Game Developers Conference Wrap-up

            Another year has passed and another chance at juicy gaming news and inside information has come and gone. No I’m not talking about E3, I’m talking about the Game Developers Conference or GDC for those familiar with the event. This year’s GDC took place on February 18 – 22 and it turned out to have the biggest attendance ever, boasting over 18,000 people coming to see the show and I doubt any left disappointed.

Every year GDC is jam-packed with information, sneak peeks and game developers discussing a multitude of topics and this year’s was no different. Gamers had the opportunity to see famous keynote speakers talk about their games and the industry itself such as Dave Jones, creator of Crackdown and the famous (or infamous depending on your opinion) GTA series, Peter Molyenux, creator of Fable, and even Ralph H. Baer, dubbed the “Father of Video Games” by the industry for creating the first commercialized video game system, the Magnavox Odyssey.

The sheer amount of information that was unveiled this year was staggering. Games were showcased, release dates were announced, and sequels were discussed. The GDC gave a pleasing forecast for 2008 and thanks in no small part to the games that are on the horizon, it looks like it’s shaping up to be a very good year.

The crowd went silent as Cliff Bleszinski, leader designer for Epic Games Inc., walked onto the stage to finish Microsoft’s keynote address, bringing it to a dramatic close. He announced that Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are continuing the fight on the Xbox 360 exclusive title Gears of War 2 and that it will be here in November. Applause and cheers echoed throughout the room not soon after.

Many new features for games were also discussed throughout the GDC and gamers had the opportunity to see more facets of games they’re dying to play.

When Molyenux took the stage everyone knew he was going talk about Fable 2 and that he did. Molyenux talked about his ‘big three’ ideas for Fable 2 – drama, co-op, and combat – he explained that it will be more difficult to be the good guy whereas in the original it was very easy to do. Combat will include swords, guns, and fists and you can even duke it out with a friend in co-op mode. Character interaction is also receiving a complete tune-up and it won’t be as dry or stale like it was in the original. Notably, Fable 2 will ship with an Xbox Live Arcade game spin-on where a player can gamble to win money and then use it while playing the Fable 2 itself. No word on a release date.

Over 200 games were showcased and discussed during this year’s GDC making it impossible to include them all here.

As is customary during each year, the GDC ends with the Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. Two games cleaned house this year and they were Portal and Bioshock. Portal took home Game of the Year for 2007, Best Game Design and the Innovation Award. Bioshock won three awards as well and they were Best Visual Art, Best Writing, and Best Audio. Other games to win were Real Time Worlds’ Crackdown for Best Debut, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Best Handheld Game, and Best Downloadable Game went to flOw.

And that about wraps it up. Hope to see you at next year’s GDC back at the Moscone Center in San Francisco but on March 23 – 29 instead.