Polygon - GDC Europe 2013: Panels, announcements and more, live from Germanyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2013-08-27T15:45:02-04:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/43999132013-08-27T15:45:02-04:002013-08-27T15:45:02-04:00Epic's Jim Brown on why games should ditch the three-act structure
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<p>Epic Games' Jim Brown delivered a talk at GDC Europe last week about a largely untapped narrative force available to games writers: giving players control over the story rather than giving it to the writers themselves.</p>
<p>In an interview with Polygon before his talk, Brown posited that most game narratives are based on models of more traditional media. Storytelling styles and structures have "rolled downhill" into gaming, which abandons the opportunities afforded writers by the interactive nature of our medium.</p>
<p>"The one thing that separates us as a medium is that we're very, very interactive," Brown said. "So I wanted to focus in on that, and see how we were different, and kind of find some ways that we can use that to separate ourselves...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/27/4664470/epics-jim-brown-on-why-games-should-ditch-the-three-act-structureGriffin McElroy2013-08-26T12:30:02-04:002013-08-26T12:30:02-04:00GDC Europe 2013 breaks record with 2,250 attendees from 56 countries
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<p>The 2013 Game Developers Conference Europe broke its attendance record this year, hosting 2,250 attendees from 56 countries, organizers announced today.</p>
<p>The conference took place last week in Cologne, Germany and will return to the city next year August 11 - 13.</p>
<p>GDC Europe, in its fifth year running, included 90 talks and panels from 130 international speakers as well as more than 75 exhibitors and sponsors. The event's most popular topics included virtual reality gaming, free-to-play business models, community management, the next generation of consoles and cinematic gaming experiences.</p>
<p>Attendees with VIP or All Access passes and GDC Vault subscribers will be able to access recordings of all presentations through the GDC Vault in the...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/26/4659726/gdc-europe-2013-breaks-record-with-2250-attendees-from-56-countriesAlexa Ray Corriea2013-08-20T21:15:07-04:002013-08-20T21:15:07-04:00Unity for Wii U opens up GamePad hardware and more to developers
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<p>The Wii U toolkit for the popular, easy-porting game development engine Unity3D gives developers access to just about all of the console's features, as was demonstrated in a presentation given at GDC Europe 2013.</p>
<p>The Unity tools can be acquired for free by any authorized developer who registers with Nintendo's licensing program using a simple click-through application. The license's cost is waived for developers on Wii U; though builds generated in Unity still have to run through a Wii U dev kit purchased from Nintendo. The price of that dev kit is private under a non-disclosure agreement licensed Nintendo developers have to agree to.</p>
<p>A representative for Unity ran through how the development tools had been optimized for the Wii U...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4641786/unity-for-wii-u-opens-up-gamepad-hardware-and-more-to-developersGriffin McElroy2013-08-20T16:45:06-04:002013-08-20T16:45:06-04:00PS4 devs discuss the next generation of storytelling
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<p>A handful of Sony developers took the stage following Sony's Gamescom press conference to explain ways in which game narrative development can be informed by other media.</p>
<p>The panel, titled "Narrative and Storytelling through Gaming," included <span><i>Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag</i> writer Darby McDevitt, Quantic Dream CEO David Cage, The Chinese Room's Dan Pinchbeck, Sony WWS London Studios' Russell Harding and SCE's Shuhei Yoshida. The five discussed topics similar to Cage's </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4639376/motion-capture-creates-more-emotionally-compelling-characters-says">GDC Europe talk earlier today,</a><span> which highlighted ways games can be informed by cinematic techniques.</span></p>
<p>According to Yoshida, creation of a strong story at the beginning of development is paramount.</p>
<p>"I appreciate the quality of story and writing especially, which has vastly...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4641146/ps4-devs-discuss-the-next-generation-of-storytellingAlexa Ray Corriea2013-08-20T09:32:27-04:002013-08-20T09:32:27-04:00The future of games is 'more meaning,' says David Cage
