GDC 2013: Kickstarter Get's Bigger-Tips for Success for Indie Devs

t’s an old joke that just never quite stops being funny, but there are people who loyally follow the work of another individual or entity and can’t help but shout out the words “Here! Take my money!” at the prospect of being able to get more content from their said heroes. Crowd funding was once a humorous anecdote whenever the concept came up, but has now flourished into a million-dollar industry thanks to an outlet named Kickstarter. Hundreds of thousands of fledgling independent game developers have fully realized their vision with Kickstarter’s assistance, and with an avenue it offers to those who have need of financial support, more and more people try to get in on that piece of the pie with every passing day.

Though contemporaries like Indiegogo exist to give options for crowd funding without all of the red tape included with Kickstarter, Indiegogo has amassed a total $2.4 million in successful projects while Kickstarter has reached $45 million — that's the same budget for development on most of Ubisoft’s AAA titles.

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GDC 2013: Mark of the Ninja Creators Discuss Design Challenges

ometimes, within the process of putting everything together, video game developers battle against waves of insanity. However, some developers and publishers have ways of maintaining product quality without sacrificing everything else in the process.

Jeff Agala and Jamie Cheng, two chief developers behind Klei Entertainment’s Mark of the Ninja, both outlined some of their strategies for fellow independent game developers at their first GDC panel on Monday. The panel, which revolved around “Making Mark of the Ninja, and how we did it without totally losing our minds,” described general tips and tricks for keeping game makers on task while also creating quality products at the same time.

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GDC 2013: The Breakdown of Inciting Emotions Through Playing

motions are strong, depending on how they’re conveyed or felt; they can go on to be overwhelmingly powerful. Storytelling in games is evolving from using the artifice of genuine emotion to simply drive plot or narrative, and instead is gradually manifesting itself into a very real takeaway from direct interaction that’s piloted by the player, and solely on a script. Susan O’Connor of Writing Studio alongside Chuck Beaver of Electronic Arts take the stage at GDC 2013 and explain the finer points and fundamentals of writing within games that will flesh out what the player feels above anything else.

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GDC 2013: How DIY Indie Game Development is gaining ground

ne of the biggest issues currently facing the video games industry isn’t with the lacking of video game coverage, but rather the types of games we’re actively covering. We have numerous individuals crafting their own ideas for what they feel video games could truly be, yet we never hear enough about them.

Luckily, we see more outlets shifting focus towards more indie developers and projects, which opens entirely new realms of opportunity in the world of video gaming. One entire website, for instance, even showcases some of the best independent games currently available for download: Free Indie Games.

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PAX East 2013: Ducktales impressions

ostalgia is a tricky beast when it comes to the realm of media. Fond memories are often blinded by rose tinted glasses of grandeur that rests upon those who share this experience on a modern soapbox. Certain properties however, are an exception to the rule, like the Carl Banks inspired Disney cartoon Ducktales which stars the richest duck in the world Scrooge McDuck, and the misadventures he underwent to chase even bigger fortunes with his nephew in tow.

Unlike other contemporaries from its time, Ducktales has charmingly aged and with its legacy, were the much lauded NES titles developed and published by Capcom—This weekend at PAX, The blue and yellow giants, in partnership with WayForward, have announced a remastered revival of the classic and after having some time with it, my six year old inner child and I were able to nod our heads in approval together.

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PAX East 2013: Hawken--Hands-on gameplay

IANT ROBOTS, MAN! Yes, giant robots. In the past we at PPR have been dazzled by Steel Battalion and its incredible controller, saddened by the loss of the Chromhounds Multiplayer servers on Xbox Live and revolted by the train-wreck-travesty that is Steel Battalion: Heavy Armour on Kinect.

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PAX East 2013: Pikmin 3 Impressions

hen it comes to Nintendo, they sure have been playing it really safe lately with their core franchises on the Wii U. New Super Mario Brothers U has only been subtly evolved since the original entry on the Nintendo DS in 2006, and even then, almost entirely in an audio/visual sense. The first Legend of Zelda game that Wii U owners are going to see is an HD redux of Wind Waker.

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PAX East 2013: Transistor--Hands-on gameplay

ery rarely does a game come around and convey such a strong sensation of life; a feeling of vibrancy that could compel any number of powerful emotions that you would have never expected to receive from it. Days before the start of PAX East, Supergiantgames recently announced their latest project, Transistor, and that it would be available to play on the Expo floor at PAX East 2013. After spending my time with the current build, I walked away from an experience that imprinted a sense of longing I've never felt from a game, and it has left me shaken.

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