Leaving PopCap: Why this mobile exec is pinning hopes on indies 14
by Leigh Alexander [04.08.13]
There's massive opportunity in mobile for indies pursuing higher production values and more innovation, says former PopCap exec Giordano Contestabile, who's joined Tilting Point studios to support that trend.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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LucasArts' old adventures continue to inspire game developers 31
by Staff [04.05.13]
The studio may finally be shuttered, but the games will live on -- and in this feature, developers tell us why they hold the company's classic adventure games so dear.
Console/PC, Design, Exclusive, History

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A postmortem of Pixeljunk 4am from its lead designer 5
by Staff [04.04.13]
"Well, there's music, and there's a PlayStation Move. Off you go." These were the directions given to the team behind the PlayStation Network's unique musical toy.
Console/PC, Programming, Art, Design, Production, Exclusive

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Exploring video game animation with a film industry veteran 25
by Mike Rose [04.04.13]
Lionel Gallat has been working on animated movies for over 15 years now, serving as animation director on films like Despicable Me and The Lorax. Now he's making video games, and spotting comparisons everywhere.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Production, Exclusive

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Video: Remembering LucasArts' groundbreaking Maniac Mansion 7
by Frank Cifaldi [04.03.13]
We dug into the GDC vaults to dig up designer Ron Gilbert's "odd collection of memories" about 1987's Maniac Mansion, the influential point-and-click adventure that began what many consider a golden era at Lucasfilm Games.
Console/PC, Design, Exclusive, Video

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Postmortem: Pixeljunk 4am 5
by Frank Cifaldi [04.03.13]
"Well, there's music, and there's a PlayStation Move. Off you go." These were the directions given to the team behind the PlayStation Network's unique musical toy.
Console/PC, Design, Production, Exclusive

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Play folk games on the fly with Tiny Games app  
by Leigh Alexander [04.03.13]
Can a new app combine the social quality of in-person play without the complex logistics of live events? Hide&Seek's tiny games wants to make a massive catalog of folk games accessible to all.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Exclusive, Video

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Wargaming's expansion is relentless - and so far, it's working 12
by Kris Graft [04.02.13]
If you're making online and free-to-play games, and not watching Wargaming's every move, you should go ahead and start doing that immediately. Gamasutra caught up with CEO Victor Kislyi at GDC 2013.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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Ask Gamasutra: What GDC 2013 meant to us 26
by Staff [04.02.13]
Ask Gamasutra is a regular column that takes issues from within the video game industry, and poses them as a question to the editorial staff. For this edition: what last week's GDC meant to the Gamasutra staff.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Serious, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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The advantage of a diverse game portfolio, according to Avalanche 5
by Kris Graft [04.01.13]
We often hear about how large publicly-held publishers are keen on diversifying their portfolio of games with different genres and business models. But that strategy is also important on the independent studio level.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing, Exclusive

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Linden's Short: Ask yourself if your work is truthful 3
by Leigh Alexander [03.29.13]
Authenticity matters and games creators should ensure their work is truthful, says Linden Lab's Emily Short, who's moved by the trend of individual authenticity she's observed at this year's GDC.
Console/PC, Programming, Art, Design, Exclusive, GDC

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Interview: Epic goes all-in on HTML5 with UE4 support 10
by Frank Cifaldi [03.29.13]
Tim Sweeney and Mark Rein sit down with us during GDC to talk about what HTML5 support means for Epic, where the platform is going, and whether rich browser games could be threatening to hardware makers.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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IGF winner Hofmeier pays it forward for Porpentine's Howling Dogs 9
by Leigh Alexander [03.29.13]
Cart Life's IGF booth was spraypainted and hijacked by another game -- thanks to Cart Life creator Richard Hofmeier himself. Learn about the Twine game that's "really dear" to him.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Exclusive, IGF

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Myths, mid-core and mobile: Facebook’s message to developers 7
by Kris Graft [03.28.13]
At GDC, Facebook's director of game partnerships Sean Ryan talked to Gamasutra about what the social network is doing to attract developers, and make them want to create Facebook games in 2013.
Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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How can game music feel as meaningful as a live experience? 5
by Leigh Alexander [03.27.13]
Games can do more with musical elements to prevent loss of intimacy that happens with looping tracks, argues Rich "Disasterpeace" Vreeland, who'd like more of live music's unpreditability in games.
Console/PC, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, Exclusive, GDC

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Jesse Schell's search for the Shakespeare of video games 10
by Patrick Miller [03.27.13]
What do video games need before we can have our own Shakespeare? The future of game narrative lies in building tech that will allow video games to "listen" to the player, says designer and evangelist Jesse Schell.
Console/PC, Indie, Design, Exclusive, GDC

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Full Sail study attempts to shed light on Metacritic's weighting system 33
by Simon Parkin [03.27.13]
The website Metacritic weights the scores of different video game critics and publications when calculating its aggregate 'metascore' for any particular title.
Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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The business case for a diverse game character cast 4
by Patrick Miller [03.27.13]
"Our audience is leaving us behind," says Microsoft Studios narrative designer Tom Abernathy in a session from the GDC Narrative Summit. Being inclusive doesn't just make better games, it makes better business sense.
Console/PC, Design, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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Inside the PlayStation 4 with Mark Cerny 22
by Christian Nutt [03.27.13]
Gamasutra got over an hour with the PlayStation 4's lead architect, and in this story, he explains how he began the process of designing Sony's new system -- with developers' desires.
Console/PC, Programming, Business/Marketing, Exclusive, GDC

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The five reasons freemium sucks (according to QWOP's developer) 24
by Leigh Alexander [03.26.13]
The free-to-play business model has five big problems, says Bennett Foddy -- but being creative about solving them can result in a more meaningful application of free-to-play games.
Console/PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Exclusive, GDC

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