SpellTower's Zach Gage to discuss tactile touch controls at GDC China

While touch controls are a fantastic way to attract a wider and more diverse audience, developers need to be careful to get things right, as poor touch controls will often make a game fall flat on its face. Indie developer Zach Gage (SpellTower, Bit Pilot) has spent the last few years honing his skills making touch-based iOS games, and this Sunday at GDC China, he'll host an in-depth session to help other developers learn from his experience. During his session, Gage will examine both classic and emerging control schemes, noting whether they succeed and discussing the lessons developers can draw from them. He'll also take a moment to look at a number of different touch-based games to pick apart their triumphs and failures. Although the session is focused primarily on touch-screen games, attendees will be able to use Gage's lessons learned when moving to any type of new game hardware. His session, titled "Controls You Can Feel: Putting Tactility Back Into Touch Controls," will take place as part of GDC China's Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit, and will be open to GDC China's All Access and Summits & Tutorials pass holders. Online registration is now open on the GDC China website, and the show itself will take place November 17-19 at the Shanghai Convention Center in Shanghai, China. In addition to the above presentation, GDC China organizers have also added the following talks to the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit: - In "From Japan to the World -- the Status and Future of Mobile Social Card Games," D2C Inc.'s Xiaolei Zhang will take a close look at the growing popularity of mobile card games. These titles are already a phenomenon in Japan, and Zhang believes the craze will soon expand into the rest of the world. He'll pick apart D2C's own card games like The Sekigahara Kingdoms and Pirate Fantasy to help other developers understand why these games are so popular. - Elsewhere, Game Insight's Darya Trushkina will explain how Chinese developers can succeed in North America during a session titled "How Chinese Mobile Can Win the West. Drawing from Game Insight's international publishing experience, Trushkina will compare the Eastern and Western game markets, while offering tips to help Chinese developers expand their reach into brand new territories. These talks join the numerous other sessions already announced for GDC China. For more information on any of the sessions in the show's lineup, check out the show's "Announced Sessions" page. For all the latest information on GDC China, visit the show's website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.