News

How competition deadlines whipped FTL into shape
How competition deadlines whipped FTL into shape
Matthew Davis, programmer of Faster Than Light, outlines how IGF China and subsequent indie game competitions helped the game come to completion, get publicity, and become more polished.
Nov. 19, 2012
IGF 2013 adds 'Excellence in Narrative' category
IGF 2013 adds 'Excellence in Narrative' category
The Independent Games Festival's 2013 iteration is adding a $3,000 'Excellence In Narrative' award, following much feedback from the community that story and narrative in games needs to be better honored.
Nov. 19, 2012
GDC China: Kabam's focus for mobile success
GDC China: Kabam's focus for mobile success
At GDC China, Kabam's Michael Li discussed the company's attempt to bootstrap its Chinese office, as "rallying the entire office" around one platform hit success with Kingdoms Of Camelot: Battle For The North for iOS.
Nov. 18, 2012
User interface 'shouldn't just be icing on the cake' says Double Fine's Kowalski
User interface 'shouldn't just be icing on the cake' says Double Fine's Kowalski
Should a game's user interface just get out of the way and let the player get to the game, or should it say something unique about the game's world? Double Fine's Joe Kowalski weighs in on the subject.
Nov. 18, 2012
GDC China: Ubisoft Shanghai's best practices for mobile game development: 'do it now'
GDC China: Ubisoft Shanghai's best practices for mobile game development: 'do it now'
Ubisoft Shanghai producer Xu Wang shares his best practices for mobile game development, with lessons learned from working on the popular title Michael Jackson: The Experience for iOS.
Nov. 18, 2012
IGF China 2012 winners led by CubeTractor, Fish
IGF China 2012 winners led by CubeTractor, Fish
IGF China awarded the best independent games in Asia and Australasia at a ceremony in Shanghai during GDC China, led by Best Game winner, retro-inspired puzzler Cubetractor, and abstract action Best Student Game winner Fish.
Nov. 18, 2012
Koster: Why games teach lessons we shouldn't always heed
Koster: Why games teach lessons we shouldn't always heed
In his packed GDC China keynote in Shanghai, author and online game veteran Raph Koster gave a stirring discussion on the nature of games, philosophizing: "Games are more like an algorithm than anything else."
Nov. 17, 2012
GDC China: Why audio-visual quality matters in F2P mobile
GDC China: Why audio-visual quality matters in F2P mobile
Would a "crappy looking 2D horse in a crappy looking field" have tanked NaturalMotion Games' My Horse? At GDC China, the firm explained why it thinks audiovisual fidelity is vital for differentiating in F2P mobile.
Nov. 17, 2012
GDC China: Metrics are important, says PopCap, but fun is paramount
GDC China: Metrics are important, says PopCap, but fun is paramount
Where does Bejeweled Blitz come down on the now-classic argument of metrics vs intuition? Companies should be metrics-focused, not metrics-driven, says PopCap's Constantabile in this GDC China talk.
Nov. 17, 2012
Video: The best ways to integrate YouTube into your mobile game
Video: The best ways to integrate YouTube into your mobile game
In this free video from GDC Online 2012 in Austin, Google's Jarek Wilkiewicz and Black Box Interactive's Coby Cotton show effective examples and best practices for integrating YouTube into mobile games.
Nov. 16, 2012
SpellTower's Zach Gage to discuss tactile touch controls at GDC China
SpellTower's Zach Gage to discuss tactile touch controls at GDC China
During GDC China this Sunday, SpellTower and Bit Pilot creator Zach Gage will offer some essential tips for designing and tuning touch-screen controls on handhelds and mobile devices.
Nov. 15, 2012
Become a better writer, programmer with GDC 2013's specialized tutorials
Become a better writer, programmer with GDC 2013's specialized tutorials
It's always a good idea to brush up on your game-making fundamentals, and next year's Game Developers Conference will help you do just that with detailed tutorials on both narrative design and programming.
Nov. 14, 2012