Hiromichi Tanaka, lead developer for Final Fantasy XI, is set to be the international keynote speaker in this year's Austin Game Developer's Conference (GDC), joining speakers such as Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, and Habbo Hotel's lead designer Sulka Haro. In his keynote address, Tanaka will talk about the challenges and triumphs of designing a massively multiplayer online game across platforms.

Scheduled for September 5-7 at the Austin Convention Center in Texas, the Austin GDC will focus on advancing game development with lectures, panels, and round table discussions on the latest issues facing the industry, such as online programming, future trends, the most up-to-date production techniques, and how-to's in creating new games. Jane Pinckard, content manager for the event, states that "Tanaka's presence at our conference is indicative of the event's global appeal."

The Austin GDC will host discussion tracks on online gaming, game audio, creative writing for games, and will introduce a new People's Choice Track, where community members can vote on what topics will be discussed in the conference. Stay with us as we keep you updated on further developments.

The developers at Pandemic Studios showed off some of the new titles from Electronic Arts' line-up during the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007. What was shown to players about Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PS3, PC, Xbox360) was a sandbox world full of destructible structures, flammable forests, realistic vehicles, and uber fun gameplay. The devs showed off the fact that players were free to do what they wanted, so long as they got the mission done in time.

Through the demo, we saw a lot of improvements over its predecessor. For instance, trees will not become an obstacle to the player any more, water won't drown the mercenaries, and anything in the world can be destroyed. The dev took us from flying a scout chopper, to tearing down a bridge, blowing up an oil rig, hijacking an APC, and calling in an air strike on a base, all the while trampling over cars, towing semis, and unloading a whole lot of ammo on the environment.

With NO loading screen between zones, beautiful graphics, and a lot (and we do mean a LOT) of things to turn to rubble, this game looks really sweet.

Check out the videos to bring out that free wheelin' mercenary in you.

 

Parts two and three of the dev walkthrough await at the Full Article!

The GC Developers Conference (GCDC) added a few more names to its confirmed speakers list. With an already impressive line-up of speakers and a call for more, Frank Sliwka, Director of the GCDC states that with the addition of more top development, programming, business, and scientific lectures and panels, this year's GCDC in Leipzig (August 20 to 22) is one that shouldn't be missed. With big names coming from some of the most successful companies in the industry, he may very well be telling the truth.

Added to the roster are the following speakers:

• Michael Capps, President Epic Games
• Mark Rein, Vice-President Epic Games
• Mark Morris, Introversion Software
• Ken Ralston, Big Huge Games
• Cathy Campos, Panache
• Doug Whatley, Break Away
• John Smedley, Sony Online Entertainment
• Ute Palmer-Horn, Koch Media
• George Bain

More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. With a growing exhibition base and speaker line-up, we'll keep you updated as the names come.

While being interviewed about Blizzard's workforce during this year's E3, senior vice president of product development Frank Pearce hinted at a third blizzard development team totally separate from the World of Warcraft and Starcraft II devs.

Stating that there were around 135 people working on WoW, 40 on Starcraft II, and 40 on team 3, Frank Pearce was pressed to expound on that. His response was that the team was working on something "really awesome" and that hints were still out of the question.

It looks like they've side-stepped the issue for now. But with Blizzcon coming up this August, we might just hear some pretty sweet news about highly awaited titles as well as about this mystery team and the work they're doing.

Kylotonn Studios recently announced the development of Crusaders: Invasion of Constantinople, their latest title, in a recent press conference held in Paris. Branded as an Action/Adventure game, Crusaders: Invasion of Constantinople will be available for the PC and next-gen consoles.

Set in near the end of the 12th century, players get to choose between three knights of the Fourth crusade. Fighting against the Byzantine Empire, players get to choose from a list of over a hundred weapons, attain new skills by becoming the apprentice of various fencing masters, and lead a squadron of 4 mercenaries as you strive to achieve your goals. With around 20 distinct medieval settings, battle your way through the era's richest city, Constantinople, in full 3D.

Kylotonn Studio Creative Director Yann Tambellini promises a dazzling experience "which will transport gamers beyond traditional RPG Dungeons". With their work on games like Ironstorm, Bet on Soldier, and Speedball 2, the independent Parisian studio has had strong experience in the action games genre.

 

During the E3 Media and Business Summit, Sega of America officially announced Space Siege, the soul successor of the acclaimed Dungeon Siege Series. Based on the popular gameplay mechanics of its predecessors, Space Siege offers all the fun tactical combat action in a sci-fi setting.

With the dilemma of sacrificing his humanity in order to fulfill his mission to save the human race, protagonist Seth Walker must prevent humanity's annihilation by an unknown alien race. Armed with the latest in high tech weaponry, enhanced by cybernetic implants, and assisted by his trusty robot HR-V, Seth is on a mission to dish out some pain to aliens to show them what it means to mess with a Human.

Here are a few screens to tide us over and tease us a bit until the game's eventual release in 2008. Enjoy!

More screenshots at the Full Article!

