Wondering exactly how many people you need to be supremely jealous of, thanks to the fact that they got to hang out with and generally become best buds with Eric Chahi, Clint Hocking, Peter Molyneux and other gaming inudstry legends at GDC 2011? According to the event’s official blog, this year’s conference was attended by a record 19,000 gaming professionals, who attended over 450 lectures, tutorials, keynotes and friendship bracelet craft circles.

Want to help add to that number next year? Well, check your calendars — the Game Developers Conference is going to roll back into San Francisco like a brisk wind March 5 – 9, 2012.

GDC 2011 reaches record attendance, GDC 2012 scheduled originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that anyone was expecting it not to return, but now it’s officially official: GDC 2012 will open its doors on March 5, 2012. The news was announced unceremoniously on the back of GDC 2011 attendees schedule pamphlets, as seen above.

In case you’ve been covered in teddy bears and unable to move for the past week, all of Joystiq’s GDC 2011 coverage is right here. And if you’ve got a bunch of extra teddy bears now as a result, can we have some?

GDC returns March 5-9, 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure whether he was inspired by the recent Oscars or other recent winning theatrics, but this week we’re treated to a breathtaking performance from the MMO Report’s very own Casey Schreiner. Admittedly, he likely won’t be picking up any golden statuettes from the Academy — this is internet video, after all. However, we feel relatively certain that he will likely find his bag quite swollen over owing to this week’s subtle combination of stellar performance and particularly well-groomed facial hair. Well, that and because this week’s episode is really short.

Starting off running, Casey touches on the February game update in DC Universe Online while simultaneously saving us from having to look at cherubs from the game’s holiday event. After that, it’s a quick jump to Runes of Magic, which is determined to make it even easier to spend tons of time wandering aimlessly in the game while telling your Facebook friends all about it. Next, it’s a nod to our GDC 2011 coverage with our ArenaNet localization panel writeup and an aside about the large amount of Guild Wars hardcore Norn we got to enjoy last week. Finally, the bag returns to equally rapidly disappear once again.

As always, this week’s episode lurks beyond yon break — or you can catch it on G4TV every Thursday! Until then, anon good readers; anon!

Continue reading The MMO Report: Now is the winter of our discontent edition

The MMO Report: Now is the winter of our discontent edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The team at Undead Labs has big plans for the studio’s first two projects currently under development: Class 3 and Class 4. So far, we know that Class 3 will be a non-MMO console zombie shoot-em-up game developed for Xbox Live, and Class 4 is intended to be the game that crosses into a massively online world. That’s why we were glad to sit down with Jeff Strain, founder of Undead Labs, to hear more details on the studio’s gory game goodness, which is surely lurking and primed to pounce on us and eat our brains — or at least some of our gaming time.

Are you hungry for all the meaty details of this ambitious console horror game? Join us behind the break for more!

Continue reading GDC 2011: Jeff Strain lets us eat… err… pick his brains on Undead Labs’ upcoming zombie MMO

GDC 2011: Jeff Strain lets us eat… err… pick his brains on Undead Labs’ upcoming zombie MMO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things are pretty quiet on the 38 Studios front. That’s rarely stopped Curt Schilling from talking in the past, though, and he recently sat down with the lads at Joystiq during this year’s GDC to give everyone an update on the big Rhode Island move.

“The team is incredibly excited. It’s our building! We have all six floors — it’s our studio and we’re alone. It’s our space,” Schilling enthused. Joystiq also queried the former World Series MVP about whether or not 38 Studios‘ Copernicus MMO project might opt for a free-to-play business model in order to compete in what has become an extremely crowded game market.

“We have an open mind about everything, except the game,” Schilling said. “We look at what we’re creating and we say, ‘What is the best possible guest experience we can create with this product?’ And that’ll answer your business model questions and your goals and objectives for the game.” Sooo, is that a yes-we’re-considering-free-to-play or a not-in-a-million-years? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but one thing’s for sure: With Schilling at the controls, the trip is bound to be eventful (and full of juicy quotes).

GDC 2011: Curt Schilling talks about free-to-play, or not originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday at GDC, we had the privilege of spending some time with some of the ArenaNet and NCsoft staff. We were promised a look at the new Guild Wars 2 demo, so we were hoping for a look at a new race’s starting area or maybe a tour of a few places we hadn’t seen before.

ArenaNet delivered that and more: Imagine our surprise when the team casually unveiled the bad girl (and boy) of Guild Wars 2: the Thief. For the next hour, we enjoyed an up close and personal look at the Thief as well as a demo of the Norn starting area of Hoelbrak.

