Organizers of the Game Developers Conference revealed more happenings during its 2001 event including new lectures and details on the Game Developer Challenge. Blizzard Entertainment's Tom Chilton (game director, Cataclysm expansion and lead designer on Burning Crusade and Lich King) will deliver a presentation called "Remaking the World of Warcraft through Cataclysm." The presentation details what approach the design team took when creating the expansion, including what does and does not work when trying to recreate and revitalize existing content.
Details on the year's Game Design Challenge session were also revealed. The Game Design Challenge tests the skills of industry heavyweights presenting a game design concept. This year Jenova Chen (Flower, Journey) takes on Doom and Quake co-creator John Romero and independent developer Jason Rohrer (Passage, Sleep Is Death). This year's theme is "creating a game that is also in some way a religion -- or a religion that is in some way a game." The audience gets to vote this year, adding another unpredictable layer to the challenge.
Organizers also revealed today that Quantic Dream's David Cage will deliver a lecture called "Creating An Emotional Rollercoaster In Heavy Rain." As the title suggests, Cage will discuss the secret techniques his company used to create a multi-branch story and characterization through game play. He also discusses how Quantic got players to care for the characters, which they say is "of paramount importance for any type of games."
The Game Developers Conference will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from February 28 - March 4th. Early registration is open until February 27. For more information, visit the official GDC 2011 website.
Source: Serious Games Source
