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GDC 2011 Event Coverage

GDC 2011

  • Magicka_screenshot_001_fight_on_bridge
    A Magicka Vietnam Interview with Co-Creator Johan Pilestedt
    Video and computer games have been shockingly devoid of parody for too long. Pardoy, in its own funny way, confirms success - something has to be familar and recognizable in order for its caricature to achieve comic effect.

    Magicka is one game that seeks to redress that imbalance, but instead of making humor the focal point of the game, Magicka is also a surprisingly innovative and enjoyable couch co-op* game (*provided you have a couch in front of your PC and a glut of gamepads, four players can play at once).

    But if a spellcasting system powered by clever combos (each button press representing a differnet element) isn't enough to catch you attention, maybe a DLC send-up entitled Magicka: Vietnam will.
    Previews, Interviews, Video
    Fri, Mar 18, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • APB_CarChase_HighwayA_06
    APB: Reloaded Previewed at GDC 2011
    I admit, when APB was canceled by Realtime Worlds, I was disappointed. I wouldn't say the game was a must-play to any extent, but I did have enough fun with it that I was sorry to see it go. I did have some major gripes about it, though, as did the rest of the community.

    So, when GamersFirst announced that they had acquired the rights to the game and would be bringing it back with APB: Reloaded, my first instinct was one of caution. It frankly wasn't fun to step into the streets and get gunned down in seconds by players who were 50 levels higher than you. It was frustrating to chase someone down on the streets, filling them full of lead from your gun, hitting them 50 or 60 times without their health going down much, if at all; and then having them turn around and kill you with a single shot. These things were not cool, and I was praying that GamersFirst would address those issues.

    Well, they have. That, and more, as I saw at GDC this year.
    Previews
    Thu, Mar 17, 2011
    B. de la Durantaye
  • Allods_New24manRaid-8bosses
    Allods Online Launch Previewed at GDC 2011

    Two other new Gpotato MMOGs

    Previews
    Wed, Mar 16, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • gods&heroes_combatscreenshot07
    Blood and Sand – An Updated Preview of Gods & Heroes at GDC 2011
    I’ll be the first to admit that when Heatwave Interactive announced they had bought the rights and assets to the Roman Mythological themed Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising MMOG, I was cautiously optimistic. I enjoyed the game years ago for the brief amount of time I had spent in beta when it was being developed by Perpetual Entertainment. However, with all of the events surrounding its closure back then I had to wonder how Heatwave could bring the game back to life and have it stand on its own two feet—particularly given that the client was already a little dated before Heatwave even got a chance to start working on it.

    Shortly after the acquisition announcement the game entered into a playable beta stage. At this point some of our Ten Ton Hammer Premium members were on our Elite Testers list and began their job of providing feedback and bug reports for the game. I have been a part of countless beta tests for a myriad of games, but Heatwave presented Gods & Heroes in its new and evolving state at GDC this year and I couldn’t help but be thoroughly impressed.
    Features, Previews
    Tue, Mar 15, 2011
    B. de la Durantaye
  • secretworld-logo
    The Secret World Revealed: PvP, Missions, and Character Advancement
    The Secret World is slowly becoming less and less of a secret. Ten Ton Hammer got a closer look at the story surrounding the New England port of Kingsmouth at GDC 2011, but this tribute to the legendary novelist’s ruminations on dysfunctional small town Maine was just the tip of Funcom’s offerings at GDC 2011. Senior Producer Ragnar Tørnquist and Lead Designers Martin Bruusgaard and Joel Bylos lead us further past the veil, showing us character progression and the skill wheel (for the first time ever) and an exclusive glimpse at three storied locations that will be used for PvP matches.
    Video
    Sat, Mar 12, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • Mytheon_22111_1
    Mytheon First Impressions from GDC 2011
    A chance meeting with Petroglyph Co-Founder Mike Legg made me feel a lot better about liking what I saw of Mytheon at GDC 2011. More than any other developer I’ve ever met, Mike personifies absolute, unwavering enthusiasm – like some happy marriage between a first-rate development mind, a smiley face, and an espresso bean.

    That’s part of the reason we were, subjectively speaking, so entirely galled when True Games Interactive sued Petroglyph to regain development rights to Mytheon just weeks before release. Since I’d played Mytheon months before the ugliness and found it (to my admittedly para-professional eye) far more stable and bug-free than most other games in a similar state of development, it appeared to me that this was publisher villainy of the ugliest kind… like corporate thieves using a loose contract as a tommy gun and threatened legal action as the getaway car.
    Previews
    Fri, Mar 11, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • WOT_Logo_color
    Panzer Pugilism! A GDC 2011 Preview of World of Tanks
    Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net, is the kind of guy who, when the other kids were playing with Matchbox cars, probably waged the Battle of El Alamein with the green army men-scale tanks. I was too, steeped on the stories about my tank gunner grandpa who served in WW2 in II Corps under the command of the Magnificent Bastard’s antithesis, George S. Patton. Victor tensed when I made the connection, obviously concerned that I’d get all historical-realistic on him. If a Buddhist were to glean a mantra from themes repeated during the interview, it was that World of Tanks is selectively realistic.
    Features, Previews
    Thu, Mar 10, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • global_agenda-turret-explosion
    The Future of Global Agenda from GDC 2011
    Ten Ton Hammer met up with Global Agenda Executive Producer Todd Harris at Game Developers Conference, and while he and the Hi Rez team have big things pla
    Previews
    Thu, Mar 10, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • BlackProphecy-screenshot_101116_133614_tagged
    Black Prophecy Preview from GDC 2011
    With Jumpgate Evolution seemingly down for the count, it’s tempting to think that Black Prophecy is a worthy stand-in. To view BP in that light – just as a second-rate space shooter substitute – is to vastly underrate the time and care that Gamigo is putting into this project. From top-notch cutscenes that mask zone loading, to high quality, fully localized voiceovers (the game will launch in German and English), to a fully orchestral soundtrack, Black Prophecy is unmistakably top tier.

    And it plays well too. Unlike pew-pew space sims, Black Prophecy is skill-based and will require you to be good on the stick. Don’t expect to pilot massive dreadnoughts crewed by thousands of faceless minions; in BP it’s just you, your single seater, a small assortment of tactics (or combo abilities – short keystroke based in-flight maneuvers a la Snoopy Fighter Ace), and pure skill.
    Previews
    Wed, Mar 09, 2011
    Jeff Woleslagle
  • Reckoning_Boggart_Attack
    A First Look at Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning
    Over the past few years we have been anxiously awaiting information from 38 Studios and the projects they have been working on. We expected the game that they would be developing would have some powerful potential. After all, when you put Todd McFarlane, Ken Rolston, and RA Salvatore on a team together, how could it not go extremely well?

    Then in May of 2009, it was announced that 38 Studios had acquired Big Huge Games. This move was a little confusing to some as it was unclear at that point what the plan was for the MMOG. BHG had been behind some single player games but how it would relate to the project codenamed Copernicus was unclear.

    kingdoms of amalur: reckoning

    Earlier this year the light was shed. For the first time ever, press was able to visit the BHG studios in Baltimore to get a first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. This title is being developed as a single player game but is set in the same universe as the planned Copernicus. Since Amalur is a unique IP we wanted to check it out and see what a team of iconic visionaries could put together.

    We headed over to the studios and were shown our first look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. We began the day with a walkthrough demo of the game, which we would again see at GDC of this year.
    Previews
    Tue, Mar 08, 2011
    B. de la Durantaye
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