Audio/Video, Computers, Video Games, Editor's Picks
Five Next Big Things In Video Games (GDC Report)
Indie Games
It's a good time to be an indie game developer -- or an indie game player, for that matter. After years and years of being stuck in the shareware PC ghetto, small-scale, small-team productions finally have an ample forum to distribute their work (several of them, in fact). Xbox Live Arcade was one of Microsoft's main thrusts at this year's GDC, with improved tools (a new version of the company's XNA toolset) designed to help developers turn their ideas into living, breathing downloadable Xbox 360 games. Sony's PlayOnline service is continuing to pick up speed with releases like echochrome, and perhaps the biggest announcement came from Nintendo, which will finally be releasing its own downloadable content platform, WiiWare.
More (and more) music games
Undoubtedly influenced by the success of mega-hits like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band,' developers have caught the rhythm action bug for serious. Rumors abound about Activision's DJ Hero game, while top-notch developers like Harmonix hinted at huge things to come in the wake of 'Rock Band' (and even showed a snippet of what eventually became Phase for the iPod, back when it was still a PSP game). Smaller titles like PixelJunk Eden (and a host of games we saw behind closed doors and can't talk about) are solid evidence that the genre is very much here to stay.
3D displays
There's something huge around the corner for how we receive our games -- something nearly as big as the leap from 2D to 3D gaming. Namely, 3D displays. They've been in the works for years now, but the technology is finally getting to the point where it's ready for the mass market. Texas Instruments and nVidia were both showing their respective technologies, and the results are no less than stunning: You put on the glasses, and you're in the closest thing to virtual reality you've ever experienced. We were treated to demos of both games ('Call of Duty,' 'Age of Empires') and animated movies (a Dreamworks 3D montage), and we were nothing short of blown away. Right now it's only running on DLP rear-projection sets (with plasma and LCD versions soon to come), but we expect other types of TVs to be hitting living rooms and computer desks within the next year or two, at affordable prices. Already, you can get a 3D-enabled DLP display for just $700, for example. Prepare your eyes for something pretty amazing.
Big games
While past GDCs haven't really been the forum for publishers to unleash their latest and greatest titles upon the gaming world, the lack of a proper E3 has made GDC more of a stage for introduction. Vivendi's Prototype wowed those who saw it, and Dave Jones -- the mind behind 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Crackdown' -- showed off his incredible massively multiplayer cops 'n' robbers game, APB, for the first time. Wii Fit was also shown for the first time in full English form by Nintendo, and Silicon Knights came to town with a near-final version of 'Too Human.' But perhaps the biggest crowd-pleaser of all? Capcom's Street Fighter IV -- shown in arcade machine form -- which was surrounded by journalists (and anyone else who could sneak their way into Capcom's hotel suite) throughout the duration of the show.
Big winners
Valve's Portal and Irrational Software's 'Bioshock' dominated the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The former -- a tech demo-cum-game that took the gaming world by storm as part of EA's Orange Box release -- was the biggest surprise, as it was voted best videogame, and took home awards for innovation and design excellence as well. 'BioShock' (which you surely know all about by this point) took top honors for story writing, visual arts, and audio. Other nominees for Game of the Year included 'Call of Duty 4,' 'Mass Effect,' and 'Rock Band.'
Undoubtedly influenced by the success of mega-hits like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band,' developers have caught the rhythm action bug for serious. Rumors abound about Activision's DJ Hero game, while top-notch developers like Harmonix hinted at huge things to come in the wake of 'Rock Band' (and even showed a snippet of what eventually became Phase for the iPod, back when it was still a PSP game). Smaller titles like PixelJunk Eden (and a host of games we saw behind closed doors and can't talk about) are solid evidence that the genre is very much here to stay.
3D displays
There's something huge around the corner for how we receive our games -- something nearly as big as the leap from 2D to 3D gaming. Namely, 3D displays. They've been in the works for years now, but the technology is finally getting to the point where it's ready for the mass market. Texas Instruments and nVidia were both showing their respective technologies, and the results are no less than stunning: You put on the glasses, and you're in the closest thing to virtual reality you've ever experienced. We were treated to demos of both games ('Call of Duty,' 'Age of Empires') and animated movies (a Dreamworks 3D montage), and we were nothing short of blown away. Right now it's only running on DLP rear-projection sets (with plasma and LCD versions soon to come), but we expect other types of TVs to be hitting living rooms and computer desks within the next year or two, at affordable prices. Already, you can get a 3D-enabled DLP display for just $700, for example. Prepare your eyes for something pretty amazing.
Big games
While past GDCs haven't really been the forum for publishers to unleash their latest and greatest titles upon the gaming world, the lack of a proper E3 has made GDC more of a stage for introduction. Vivendi's Prototype wowed those who saw it, and Dave Jones -- the mind behind 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Crackdown' -- showed off his incredible massively multiplayer cops 'n' robbers game, APB, for the first time. Wii Fit was also shown for the first time in full English form by Nintendo, and Silicon Knights came to town with a near-final version of 'Too Human.' But perhaps the biggest crowd-pleaser of all? Capcom's Street Fighter IV -- shown in arcade machine form -- which was surrounded by journalists (and anyone else who could sneak their way into Capcom's hotel suite) throughout the duration of the show.
Big winners
Valve's Portal and Irrational Software's 'Bioshock' dominated the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The former -- a tech demo-cum-game that took the gaming world by storm as part of EA's Orange Box release -- was the biggest surprise, as it was voted best videogame, and took home awards for innovation and design excellence as well. 'BioShock' (which you surely know all about by this point) took top honors for story writing, visual arts, and audio. Other nominees for Game of the Year included 'Call of Duty 4,' 'Mass Effect,' and 'Rock Band.'
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Add your comments