Joystiq

Watch the entire GoldenEye 007 postmortem from GDC Europe

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:00:00 EST

We've already covered ex-Rare developer Martin Hollis' GoldenEye 007 postmortem presentation quite a bit, but the GDC Vault has now made the entire presentation available for free. We managed to note the highlights in our previous piece, but Hollis covered much more ground in the hour-long talk than we could condense into a single article.

The GDC Vault version also features direct feed of all the presentation slides, which include heaps of behind-the-scenes (and in some cases never publicly shared) information about the landmark N64 shooter. If you're a game history buff, or just a dedicated GoldenEye fan, it's definitely worth a look. Find the presentation after the break (note: video will automatically play).

Continue reading Watch the entire GoldenEye 007 postmortem from GDC Europe

Watch the entire GoldenEye 007 postmortem from GDC Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC Europe breaks record in 2012 with 2,100 attendees

JC Fletcher — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST

It may sound adorable and small next to Gamescom's record attendee count of 275,000 people, but the concurrent GDC Europe also celebrated its own attendance record in 2012. The much less public, much more intimate GDC Europe counted "over 2100 game professionals" as attendees in 2012.

The breakdown of that group includes "100+ European and international speakers, 65+ exhibitors and sponsors, and more than 290 media representatives." To see what happened during the event, we invite you to follow our GDC Europe coverage (don't miss the cute video that led to GoldenEye 007).

Continue reading GDC Europe breaks record in 2012 with 2,100 attendees

GDC Europe breaks record in 2012 with 2,100 attendees originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield series celebrates 10 year anniversary: over 50 million served

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:19:00 EST

DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson took to GDC Europe today to celebrate his company's 20-year anniversary and the 10-year anniversary of its "core franchise," Battlefield. He revealed that the series has "served" more than 50 million players, and added that DICE is "still in love."

Battlefield's latest franchise entry, Battlefield 3, shipped over 12 million copies as of last November. Battlefield 4 is up next, expected in holiday 2013.

Battlefield series celebrates 10 year anniversary: over 50 million served originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Epic Games hasn't made Shadow Complex 2 (but 'never say never')

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST

When Shadow Complex was released in 2009, it received critical praise and became a commercial hit. After Epic Games announced that Chair's next game would instead be an iOS title named Infinity Blade, many were curious as to what had happened to the obligatory, post-success sequel. "The reviews were great, it was a record seller for a single-player game on the platform, but at the same time we've got this mobile gaming push that's coming in strong," Epic Games president Mike Capps explained this morning during his GDC Europe keynote.

"And the big thing for me was that we were looking what the iPhone could do, and the games that were on iPhone, and we thought there was a huge gap, so we put our engine team on the problem, and that's where we came up with Infinity Blade," Capps said. "We were thinking about the sequel [to Shadow Complex], we were ready and 'Maybe we should start working on this,' and instead stopped everything and went and made Infinity Blade."

Capps expanded on the possibility of a Shadow Complex sequel when I followed up with him after his presentation. "Never say never," he offered. Of course, when Chair head Donald Mustard answered the same question earlier this year, he said that such a sequel is "a question of when, not if."

Why Epic Games hasn't made Shadow Complex 2 (but 'never say never') originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Five games in development at Epic Games, none from the Gears of War franchise

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:55:00 EST

During an Epic Games culture-heavy talk this morning at GDC Europe, company president Mike Capps briefly noted several projects that are currently in some form of development at his company. According to a slide entitled "So what's our next story," there are currently "five new games at various stages of prototyping and development" at Epic Games. "We didn't multiply our team size by five, so you can assume they're smaller games," Capps said.

While he's "not ready to announce anything" just yet in terms of consoles or what studios are working on said prototypes (People Can Fly? Chair? Internal?), he said that the PC is now the company's target platform, rather than a recipient of ported console games.

I followed up with Capps after his talk, where he added that both People Can Fly and Chair are part of Epic's "big happy family," though wouldn't put any of the projects to one particular label. He also confirmed that the recent job listing on Epic's website is relevant to these five unannounced projects in development at the studio. The "Samaritan" tech demo, however, is not one of them.

Five games in development at Epic Games, none from the Gears of War franchise originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Notgames Fest' to fill IGF-sized hole at GDC Europe [update]

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:15:00 EST

Between GDC Europe and Gamescom in August, you've got more than enough gaming news to read about in the coming months. But Germany's Notgames Fest organizers clearly disagree, with the Cologne Game Lab creating an indie (or "Notgames") festival during the first two days of GDC Europe (August 15 and 16).

Like the Independent Game Festival at GDC's main annual gathering in San Francisco, NGF at GDC Europe will feature indie developers showing off their wares, talking to other devs, and giving demonstrations to attendees. Also like the IGF, developers who hope to bring their games must apply ahead of time, only rather than a panel of IGF judges, Tale of Tales' Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn will be "curating" the event. If all that weren't enough for you, the event's organizers promise "BBQ and beer in an open air atmosphere." Sold! Head to the NGF main page for all the pertinent details (like ... uh ... where it is in Cologne).

