Let's pretend you work at Bethesda Game Studios. Congratulations! You've just shipped The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game that would go on to win multiple 'Game of the Year' awards. You're tired, probably haven't seen your family in months, and you have a week off. What do you do? Work on Skyrim, of course!

During his DICE 2012 keynote, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard discussed an annual tradition at the company: a game jam, where staff are allowed to create anything they want on company time for one week. This year, the only stipulation was creating something within the recently released Skyrim.

In a sizzle reel presented to attendees, the public was shown what the minds at Bethesda could create. On the list? Mountable dragons, epic mounts (like flaming horses), giant mudcrab bosses that rival any other games, a new skill tree focused on lycanthropy, Kinect-enabled shouts (like this!), the ability to build homes, adopt children, use spears, and much more.

Howard was quick to note that the features shown in the video -- which were all running within the game -- were experiments. "How much of this stuff sees the light of day? To be determined. Could it be in a future DLC? We don't know. Could various parts of it just be released for free? We don't know."

And what was id Software's John Carmack doing that week? "[He] shot a rocket into f***ing space!" Howard said, showing actual footage of a rocket Carmack sent out of the earth's orbit. We'd still rather have dragon mounts. Check out the list of 'Game Jam' features after the break.

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During his DICE 2012 keynote speech, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard revealed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been played by "over ten million people." In December, Bethesda revealed it had shipped ten million units worldwide.

Of the "over ten million" players, Howard says that "many million" are playing the game on PC. Based on Steam statistics Bethesda has seen, "the average playtime is 75 hours," something Howard called "amazing." Our assumption is that there are a number of players worldwide who have yet to power down their machines since the game's November 11, 2011 launch.

The PC version of Skyrim continues to evolve, with the recent release of the Skyrim Creation Kit and its partnership with Valve to become the second featured title -- behind Team Fortress 2 -- in the Steam Workshop, which highlights user-generated content and streams it into games.

"It's something we'd like to see come to consoles one day," Howard said, adding that giving players the ability to "take and change" the game helps to make the experience unique. To Howard, games are the "ultimate combination of art [and] technology" and allowing the players to become their own "director."

Finally, your indecipherable ramblings can be heard by your comrades. A recent patch for Battlefield 3 on the PS3 has corrected a known issue involving inexplicably mute teammates. In reality, teammates talk a bunch.

EA recently revealed sales of over 10 million for Battlefield 3, so this should come as good news to what we'd classify as "plenty" of PS3 players. And now that this adjustment is out of the way, DICE can get back to dealing with those pesky cheaters. If the developer could do something about those jerks who always steal the jet, only to crash it in ten seconds, we'd be all set.

Set aside your favorite movie, music, or traditional piece of art, because there's only one medium that has the ability to make the one experiencing it proud: video games. This was the message Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard had for attendees during his DICE 2012 keynote.

Using the level end music from Peggle and the level-up sound from Modern Warfare, Howard explained that video games have the ability to reach people in ways others are unable because they can convey a sense of accomplishment. Helping to give players that feeling with intelligent game design "makes it the greatest," he said. Howard noted jokingly that he used the Modern Warfare sound for his email, to give him a sense of pride when he sends something off.

Much of Howard's introduction focused on Bethesda's three rules of development, which he discussed during his 2009 DICE keynote. Howard said the difficult balance of design is finding a harmony in creating a challenge for players that isn't so easy that it leaves them bored and isn't so difficult that they give up.

The gameplay loop (Learn, Play, Challenge, Surprise), as he explains, is presenting a game mechanic to the player in steps that entice them to continue. Howard discussed how Half-Life 2's introduction to the Gravity Gun is a perfect example of using the loop effectively -- players learn how to use the gun by playing with it, they are challenged to use it in new ways, and are surprised by what they can accomplish. This accomplishment helps to build the level of pride the players experience throughout the adventure. Howard urged game makers in the audience to be proud of their work and to make gamers proud in the process.

"Do something great. Make yourself proud," he said. "Make the player proud they played it. Make them proud they bought it."

Last year, for the 25th anniversary of the show, GDC featured a series of "Classic Game Postmortems" on games like Pac-Man, Prince of Persia, Another World, and Marble Madness. These new looks at old games proved so popular that the show is bringing them back for the crucial 26th anniversary event.

This year's set of classic games to go under the microscope includes Alone in the Dark (with designer Frederick Raynal), Fallout (with designer Tim Cain), Gauntlet (with creator Ed Logg) and Harvest Moon (with producer and former Marvelous CEO Yasuhiro Wada). Forget about all those new games! This is why we really go to conferences.

