Press Pause Radio at GDC13!

It’s over everyone, the gauntlet of video game events is OVER! George and Sean return from GDC and get in touch with Toast as they talk about a myriad of topics from the 2013 Game Developer’s Conference—sessions concerning the evolution of storytelling in games, post-mortems, tons of indie games, The Phantom Pain, Nintendo Web Framework, and PS4 social functionality? Yeah, it’s all here and more on the latest podcast, some audio issues occurred unfortunately but the episode is still very much listenable.

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on our Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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GDC 2013: Getting serious with Ben McGraw about Sully: AVSRPG

stablished genres are constantly met with the challenge of keeping things refreshing while still applying the rules and distinctions that adhere to the structure of what makes the genre what it is. One of these established genres in particular is the JRPG. For every quality and merit you could argue for these types of games, there’s another waiting to combat it. The genre has become one of the most divided between gamers for over the last 10 years, but one man, among others, wants to help usher JRPGs back into its former limelight.

Anxiously sitting at the local Starbucks caddy-corner near the Moscone, I awaited the arrival of Ben McGraw of Breadbros Games after meeting him earlier this week to discuss his current project, Sully: A Very Serious RPG. As I finish spreading the cream cheese on my bagel, we prepare to discuss one of the most promising JRPG games from the indie scene yet.

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GDC 2013: Lost Orbit and Finding All Audiences

ne of the greatest challenges in game design involves designing titles that successfully cater to everyone. If a game seems too simplistic, veteran gamers may dismiss it entirely. If it’s too difficult, you lose another potential audience of would-be players, therefore robbing more individuals of an experience they could have had otherwise.

The Canada-based studio PixelNAUTS aspires to conquer this challenge while designing Lost Orbit, their newly announced title which they’ve been developing in the past two months.

“The hardest challenge is getting something that feels good,” designer Alex Golebiowski told me. “Above all else, that’s what you have to get right first.”

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GDC 2013: Ananse Productions Gets Clever with Letters

ometimes, the best and most addictive games show up on the most compact platforms. Tetris, for instance, took the world by storm, and most folks preferred playing it on the Game Boy as opposed to the NES. Keeping this in mind, being in a golden mobile age presents a many opportunities for developers looking to create enjoyable experiences for these widely used on-the-go-platforms.

One such game, Letter Clever from developer Kwasi Mensah of Ananse Productions, features addictive Tetris and Scrabble-like qualities in a competitive word game frenzy. The mobile title even breaks new grounds by including play options for the blind, so yes -- this game will literally speak to you.

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GDC 2013: Towerfall brings all the boys to the yard

013 is the year for the local-couch co-op play renaissance. Developers are embracing the personal open forum of pummeling their friends within inches of each other. Matt Thornsen has been developing a title that’s poised to lead the charge out of the pack with his work on Towerfall, a four-player arena fighting game that takes elements from a variable palate of ideas and makes for an indefinable label but potentially excellent slobber knocker. We had the pleasure to hang out and play Matt’s display at the Indie Mixer, and here are our thoughts.

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GDC 2013: Prepare Your Technologic Devices for Jazzpunk

ust keep your cool, prepare your videographic terminal, and take some pills before the next mission. We’re not talking about the Matrix here -- this is the real deal.

Jazzpunk, which developer Necrophone Games describes as a cartoon styled retro cyperpunk comedy, puts you in command of the wacky adventures of Agent Polyblank as he searches for only God knows what while throwing some “Comrade Crunch” cereal in the process. Delicious.

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GDC 2013: Peeking into PixelJunk Inc.

f you ever wanted to build your own secret underground Bond-like installation, or... you know, a soup company with robots, Q-Games and the PixelJunk team have the title for you.

Among the many other wonders at this year’s GDC, we also received more details regarding a new PixelJunk game titled PixelJunk Inc. The game features robots, underground facilities, and co-op galore.

In fact, you could say it’s “totally co-op.”

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GDC 2013: Big Storytelling, Small Budgets

et’s face it you guys, video games are expensive as all hell. They’re pricey to buy, pricey to market, and even pricier to develop; it’s destined to be a constant in this industry. Regardless of these daunting budget trends, there seems to be this misconception that enthralling experiences can’t be done without Scrooge McDuck Money Bins-worth of funding to produce it. George Backer of Hotsauce Interactive approaches GDC with the philosophy that experiences are produced from the skillful heart and not the wallet.

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