Update: To be clear, the Indie Games Summit takes place at GDC Europe, and the Notgames Fest is not associated with GDC Europe, it just takes place during the event. Head over to the official GDC Europe page for more info.

'Notgames Fest' to fill IGF-sized hole at GDC Europe [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Killzone looked like before it was Killzone

Kyle Orland — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST

The E3 2005 trailer for Killzone 2 quickly became well-known (infamous, even) for its supposedly unatainable levels of in-game graphical prowess. But the initial trailer for the game that would become the original Killzone has been much less well known ... until this past week at GDC Europe.

Guerilla Games Managing Director Hermen Hulst showed off the circa-1999 concept video in a keynote speech in Cologne earlier this week, calling it a "showcase of technical competence" prepared for their first meeting with Sony. Even though Hulst admits there's "nothing really 'Killzone' about it" at this early stage (for instance, the Helghast and their glowing eyes don't even make a cameo appearance) we thought it was an interesting look at the pre-history of one of Sony's biggest exclusive franchises. To see the video in full, follow us past the break.

Continue reading What Killzone looked like before it was Killzone

What Killzone looked like before it was Killzone originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guerrilla Games managing director keynoting GDC Europe

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Organizers for the Cologne-based gaming industry get-together, GDC Europe, have announced who will deliver this year's keynote address: Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst. According to the press release announcing Hulst's keynoting duties, his speech will focus on "how the studio has matured, which obstacles had to be overcome and what some of the ingredients behind the success of the Killzone series are."

The presser also mentions Hulst's speech "will be located somewhere in the field of tension between hardware and software." We thought we were familiar with the Cologne Congress Center, but we have no idea where that is. Is it close to the cafeteria? Maybe?

Guerrilla Games managing director keynoting GDC Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC Europe returns to Cologne on Aug. 16, 2010

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:15:00 EST

With America's Game Developers Conference 2010 only a few short weeks away, it has now been announced that GDC Europe 2010 will be taking place in Cologne, Germany again this year. The conference will open its doors on Monday, August 16 and run until Wednesday, August 18. The event will include a new area, the GDC Europe Business Lounge, which will "host a VIP lounge area for GDC Europe Plus members to convene and conduct business."

Once again, GDC Europe will be taking place alongside GamesCom, which runs August 18-22. In case you don't remember last year's coverage of the two events, GamesCom and GDC Europe constitute a positively massive gaming event. Expect them to generate lots of late summer gaming news in the lull between E3 and TGS.

GDC Europe returns to Cologne on Aug. 16, 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GamesCom 2009 attendance at 245,000

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:03:00 EST

The inaugural year of GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, was a whopping success, reeling in 245,000 visitors according to the Koelnmesse. Event organizers reservedly noted that they were "very pleased with the result," but we're sure the Kölsch was flowing like the Rhein behind the scenes. The show is already scheduled to take place in 2010 from August 18-22. After the break, you'll find some "official" statistics and some random "unofficial statisticals" from our time at what some now call the third pillar (E3 and TGS being the other two) of video game trade events.

Continue reading GamesCom 2009 attendance at 245,000

GamesCom 2009 attendance at 245,000 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lessons from GDC Europe: The 'seven pillars' of a Remedy IP

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:08:00 EST

During his speech at GDC Europe - exhaustively titled "From Max Payne to Alan Wake: Creating Intellectual Properties the Remedy Way" (air!) - Remedy Managing Director Matias Myllyrinne laid out the seven pillars the company uses for its games:

1. Strong Lead Character -- Main character is iconic and easy to get on the surface. Things went wrong when Myllyrinne wanted the Max Payne sequel to simply be called The Fall of Max Payne. The compromised title admittedly didn't work out in the sales department. He didn't mention anything about Rockstar's reimagined Max Payne in the latest sequel.

2. Mainstream approachability -- Avoiding niche and cliché settings (for video games that would mean no WWII setting, dragons, sci-fi, etc.). Having gameplay mechanics that are approachable (low barrier of entry to start playing the game).

3. Cinematic -- Taking lessons learned from movies. The presentation of Max Payne makes this pretty obvious. With Alan Wake the company is focusing on the trinity of the flashlight, Alan himself (see: pillar one), and the gun. This also lead Myllyrinne to an anecdote about presentation, saying "It's not what things are, it's what the audience thinks things are." He mentioned the Ingram gun was made bigger in Max Payne because people expect that gun to be larger than it actually is in real life.

