GamePro at GDC 2010: what we learned (Part 1)

• by GamePro Staff
• March 13, 2010 21:00 PM PST

With the 2010 Game Developers Conference having reached its conclusion, the editors at GamePro are discussing the themes and highlights of this year's show. Here are the first two wrap-ups.

John Davison discusses the changing financial landscape and why this extended console generation is good for gaming.

The future of games is shaping up to be something quite different than we've seen for the past 10 years or so. The changes will affect how we play together, how we control games, and how we pay for games. The industry is at a very significant crossroads right now, and as it broadens the audience, some of the most significant changes will come from both social and cultural shifts rather than technology moves.

There's a move to return games to be something much more social. There's a renewed focus on both same-screen and social network based play. The latter making the act of playing a game a significant part of the marketing efforts of it. Extensive play, and the associated broadcasting of the fact that you are playing (and, in turn, the invitation of others to play) will be rewarded by the in-game economy. Similar rewards can be achieved by paying for these items with real money too. Though flawed in its initial execution, the dual economy model seen in Battlefield Heroes (which in turn borrows from Gaia, Maple Story and others) will soon be far more prevalent in both desktop and mobile games. As Neil Young from ngmoco told me though, "you have to design for this from the very beginning." Developers are quickly learning that games need to structure their gameplay and the associated rewards systems quite differently when microtransactions and virtual goods are in play. "You can't force this stuff into a game," he explained. This echoes similar comments made by Brian Reynolds from Zynga, who reminded everyone at the GamesBeat summit that developers need to watch for changing player behaviors and design for adapting taste. "Just because Farmville is huge doesn't mean we need more farming games," he quipped. "That ship has sailed." he went on to explain that Farmville has been so successful because it was built from the ground up to be driven by both social and microtransactional motivations. "One of the biggest things that drives loyalty to Farmville is 'shame,'" he laughed. "No one wants to be caught letting their crops wither and die."

Though ngmoco has been very public in showing it's intentions for relying on virtual goods (it's seen a boost in revenue since making the move, plus it solves the piracy problem on iPhone when the games are essentially free) for future games since the release of Eliminate and Touch Pets, it's not turning it's back on "the old way" of simply charging up front for some games. Warp Gate, the highly anticipated space trading/strategy game from recently acquired Freeverse will not be a microtransaction-based title.

Outside of the social shifts, it was clear at this GDC that the extended life of this console generation is really starting to pay creative dividends. Absent having to rebuild engines from the ground up for ever-improving hardware, much of the discussion I heard this year focused on the craft of making great experiences, rather than the technological savvy of building new engines. The Lara Croft game is a great example of this. By reusing the extremely competent Tomb Raider engine in a very creative way, the team has been able to focus on making a well-crafted cooperative (read: social) game with imaginative gameplay mechanics and great art.

Dave Rudden tracks the ever-changing console war.

It was interesting to observe the big three console manufacturers taking three very different approaches to broadening their scope at GDC 2010. While the very nature of the Game Developers Conference often forces even the largest companies to present more theoretical concepts, the foundations set by all three companies could make for a very interesting conclusion to this console generation.

As the final company to have its coming-out party for motion controller, Sony and its PlayStation Move suffered as a result. The console manufacturer is now on the clock to establish the Move as an experience that's unlike any other, as the initial crop of titles largely offered up more of the same kind of motion control experiences that have led to major Wii malaise. Hopefully, the coming months will allow the company to differentiate the product from its competitors.

I came into GDC with a terrible Nokia cell phone hoping that Microsoft would finally convince me to jump aboard the Windows 7 mobile gaming bandwagon. Seeing some of the tech in motion and the power of the platform, I'm still keeping an eye on the vehicle, but I'm still staying on the street until I'm sure of its final destination. With cross-platform development between Windows 7 phones and the Xbox 360 serving as a launching point for many discussions, I hoped a set structure between gaming experiences and rewards would become apparent, but I still worry about how the two play together when all is said and done. I don't expect an iPhone-killer, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for something that really adds to my Xbox 360 gaming experience.

Nintendo's staying the course in terms of hardware, as the Wii's motion control has been iterated on enough so far this console generation. What pleased me about the company this year was its focus on what the show should be about--developers. Nintendo continues to tout Metroid: Other M, a game that puts one of the company's most prized franchises in the hands of a third-party company. Gaijin Games continued upon its mastery of the WiiWare service, showing off Bit.Trip.Runner, which has the potential to shoot the burgeoning DLC franchise to new levels.

E3 will allow for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to flesh out their ideas further, but GDC served as a great showcase of each company's gameplan.

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