GDC 2008 Insights, Part Five

[GameBanshee News]

RPG Vault continues their series of post-GDC reflection articles with a fifth installment featuring comments from 38 Studios' Christian Baekklund and Joe Mirabello.

Christian Baekklund, Game Designer, 38 Studios: After having been to several GDCs in the past, the most useful information I come away with each year is rarely from one specific session or another, but instead is from the aggregate of what I see over those days. As speakers give talks and conference attendees talk amongst themselves, trends can be found that were not even consciously recognized across the industry. This year, I noticed five top trends as someone interested in the direction of the industry as a whole, but specifically as a game designer:

Small-budget or "indie" game development platforms. No less than three different efforts toward platforms for small, independent game developers to create and distribute on a large scale their dream game ideas were discussed. Microsoft's keynote centered on XNA, and XBox Live was easily notable, but Nintendo's impending WiiWare was also being discussed among attendees. Furthermore, on the PC, Maxis' Sims Carnival will provide yet another platform for easier creation and sharing of games by small developers.

Impact of games on the world. The game industry has done a fine job of creating exciting action, comedy and horror to excite players around the world - but has any of this really changed it in a meaningful and positive way? As the industry continues to mature, this thought seemed to be weighing on many designers' minds.

On-line game monetization methods. Folks are still banging their heads trying to figure out how players are most happy to pay for games online. Everyone seemed to have a theory, from micro-payments for virtual items, subscriptions and everything in between, but the consensus is still solidifying.