If you've ever wondered exactly how humor was injected into Borderlands 2, how Blizzard coded their Network API for World of Warcraft or how EVE Online became a multiplatform universe – the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the place for you to be come March 25, 2013. For those unfamiliar, GDC is an annual conference where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, writers, audio professionals, business owners and others involved in the development of interactive games come together to exchange ideas,lecture, and help shape the future of the industry in an open forum.
Now that grouping may seem a bit odd; what does Borderlands 2 have in common with World of Warcraft? How does EVE Online even begin to fit in? Well, besides the fact that both EVE Online and World of Warcraft are both MMO's, all three games are insanely popular. With popularity comes great responsibility, I know that's now how the quote works but it's how I'm choosing to use it (deal with it). These games can be used as textbooks for others to learn from, and at GDC that is exactly what's going to happen.
Gearbox Software lead writer Anthony Burch will be speaking on how his team added humor in game mechanics during the 'Designing Humor in Borderlands 2' lecture. His focus will be on "how a quest with no gameplay can actually be funnier than a quest with it, how every mechanic holds the potential for humor, and how even jokes need debugging."
Blizzard's lead programmer Joe Rumsey will be discussing solutions for issues during his Network Serialization and Routing in World of Warcraft' lecture. CCP Games' senior technical producer Andie Nordgren will be speaking during 'Creating the EVE Universe: Technical and Cultural Strategies' about connecting DUST 514 to the EVE Online Universe.
That seems like a lot to take in, luckily the conference doesn't just happen in one day. If you are looking to be a part of the game industry this would be the place to 'go all in'. There is a discounted Early Bird pass that is available until February 13th. GDC is taking place March 25-29 in San Francisco.
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