GDC Vault debuts 'Classic Postmortem' videos, GDC 2012 lectures

The GDC Vault service has debuted both free and members-only video, audio, and slides from last month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, including free postmortem videos for games like Fallout and Harvest Moon. Following the conclusion of the record-breaking 22,500-person conference, these Classic Postmortem sessions, along with many other notable talks, are now available GDC 2012’s "Free Recordings" section on GDC Vault. Now in their second year, the Classic Postmortem lectures stood out as a particular highlight from this year’s show, as once again offered unique insight from some of the industry’s most seminal game creators. The series included notable talks from Frederick Raynal on the making of Alone in the Dark, Ed Logg on crafting the classic arcade game Gauntlet, Yasuhiro Wada on the quirky and successful Harvest Moon, and Tim Cain on the original Fallout, which spawned one of the industry’s most popular RPG franchises of all time. Also available for free is an intimate chat with Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, hosted by SpyParty developer Chris Hecker. This session delves into Persson’s creative process, and provides a look into the mind the indie game juggernaut. In addition, GDC Vault has debuted a panel featuring Persson alongside industry figures like Jordan Mechner, Tim Sweeney, Adam Saltsman, John Romero, and Jane Pinckard on the budding indie renaissance. Elsewhere, GDC Vault visitors can check out a lecture from Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan on the best ways to teach players via game design. Other free Main Conference talks include a look at the art of Diablo III, an audio session on Supergiant Games' indie hit Bastion, and production tips from Bungie's Brian Sharp. The above lectures represent just a few of the free videos currently available on GDC Vault. Outside of these track highlights, the service also offers 25 free sponsored lectures from companies like Intel, Nvidia, Google, and more. These free videos, which include high-quality panels on HTML5, Android, cloth simulation, and more, are all available after filling in a brief registration form. GDC organizers have also made available hundreds of slide collections from the GDC 2012 presenters, offering a glimpse into many more of the show’s most influential talks. This new free content debuts alongside more than 300 additional lecture videos from GDC 2012 for GDC Vault subscribers. GDC 2012 All Access pass holders have full access to GDC Vault, and current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. To purchase a standalone GDC Vault subscription, send an email to help@gdcvault.com. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can contact Gillian Crowley at gcrowley@techweb.com. Now that the GDC 2012 content is online, be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more content in the months ahead. Show organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from upcoming events like GDC Europe, GDC Online, and GDC China, so there’s plenty more content to come. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. GDC and the GDC Vault is owned and operated by Gamasutra parent company UBM TechWeb.