Remember Star Wars: Battlefront 3? It was never really made, but was never officially canceled either, and the idea faded into the background some time in 2010. Not everyone is ready to let the dream go, as PlayStation Lifestyle is reporting a slew of data that it says suggests developer Spark Unlimited is working on Battlefront 3.

Lifestyle's evidence includes a job opening at Spark listing "a 3rd Person Action/Adventure sequel in a high-profile science fiction franchise currently greenlit for full production development for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC markets;" a Spark employee's LinkedIn profile that describes a sword-fighting game for a well-known IP; and another that lists a triple-A third-person shooter that's been in development for three years.

Spark Unlimited's previous projects include 2008's Legendary and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, and 2004's Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Battlefront 1 and 2 were developed by Pandemic Studios, which was bought by EA and eventually shuttered in 2009. Before closing, Pandemic said it was not working on Battlefront 3, and no developer has officially claimed it since.

Spark's coming title could be one of many unannounced sci-fi sequels, such as Star Wars: Jedi Knight 3, yet another XCOM revamp (why not?) or Asteroids 3D: When Spinning and Shooting Doesn't Work. Spark says it plans on publicly announcing its sci-fi secret this year.

Double Fine has announced that it will finally return to its adventure game roots. Utilizing the crowd-sourcing power of Kickstarter, Double Fine will hope to fund the project. As rewards for funding, the developer will offer bonuses such as "advance access to the game, original art from its development, and a bowling night out with the team."

The project is already listed on Kickstarter, asking a hefty $400,000 for its completion. Double Fine also plans to "create a unique, serialized documentary available only to Backers," developed by the team at 2 Player Productions.

According to the Kickstarter page, the game will be in development by a small team over a six-to-eight month period. The game is described as "a classic point-and-click adventure utilizing modern touch technology."

In related news: though Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Peterson had offered to help fund a sequel to the cult-hit game Psychonauts, Double Fine isn't ready to announce the title. "These things take time to figure out -- if they can be figured out -- so please don't expect any Psychonauts 2 announcements any time soon," video game icon Tim Schafer wrote on Twitter.

Schafer promises he and Notch are having a "lovely chat" about the possibility, and jokingly says the indie millionaire is a tough negotiator -- at his insistence that the game be dubbed "PsychoNotch."

Tucked away in the dark, crowded bowels of Time Warner's financial results statement for fiscal 2011 is news that Rocksteady's blockbuster, bat-centric beat-em-up (that would be Batman: Arkham City) has shipped 6 million units, as of December 31, 2011. Now, "shipped" is a much different statistic than "sold," but it's a strong figure nonetheless.

It's difficult to tell how Warner Bros. Interactive did on its own in 2011, since its financial results are lumped in with two other Time Warner subsidiaries, (Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television), both of which brought in astounding amounts of money with their respective Harry Potter and Big Bang Theory licenses. Overall, Time Warner's "Filmed Entertainment" (tv, movies and gaming) reported revenues of $12.6 billion; a 9 percent year-over-year increase.

The statement also mentions Mortal Kombat and "several LEGO titles" as key contributors to the division's successful year.

Having recently optioned rights to the Fighting Fantasy series of books from Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Epic Games is putting an interesting spin on its Make Something Unreal Live contest.

Here's how it works: four different start-up studios will each select one book from the fantasy series and make a game for Epic, to be released on the App Store sometime this spring. The winning team walks away with a free commercial Unreal Engine 3 license for iOS.

The books chosen are The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, Deathtrap Dungeon and Armies of Death. Each title will premiere at Gadget Show Live 2012, which takes place from April 10 through April 15 in Birmingham, UK.

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We all have goals in life -- some of us work for our families, some seek money and fame, and some work for a greater good. Minecraft forum user Rumsey's chosen path is to recreate the entire World of Warcraft inside the indie sandbox hit, Minecraft. And as you can see above, he's doing pretty well -- the entire continent of Kalimdor (including the new zones from the Cataclysm expansion) is almost done, and he's well on his way to doing the rest, including all of the instances and dungeons.

Rumsey came up with some custom software to put it all together, which basically translates the current maps of WoW over to the measurements of Minecraft blocks. Rumsey is trying to keep Minecraft's "1 yard to 1 block" ratio, though that means he has to balance WoW's detail with Minecraft's inherent blockiness (and Minecraft's height limit of 128 blocks has required mods to make some of WoW's tallest features work). Still, what's been created so far is certainly recognizable as Azeroth.

