GDC 07: "Oh… thats cool!"

Lets face it, Game Developer Conferences are 90.2% boring overall, a lot of business, a lot of talks about things the average gamer doesn’t care about, and regretfully the philosophy of most major gaming sites is to post as much as possible in the hopes of taking a bigger info dump than the next site, and let you shift through the turds.

With that in mind, I decided to just do what I like to call a Turd-free summary, and just summarize GDC ‘07: “Oh… thats cool!” moments. So unless its something that caused me to stop and smile and immediately IM a link to a related video to a friend, then its not blog worthy. So here it is, the best non-turd things coming out of GDC ‘07 at the moment.

Super Paper Mario (Wii)

Probably the biggest, “holy shit thats awesome” moment for myself was this in-depth look at Super Paper Mario hitting this April for the Wii. Check out that 2D to 3D transition! As the presenter so chessily put it towards the end, “this is probably the most awesomess thing eva!”.

You said it booth presenter guy, you said it.

Not to mention some of those power-ups! Hello! Mega Star anyone?!1! Complete with classic 8-bit giant Mario wrecking havoc on the unsuspecting tiny mushroom kingdom. Gooooood stuff.

Half-Life / Valve Portal Gun

This wasn’t exactly debuted at GDC but I’ll jump at any chance to hype this thing anytime! Probably one of the, if not THE, most innovative weapon in FPS games ever. I can’t even begin to grasp the full potential of a weapon like this in-game! The possibilities of gameplay are honestly endless.

This video gives yet another cool look at the power of the Portal Gun, and its puzzle solving capabilities. I’ll let the video speak for itself, because words honestly can’t describe what it shows. Kudos Valve yet again you shisty devils you.

LittleBigPlanet

Now, this blog is typically Sony free. The biggest reason is, I’ve had a PS3 and its a turd, I refuse to keep it in my home. I know first hands the pains and pitfalls of it, and as such am never hyped on it or its exclusive software, hence no blogs. Well, I have to give credit where credit is due, and thats with Sony’s surprise announcement of LittleBigPlanet for the PS3.

This video takes a little bit to get into the goodies of it, but basically its a user-created content heavy multiplayer game that allows users to create dynamic levels, share them with the community, be commented, rated, and played by anyone. The physics and dynamics of the game are really cool, and I can see endless possibilities and fun on this game alone. I love the interaction of the characters with the dynamic environment and the creative use of on the fly puzzle solving. Really cool stuff.

The big question is, is this, coupled with Playstation Home a console seller? Hardly. I doubt this game alone is going to persuade anyone to purchase a PS3 based on this development, but its a step, nay a big step in the right direction.

Home

Sony’s flagship announcement coming out of GDC and what many are calling the ‘tide turner’ for the PS3 is the new ‘HOME’ feature. Essentially Sony’s answer to Xbox 360’s Achievements and Wii’s Mii aspects combined.

Quick Facts:

1. Walk around a virtual [second life / sims] similar world.
2. Interact with other players via virtual avatars.
3. Fully customize and create your avatar.
4. Unlock / purchase new content for character / space.
5. Create a personal, public, and private space as your ‘home’.
6. Share music, video, and photos from your HD via your ‘home’.
7. Meet other gamers, play Multiplayer Games, or access Arcade games.
8. Show off game achievements via game trophy room in ‘home’.

Thats that jist of it, and all honesty a really cool concept. The problem I foresee, how many people are going to actively use it to its full potential? I mean, its cool to have a trophy room with virtual forms of your achievements, but if I want to see someones achievements, I don’t want to enter this world, walk all the way to their place, walk around their achievement room.

I think its a neat concept, and basically a mini-sims / second life game within a console, but I want information quick and easy so I can get back to gaming which is why I think perhaps Xbox 360’s more OS set-up is ideal.

I don’t know, I like the interactivity of it all, but if I’m sitting in front of my TV and console, I wanna play a game, not stand around a virtual world all the time, sometimes perhaps, but very limited sometimes.

I’m torn on how I feel on this one.

Conclusion:
Decent GDC, Nintendo’s keynote and presentation is today (happening right now) so I’m anxious to see some of the really cool stuff coming from this in the coming year or so. Hit me with something good Miyamoto!