  
by Mike Rose [03.26.13]
Intel-owned middleware company Havok today revealed a new and complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine at the Game Developers Conference, coming for free later this spring.
Smartphone/Tablet, Programming, Design, Business/Marketing, GDC

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Sony kills concept approval, makes moves to get indies onto PS4 16
by Christian Nutt [03.25.13]
Gamsutra speaks with Sony's Adam Boyes, who heads up its publisher and development relations team, about changes it's making to become more developer-friendly.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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Spector: Games need to borrow from film less 42
by Leigh Alexander [03.25.13]
Taking too many lessons from film and other media will only advance games so much, argues Warren Spector, outlining factors that set games apart -- and where film conventions are no longer serving us.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Exclusive, GDC

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'Be suspicious of data,' says video game data guy  
by Kris Graft [03.25.13]
Joost van Dreunen is CEO of growing video game market and sales data company SuperData. But even as someone who supplies clients with data, he says data alone shouldn't dictate a developer's decisions.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing, GDC

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The technique LucasArts used to design its classic adventure games 1
by Frank Cifaldi [03.25.13]
Game designer Noah Falstein discusses the concept of the puzzle dependency chart, a technique that he and his colleagues used at LucasArts when developing classic adventure games like Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island.
Console/PC, Design, GDC

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Indies question whether journalists should be our game curators 10
by Frank Cifaldi [03.25.13]
"Ultimately, journalists are interested in an interesting story more than an interesting work," said Super Hexagon developer Terry Cavanagh at a GDC talk Monday, arguing that fellow game developers are our best curators.
Indie, Design, GDC

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Mark of the Ninja creator: Innovation no excuse for crunch 6
by Simon Parkin [03.25.13]
Jamie Cheng, founder of Klei Entertainment, creator of the XBLA games Shank and Mark of the Ninja had strong words for any game maker who might claim that working extensive overtime is an intrinsic part of making 'art'.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Production, GDC

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Lessons from The Unfinished Swan's unique development journey  
by Leigh Alexander [03.25.13]
Giant Sparrow creative director Ian Dallas shares what he learned in The Unfinished Swan's journey from USC student prototype to full-scale, 12-person PlayStation Network release.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Production, Student/Education, GDC

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Triple Town devs on finding the fun in free-to-play game design 4
by Patrick Miller [03.25.13]
Rapid iteration, early releases, and a broad design space are key to building original successful free-to-play games, say Spry Fox (Triple Town) devs during a session at GDC's free-to-play summit.
Social/Online, Design, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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How a parody Twitter account inspired a global game jam 1
by Simon Parkin [03.25.13]
Double Fine's Anna Kipnis gives a postmortem of "What Would Molydeux," last year's event that offered a unique spin on the concept of a game jam by basing prototypes on the tweets of Twitter parody account @petermolydeux.
Indie, Design, GDC

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7 practical tips for making a moral game 4
by Kris Graft [03.25.13]
Video game writers have long had a strong desire to instill a moral component in their games. Microsoft senior designer Richard Rouse III offers some practical tips of incorporating morality into your game
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design, GDC

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Nintendo's indies guy tells you how to get your games approved 36
by Christian Nutt [03.25.13]
Nintendo's policies for indie developers have been opaque -- until now. Dan Adelman, who works with teams like Gaijin Games (Runner 2) and Tomorrow Corporation (Little Inferno) talks to Gamasutra.
Console/PC, Indie, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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