Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[AGDC: Interview with game writer Susan O'Connor]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/agdc-interview-with-game-writer-susan-oconnor/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/agdc-interview-with-game-writer-susan-oconnor/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/agdc-interview-with-game-writer-susan-oconnor/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


One thing that regular readers of Joystiq know is that we don't tend to delve too deeply into the mechanics behind the games, mostly because we're far too busy getting the news out. However, we got to sit down with games writer Susan O'Connor at Austin GDC and she provided an excellent insight into games from the writer's point of view.

Click through for the full interview with Susan to find out why she thinks short games are better than epic ones, why the cinematic model isn't the best for games, and what she did on BioShock.

Continue reading AGDC: Interview with game writer Susan O'Connor

JoystiqAGDC: Interview with game writer Susan O'Connor originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agdcagdc-08agdc-2008agdc08agdc2008BioshockdevelopmentGDCGears-Of-WarSusan-OConnorWriterwritingTue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[AGDC: The Bruce Sterling keynote - The Future of Entertainment]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-bruce-sterling-keynote-the-future-of-entertainment/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-bruce-sterling-keynote-the-future-of-entertainment/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-bruce-sterling-keynote-the-future-of-entertainment/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Bruce Sterling is a science fiction author, a futurist, and one of the founders of cyberpunk. He provided the tent-pole keynote for the Austin Game Developers Conference, although in all honesty it seemed more like a run through of a new short story draft. Several developers were walking out, scratching their heads and going "Wha... huh?" afterward.

The topic was "Computer Entertainment 35 Years from Today," and Sterling came out not as Sterling, but as a time traveler from 35 years in the future and a graduate student of Dr. Sterling's. He provided visual demonstrations of nanotech networks and fiber-based computers, much to the amusement of the audience, and told us how the future might seem surprising to us at first, but it's old hat to someone like him. He bastardized a quote from Sir Arthur Clarke and said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from garbage." Words to live by.

Read the full text of the keynote after the break. It'll be interesting if web surfers in the future look back on this post and laugh.

Continue reading AGDC: The Bruce Sterling keynote - The Future of Entertainment

JoystiqAGDC: The Bruce Sterling keynote - The Future of Entertainment originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've seen the Screen Actor's Guild booth at a lot of gaming and interactive events recently, from SXSW to GDC in San Francisco, so we finally decided to stop by and see what they're doing there. Normally, when you think about video game development, SAG isn't the first thing that springs to mind. It turns out that they have contracts that will allow developers with every type of budget to work with their stable of professional actors.

So, rather than having Bob from Accounting (sorry, Bob) record the lines of Beelzebub the Destroyer for your new MMO, you can hire someone who can really sound like something from the depths of hell. We sat down with actors David Sobolov and David Anthony Pizzuto and director of new media for SAG, Mark Friedlander, to find out what why SAG has been appearing at gaming events. Plus, the guys do some of their many voices. Check out the highlights, see a video of a typical day in the booth, and listen to the audio of the interview after the break.

Continue reading AGDC08: The Screen Actors Guild wants you to hear its game voice(s)

JoystiqAGDC08: The Screen Actors Guild wants you to hear its game voice(s) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agdcagdc-08agdc-2008agdc08agdc2008audioAustinGDCSAGScreen-Actors-GuildvoicevoiceoverWed, 17 Sep 2008 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[AGDC: The DC Universe Online team spills some beans]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-dc-universe-online-team-spills-some-beans/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-dc-universe-online-team-spills-some-beans/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-the-dc-universe-online-team-spills-some-beans/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


The Art of the DC Universe Online panel was overshadowed by the presence of artist Jim Lee, who fielded most of the questions about the design elements that are going into this game (as it's based on his visual style). We managed to learn some new elements about the game, including the special "inspired by" mode they've added to character creation.

The panel consisted of art director Jared Carr, Jim Lee, lead character artist Jason Smith, and creative director Jens Anderson. Check out all the zap!, pow!, and bam! highlights after the break.

Continue reading AGDC: The DC Universe Online team spills some beans

JoystiqAGDC: The DC Universe Online team spills some beans originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agdcagdc-08agdc-2008agdc08agdc2008BatmanDC-ComicsDC-Universe-OnlineDCUOGDCPCPS3SOESony-Online-EntertainmentSupermanWed, 17 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[AGDC: Reset/Play, more gaming inspired artwork]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-reset-play-more-gaming-inspired-artwork/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-reset-play-more-gaming-inspired-artwork/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/agdc-reset-play-more-gaming-inspired-artwork/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Click for more pictures from the exhibit

One of the opening night parties at Austin GDC was held at the Arthouse, which is currently housing an exhibit of gaming related art that ranges from 8-bit inspired to some truly abstract pieces. Reset/Play is showing in Austin through November 2nd, and is well worth a visit. Eddo Stern's Best...Flame War...Ever... (King of Bards vs. Squire Rex, June 2004) is worth the trip alone. It recreates an online flame war between two EverQuest gamers with sound and animation, and runs for about 14 minutes. Truly amazing.

Another impressive piece in the exhibit is Andrew Galloway's How to Play World of Warcraft, which features two huge video images showing closeups of the mouse and keyboard of a gamer, and those are flanked by huge blowup images of ASCII text guides for the game. You can see both of these pieces in the gallery below, or read more about it at the Arthouse main page.

Gallery: Reset/Play - a Party for Texas Games


[Much thanks to Amaze Entertainment's Rodney Gibbs and SXSW's Linday Muse for the invitation]

JoystiqAGDC: Reset/Play, more gaming inspired artwork originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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