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<p>Video game developers shouldn't be hesitant to borrow cinematography techniques from film in an attempt to create more meaningful experiences in their games, Quantic Dream's David Cage said during a panel at GDC Europe 2013 today.</p>
<p>Using motion capture to film real actors' motions and facial expressions, can take video games to the next level and create a more powerful emotional experience. Cage said the merging of cinematography and interactivity — the marriage of filmmaking techniques with game development — heightens the experience, and game makers can learn a lot from films.</p>
<p>"I think that video games [have already been] learning from films for 30 years," Cage said. "When you think of all the horror games that you played, basically...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4639376/motion-capture-creates-more-emotionally-compelling-characters-saysAlexa Ray Corriea2013-08-20T09:00:07-04:002013-08-20T09:00:07-04:00How Sorcery makes text games more than binary choices
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<p>Nearly every game that offers players choice and branching narratives suffer a harrowing dilemma for authors: How do you make them truly feel in control of a story that can only go in a handful of set directions?</p>
<p>Jon Ingold, creative director for the two-man game development studio inkle, had to answer that question for <i style="line-height: 1.5;">Steve Jackson's Sorcery</i><span>, the mobile adaptation of the classic game book series released this past May. The title blends several elements into a clever package; part game book, part tabletop game, part proper RPG. However, it's a text game first and foremost, and during a GDC Europe talk, Ingold discussed the unique problems that the word-based genre faces — particularly, the dilemma mentioned above.</span></p>
<p><span>"The interesting...</span></p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4639372/how-sorcery-makes-text-games-more-than-binary-choicesGriffin McElroy2013-08-20T08:01:53-04:002013-08-20T08:01:53-04:00Ridiculous Fishing has made close to $1M in sales
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<p>Vlambeer's <i>Ridiculous Fishing</i> is quickly approaching $1 million in sales, developers Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman revealed today during a panel at the 2013 Game Developers Conference Europe.</p>
<p>Ismail said the game has sold almost 300,000 copies since launch. This many copies <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ridiculous-fishing-tale-redemption/id601831815?mt=8">at $2.99 per game</a> has brought sales of the fishing-and-shooting title to around $900,000.</p>
<p>"We're so close," Ismail told Polygon. "We're almost at $1 million."</p>
<p><i>Ridiculous Fishing </i>launched for iOS in March and won a <a href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/events/awards/" target="_blank">2013 Apple Design Award</a>.</p>
<p>"We actually didn't think we would win it, so when we sent Zack [Gage] to the ceremony, we told him not to dress fancy," Ismail said.</p>
<p>"I think he was wearing flip flops," added Nijman.</p>
<p>Check out our feature on Vlambeer and...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4639348/ridiculous-fishing-has-been-downloaded-almost-one-million-timesAlexa Ray Corriea2013-08-20T04:30:06-04:002013-08-20T04:30:06-04:00Broken Age is a retro game for a modern audience
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<p>Earlier this summer, backers of Kickstarter-funded point-and-click adventure <em>Broken Age</em> expressed trepidation at Double Fine's decision to <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/2/4487692/double-fine-planning-to-launch-first-half-of-broken-age-in-january">launch the title in two parts</a>.</p>
<p>The first half will launch via Steam Early Access in January of next year, with the second part to follow in spring. But with an intended full launch on Windows PC, Mac and Linux along with iOS, Android devices and an eventual Ouya port, Double Fine's programming team has its hands full tailoring the game to look great on all devices.</p>
<p>According to lead programmer Oliver Franzke, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/19/4636124/broken-age-designed-to-conserve-memory-but-still-look-pretty-across">the feat is not a small one</a>, but it is an important one. Double Fine wants players on all platforms to get the full gameplay experience, the best visuals and the smoothest gameplay, and that is...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/20/4638096/double-fine-productions-broken-age-oliver-franzke-gdc-europe-2013Alexa Ray Corriea