Now if we can only get StarCraft, Crafting Mama, CrimeCraft, GemCraft, and macaroni and cheese in this project somehow.

In mid-January, Sega locked down a North American release date for Yakuza: Dead Souls, and now Europe's date with Tokyo-based zombies has finally been scheduled.

Yakuza: Dead Souls will arrive in Europe on March 16, according to Eurogamer. The PlayStation 3-exclusive is coming to North America on March 13, which is plenty of time for seasoned zombie killers to prepare for the impending attack. Already released in Japan under the name Yakuza: Of the End, the sixth game in the cult-hit series throws players into the "infamous red light district of Tokyo" during a zombie outbreak.

Don't fret, Yakuza fans, because zombies aren't the only enemy you'll be facing. Yakuza: Dead Souls will also throw hordes of "merciless" mutants in your path, along with all of those seedy characters from the Japanese underworld. As for possible zombie-infected Hostesses? We're keen on letting the brain-chomping ladies sit this one out.

If you signed into PSN on your PS3 to, say, try to buy a Vita game, you'll have run into this already: surprise! There's a new mandatory system update. According to Sony, version 4.10 accounts for the change in the name of your account, from "PSN account" to "SEN account."

The update also makes improvements to the PS3 browser, including "improved display speed." We'd compare it for you, but the one time I personally tried to use the PS3 browser in the past, it froze my system and I had to pull out the power cord to reset. So if the new browser doesn't do that, it's a dramatic improvement.

True, SSX's soundtrack may not include any songs by The Avalanches, an appropriately named and incredibly talented Australian breakbeat group, but it does include 36 licensed tracks and 10 original songs produced specifically for the title by Amon Tobin, Camo & Krooked, Raffertie, and The Qemists.

There's a complete list of artists featured in the game after the break, but let us save you some time by telling you that yes, it does include Skrillex. Not only is it Skrillex, but it's our favorite song from his first EP: "Scatta," which features sick verses by Foreign Beggars and a drop so heavy that it may cause a few avalanches of its own. A new version of Run-DMC's "It's Tricky" also returns for old time's sake, remixed by soundtrack compatriots Pretty Lights, as well as cuts from DJ Shadow and a Lateef the Truthspeaker joint featuring Hiero-hero Del the Funky Homosapien.

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Alienware is looking to abduct a few console devotees with its new gaming PC, the X51. What separates it from Alienware's normal crop of powerful rigs, you ask? The X51 is all about form factor, cramming decent horsepower into a diminutive, console-like package. It features a slot-loading optical drive, front facing USB ports for controllers, lots of rear USB ports and plenty of output options.

Engadget recently got some hands-on time with the X51, which ran Street Fighter IV swimmingly (and Portal 2, which isn't exactly a graphics showcase). The base configuration runs for $700, while the top-of-the-line model will set you back $1150.

Paradox Interactive plans to show off three unannounced titles at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco next month. The publisher, which has the peculiar habit of using Kevin Costner films as codenames, has three new games based on brand new intellectual properties to reveal.

Project "JFK" comes from Magicka studio Arrowhead Game Studios and is described as a multiplayer combat game with "a focus on killing your friends and looking cool doing it." Project "Revenge!" is by Critical Studio out of Brazil and is an "action packed action game in a world that can be described as death trap for heroes and children." Finally, Project "Silverado," from Zeal Game Studio, is a real-time strategy game meets shooter, with "a side order of a tabletop wargame and a sprinkle of sci-fi."

The publisher will also have more on A Game of Dwarves, its fantasy management game, along with War of the Roses (again, NO, the game is not based on the amazing Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner divorce saga).

Assuming you haven't already hung a hand grenade on your console of choice, Calibur11 is ready to encase it with yet another game-themed vault. This time around it's a nod to Commander Shepard and friends with an "exclusive" Mass Effect 3 vault.

The vault sports Shepard's chest armor, complete with light up N7 logo, and the requisite controller cradle (what, no sweet ray gun?). Like other vaults, the unit is purported to actually improve airflow by lifting the console off the ground. The vault will be available in the UK starting March 9 for both the Xbox 360 and PS3, commanding a price of £70. The press release makes no mention of the North American release, though GameStop currently lists both versions for a March 1 release at $90.

Update: It seems our subconscious desire for BioWare to create a FireFly game led to the use of the word "Reavers" in the original headline. The mistake has been fixed, though our hearts remain hopeful.

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