After months of rumors, whispered secrets, technical hints, and sidestepped theories, the word is finally out. Yes, Gears of War will make its appearance on the Windows platform.

According to a recent press release, the best-selling Xbox 360 title was included among the many gaming titles Microsoft announced for Windows at E3. While the release dates are vague, news like this might get some gamers dancing with joy.

According to Microsoft, Gears of War will be available to both XP and Vista users, putting an end to a lot of speculation that only the Vista would enjoy having the game. Along with enhanced graphics taking advantage of the latest Directx10 technology, the Windows version of Gears of War will also offer five new campaign chapters, new multiplayer modes, and a game editor exclusive to PC versions.

Epic Games, the producer behind Gears of War, also announced the game's integration into the Games for Windows Live service: a free subscription service which allows gamers to find and communicate with friends online, earn Achievements, and play with others on XP, Vista, and 360 platforms. Gears of War will also be joined on the Games for Windows - Live service by other titles like Viva Pinata, The Club, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Universe at War: Earth Assault, and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

With what could be considered is strongest lineup ever, the software giant is set to bring more than 60 titles to the shelves this holiday season giving Windows gamers something to really look forward to this year.

The full title list comes after the jump!

Sega recently announced the development of Space Siege, an action RPG that happens to be a "spiritual successor" to the Dungeon Siege series. This time, however, the story is set in the far flung reaches of space.

In Space Siege, Earth is lost to an alien attack, and the last few survivors cast themselves out among the stars in colony ships. Players are put in the shoes of Seth Walker, a cybernetics engineer thrust into the position to become humanity's savior.

As the story unfolds, Seth is given the choice to sacrifice bits of his humanity to receive cybernetic upgrades which would help him achieve his goals. Would he be willing to trade away his humanity to help save the human race? Or would he keep his flesh and blood intact and survive on pure ingenuity? Each choice goes beyond the cosmetic and actually affects the world around it.

Aside from an intense single player mode, Space Siege would also offer a co-op multiplayer which allows up to four players to experience a totally unique game. This speaks volumes as to the replayability of the game as each session allows the players to create and fashion their own unique mission structures.

Developing the game is Chris Taylor and his team from Gas Powered Games, the same folks who worked on the Total Annihilation, Dungeon Siege, and Supreme Commander titles. Sega officials promise that Space Siege would be a "compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”

Space Siege will be featured on the cover of PC Gamer Magazine's September 2007 issue. Check out your local newsstands and subscription lists to get the low-down on this potentially great game.

Thanks to some leaked gameplay footage, rumors of a PC version of Gears of War were recently brought up. The video, specifically tagged as PC footage, was seen floating around the Internet on Friday, showing some off visual improvements, added content, new bosses, and more maps. The video was promptly pulled, though copies made it to sites like YouTube and Google Video.

The rumors have been long-standing, and a lot of things hinted at an eventual PC release. A line of code from an NVidia driver for one. Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games, not really denying the fact for another. Now we have the leaked video.

A lot of eyes will be turned towards Epic Games this E3, waiting for some indication as to whether there will actually be a PC version of Gears or not. Word may very well come this Tuesday when Microsoft has its E3 press conference. Till then, we can only wait and chew on our fingernails a bit longer.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is fast approaching, and Bizarre Creations seems to be on schedule for The Club, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Boom Boom Rocket, and Project Gotham Racing 4 (PGR4). After updating its website, news from the studio states that not only is the company kicking things into overdrive, but it's also got some pretty cool stuff for us to check out at this year's E3. Bizarre Creations is sure to bring more than one game to the expo, The Club and PGR4 being the highlights of this piece.

The Club

It's fast, it's fun, and it's definitely on time. Both the 360 and PS3 versions of the game have passed beta, and that means the game's content is pretty much done - it just needs a bit of polish to finish off.

While The Club may look awesome as it is, the people at Bizarre Creations say that they're tweaking the graphics, solidifying the frame rate, and putting up a build of the game which hopefully gets good ratings from us journos. So far, the game's received positive reactions that it certainly deserves.

Project Gotham Racing 4

With every deadline being met, and the development of the game on schedule, there's a good chance we can preview this title in the E3. Wanting to get rid of the "racing through a tunnel" feel that occurred in previous titles, the Project Gotham Racing 4 team spent a lot of time looking over every little detail to make sure the world is vibrant and alive as you drive by it.

Turn markers, crowd stands, race teams, vehicles, ambient traffic - no pixel has been left unturned in the developers' drive to make it as real as it gets. The team has added little touches such as crowd members waving your flag as you race by, trackside signs that call out how many Kudos you've earned, and the little details that can make or break a game - all to build the automotive festival atmosphere. Even grazing a barrier leaves paint marks which you would see for the duration of the race. Bizarre Creations also likes to brag that it reworked all the locations from Project Gotham Racing 3 as well so all the cities you know and love benefit from this newfound "awesomeness".

It's great to see Bizarre Creations put so much work into the games, making The Club and Project Gotham Racing 4 a definite must-see in the upcoming E3.

Buy: [The Club]