The press release describes the Thief well: “As a master of stealth and surprise, the thief is deadly in single combat – particularly when catching enemies off guard. Thieves compensate for their relatively low armor and health by being quick and evasive. They can travel through the shadows, vanish into thin air, or steal items from their opponents and use them as weapons.“

Ree Soesbee made the experience even better by giving some insight into what the Thief is and is not (don’t worry, this is definitely not a reskinned Assassin) and chatting about the origins of the class. The grand finale was our very own Shawn Schuster‘s first hands-on experience with Guild Wars 2 gameplay — he created a Charr Thief and did some serious dual-pistol damage, helped along by cheers, direction, and encouragement from the ArenaNet and NCsoft staff.

Check out our firsthand look at the Guild Wars 2 demo, insight from Ree Soesbee, and hands-on gameplay in the videos after the jump, and don’t miss our in-depth analysis of the Thief in Monday’s Flameseeker Chronicles.

Our thanks go out to ArenaNet and NCsoft for their hospitality and for plenty of fun!

[Update: The second video, this one of the demo, is finally uploaded and included after the break. Enjoy!]

Continue reading GDC 2011: ArenaNet unveils new profession and Norn starting area for Guild Wars 2 [Updated]

GDC 2011: ArenaNet unveils new profession and Norn starting area for Guild Wars 2 [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The in-game story for Gods and Heroes begins with a Roman general returning home after his time in war only to be thrust into battle again. The history of the game itself mirrors this journey: In October 2006, the original creators of the game, Perpetual Entertainment, shut down. However, in August 2010, independent developer Heatwave Interactive picked up the rights to develop and distribute the game. Our hero’s journey started once more. Just as your character in G&H returns home to an estate in ruins and a craving for revenge, Heatwave developers are fighting back the old gods and attacking the game with renewed vigor.

At GDC 2011, our editor-in-chief Shawn Schuster discussed the rise, fall, and rebirth of the game with CEO Anthony Castoro, Lead Designer Tim Schubert, and Community Manager Donna Prior. “I think a lot of people expected us to go free-to-play and microtransact the minions then put it out there. But in early alpha tests and beta tests, people really wanted a full game out of this and expect us to treat it a certain way. We are working really hard to do that,” said Castoro, who went on to assure us that he is not just out to make money — he hopes to deliver a great game too. Follow after the break to find out what is going to make this game victorious in the gladiatorial arena.

Continue reading GDC 2011: Gods & Heroes hopes to give its audience something unexpected

GDC 2011: Gods & Heroes hopes to give its audience something unexpected originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While you may have only heard about GameSamba from our recent beta key giveaway post, the company’s intent is to hit the ground running in the free-to-play market this year. How will it accomplish that? The plan is to bring out a bunch of fun games that all kinds of people will enjoy. Currently, the company’s site only shows two games — Remnant Knights and Cocolani Island — which are both in closed beta. However, we understand from our talk at GDC that the publisher is working on releasing six more titles in the near future so it can give players even more gaming choices.

For now, we wanted to focus on finding out more about the two GameSamba free-to-play titles that players will be able to check out soon: Remnant Knights and Cocolani Island. So if you like the idea of adorable anime girls with obnoxiously enormous guns or tiki-themed minigame madness, join us behind the break for videos and more — and don’t forget the galleries!

Continue reading GDC 2011: GameSamba talks about its upcoming plans

GDC 2011: GameSamba talks about its upcoming plans originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While you may have only heard about GameSamba from our recent beta key giveaway post, the company’s intent is to hit the ground running in the free-to-play market this year. How will it accomplish that? The plan is to bring out a bunch of fun games that all kinds of people will enjoy. Currently, the company’s site only shows two games — Remnant Knights and Cocolani Island — which are both in closed beta. However, we understand from our talk at GDC that the publisher is working on releasing six more titles in the near future so it can give players even more gaming choices.

For now, we wanted to focus on finding out more about the two GameSamba free-to-play titles that players will be able to check out soon: Remnant Knights and Cocolani Island. So if you like the idea of adorable anime girls with obnoxiously enormous guns or tiki-themed minigame madness, join us behind the break for videos and more — and don’t forget the galleries!

Continue reading GDC 2011: GameSamba talks about its upcoming plans

GDC 2011: GameSamba talks about its upcoming plans originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Speaking Episode 138 returns today with the second installment of our daily GDC 2011 updates. Shawn and Rubi run through their day 3 interviews and appointments, including their impressions of what they saw along the way. Plus, firetrucks are loud.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to shawn@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
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[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Listen here on the page:

Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Massively Speaking is the official podcast of Massively.com. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Shawn Schuster and Community Manager Rubi Bayer, Massively Speaking takes on the week’s biggest news and dev interviews with plenty of opinion, rants, and laughs thrown in for good measure. Join us every Wednesday afternoon to listen in and see what we’ll say next!

Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 138: GDC 2011, day 3

Massively Speaking Episode 138: GDC 2011, day 3 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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