Continue reading Lessons from GDC Europe: The 'seven pillars' of a Remedy IP

Lessons from GDC Europe: The 'seven pillars' of a Remedy IP originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FYI: CCP announces 'Dust 514,' FPS RTS MMO in Eve universe

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:30:00 EST

Eve Online developer CCP has officially announced its next project: Dust 514, a console-based MMO set in the world of Eve. CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said today during GDC Europe that the game will be a hybrid first-person shooter and real-time strategy game. Gamespot UK notes that the title has been in development for three years at CCP Shanghai. Pétursson did not discuss which consoles would be the first to gather Dust 514.

Hints of Dust 514's emergence have been knocking around the online universe since earlier this month. We'll update as we get more information.

FYI: CCP announces 'Dust 514,' FPS RTS MMO in Eve universe originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reassuring: Alan Wake is 'done,' being polished

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:44:00 EST

Remedy Managing Director Matias Myllyrinne tells Joystiq that Alan Wake is finished and getting all gussied up for its release next spring. After a GDC Europe presentation on how Remedy handles intellectual property, we asked the executive if the long-in-development title would be ready to wake when the snow melts. Myllyrinne noted, "It's all done, we're just polishing at this point."

Wow, great! With something like six months to go before its "spring 2010" launch, Alan Wake should shine by the time it's released. Considering the title has been in development since 2005, it's good to know that the game is "done" and just trying to become its very best.

Gallery: Alan Wake

Reassuring: Alan Wake is 'done,' being polished originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dyack muses about clouds, won't abandon current consoles

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:45:00 EST

"We have no intentions to stop making video games for the current consoles ... that would be nuts." That was Silicon Knights head Denis Dyack's response to our question about whether his musing about cloud technology had anything to do with a new direction for the company. During Dyack's "musing about clouds" presentation today at GDC Europe, the SK president mentioned a belief in systems like OnLive -- but he's not ready to take a walk in the clouds just yet.

The outspoken executive said that he doesn't believe people should be investing in game stores at the moment, though he was unsure how long the cloud model will take to gain a foothold. According to Dyack, cloud computing could become the dominant form of distribution and access for consumers within the next 20 years. In the meantime, Dyack told us Silicon Knights will keep doing console-based games "as long as the market is there."

Dyack muses about clouds, won't abandon current consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crytek CEO asks GDC audience to kill 'killerspiel' law, won't leave Germany unless forced out

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:04:00 EST

During his keynote address at GDC Europe in Cologne, Germany, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli requested the audience support the petition against the host-country's bill, which is seeking to ban any games in the region "where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or un-human acts of violence against humans or manlike characters." Yerli told the audience toward the conclusion of his presentation: "[This law] means that Crytek will be literally forced out of the country."

Yerli's tone about the German law was more serious than his previous statement on the subject, so we caught up with him after the keynote. We asked if he's threatening to leave the country if the law passes, or if he thinks the company will be pushed out. He told us, "This is the point, two or three years ago we were thinking 'What is this?' This is like disrespecting our company.' We said we will not change our strategy. Today we think we are literally forced to make a change."

It appears that Yerli still isn't looking to change Crytek's direction, despite the government threats. And it appears he really doesn't want to move, telling us, "If you move a company, you think of it as: let's move the company strategically, so we get more benefit out of this country. But moving it because a law comes in is too reactive for us. We're not thinking of moving unless the law happens."

[Image: Dennis Stachel]

Crytek CEO asks GDC audience to kill 'killerspiel' law, won't leave Germany unless forced out originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heavy Rain's David Cage to deliver keynote at GDC Europe

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:20:00 EST

Administrators of the European version of the Game Developers Conference just revealed yet another keynote speaker for the event -- not at all shockingly, the speaker is Quantic Dream CEO and founder David Cage, whose company has released titles such as Omikron: The Nomad Soul and Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophecy, as it was known in the States), and is currently hard at work on Heavy Rain. Considering said studio is based out of Paris, we suppose Cage is European enough to keynote the conference.

Cage's address sounds pretty interesting -- it's titled "Writing Interactive Narrative For A Mature Audience." Considering what we've seen of Heavy Rain, he's probably the right person to deliver such a speech. However, considering what we remember of Indigo Prophecy, the first half of the speech will likely be gripping and insightful, and the second half will be nigh-incomprehensible. We fully expect to hear Illuminati conspiracy theories spoken in Esperanto. Backwards.

[Image]

[Via Edge Online]

Heavy Rain's David Cage to deliver keynote at GDC Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crytek exec Avni Yerli joins GDC Europe advisory board

Jason Dobson — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:15:00 EST

Like momma always said, if you're gonna effect change, the best place to be is on the inside. Avni Yerli, managing director and co-founder of Crytek, has joined the GDC Europe advisory board, where together with existing members he hopes to "create a conference that will hit the industry's nerve."

GDC Europe's Frank Sliwka put it another way, offering hope that Yerli's membership will "elevate the conference to a whole new level." Let's just hope the board's processors can handle the stress without -- dare we say it -- crying.

Crytek exec Avni Yerli joins GDC Europe advisory board originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 May 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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