GDC Europe 2014 reveals major talks from Ninja Theory, Paradox

The GDC Europe 2014 team continues to work with the best and brightest in the game industry to organize a great session lineup for the Cologne show this August. Today they're excited to share two more excellent talks that will take place at the August conference - Ninja Theory's co-founder on the 'AAA indie', and the CEO of Paradox Interactive (Crusader Kings) on standing out in a crowded market. Organized by UBM Tech Game Network, GDC Europe, now in its sixth year in Germany, will run Monday through Wednesday, August 11-13 at the Congress-Centrum Ost in Cologne, Germany, co-located with Europe's biggest video game trade and public show gamescom. The event will include topics spanning AAA through mobile gaming and indie, both technical and business-focused. Today's announced talks cover the design and business of games, and they should have learnings for the entire community. As part of this year's GDC Europe Design track, Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades is planning to give a talk currently titled "The AAA Design Postmortem." The session will detail the 14-year journey of Ninja Theory, creators of standout titles like Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Journey To The West, and DmC: Devil May Cry (pictured), including the sacrifices and concessions made by the studio to stay in the game. Footage of unreleased games, the reason why they didn't go to market, and the specific sales-related decisions that led to their demise will be discussed in detail. British developer Antoniades also plans to showcase previously unseen upcoming games, as well as the unrealized sequel to Kung Fu Chaos, and various other pitches that Ninja Theory had to put on ice or walk away from. With the next generation consoles arriving at the top end, just as mobile and indie games have taken hold at the bottom, Antoniades plans to explore whether or not there is room for a third path that turns the "squeezed middle," where many a good studio has disappeared, into an opportunity to redefine gaming: the AAA indie game. Over on the Business, Marketing and Management track, Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester returns to GDC Europe to discuss the best way to set your business apart from the pack in his talk, "Clash of Clones: The Importance of Standing Out." The CEO of the standout publisher and developer of PC-centric strategy titles such as Magicka, Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis posits that many companies in today's are trying to find success by emulating the ideas and methods of others; but the path to true success lies in daring to stand out, following your craziest ideas, and incorporating those ideas into every facet of your game. Wester will explain his thoughts on the business advantages of originality, how to find and express your vision, why passion is unclonable, and the power of community based on his experiences leading Swedish company Paradox through a decade of independent success. Of course, these are just two of the many exciting sessions that will be announced for GDC Europe 2014 in the coming weeks, and early birds can register for GDC Europe 2014 by July 16 to save 200 euros on an All Access Pass. In addition, this year marks the GDC Europe debut of the Student Pass, a more affordable alternative to the All Access Pass created specifically for qualified students interested in learning and networking at GDC Europe 2014 - as well as the return of the Indie Games Summit pass at an even cheaper price! All GDC Europe passes also allow visitors to attend Gamescom from Wednesday to Friday. Alongside all of this, GDC Europe 2014 will also continue to offer business and networking opportunities to all attendees with a developer-focused Expo Floor area and day and evening networking events. For more information, please visit the GDC Europe website. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech