GDC 2013 organizers spotlight special sessions, including Warren Spector on narrative in games, a 10-speaker microtalk on the state of play, and the Game Design Challenge Final Championships.
These talks are part of the Design Track and Game Narrative Summit for Game Developers Conference 2013, which will take place Monday-Friday, March 25-29 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
In the main conference's Design Track, the 10th and final Game Design Challenge will bring together winners from the past to design 'Humanity's Last Game.' Speakers will present what should be the last game humanity ever plays, with moderator Eric Zimmerman again polling the audience for the winner.
Returning champions will include Playdom's Steve Meretzky (Leather Goddesses of Phobos), thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen (Journey), University of Southern California visiting associate professor (and former Uncharted lead) Richard Lemarchand, Ivy Games' Erin Robinson (Puzzlebots), independent designer Jason Rohrer (Between), Arkane Studios' Harvey Smith (Dishonored), and Stupid Fun Club's Will Wright (The Sims).
The notable micro-talkers will be notable game journalist Leigh Alexander, Dys4ia creator Anna Anthropy, author and game writer Tom Bissell, Bloom's Ben Cerveny, Plants Vs. Zombies creator George Fan, kid game expert Carla Fisher, BioWare Montreal's Manveer Heir, Uncharted and USC's Richard Lemarchand, Metanet's Mare Sheppard (N+/Office Yeti), and Airtight Games' Kim Swift (Portal/Quantum Conundrum).
Finally, in the Narrative Summit earlier in the week, GDC lifetime achievement award recipient Warren Spector will share his view on 'Narrative in Games - Role, Forms, Problems, and Potential.' The Deus Ex and Epic Mickey designer will discuss what to learn from and what to avoid with regard to how other mediums approach narrative.
The schedule builder of GDC 2013 is available online for attendees to plan their week of can't-miss lectures and tutorials, including those just highlighted.
GDC still offers over $100 discounts to select pass purchases made by March 20th, at 11:59pm EST, with prices increasing for onsite registration. GDC 2013 itself will take place March 25-29 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
For clarity, will there be no more Game Design Challenges after this, or is this year's Game Design Challenge about "what should be the last game humanity ever plays"? Seems like the latter, but the article title suggests the former.
