This week the Game Developers Conference 2010 took place in San Francisco. It was a huge event, where everyone from the superpower games publishers to the one-programmer-in-a-bedroom got together to show off what we'd be playing in the next few months. Amir scored a couple of free passes via Haas, and like a bee to flowers I came flying.
And the word is: 3D. From wearing funny glasses and looking at screens, to funny glasses that had the screens built in, to a 3D screen that you didn't even need funny glasses for! I wandered about clutching my handful of Puzux postcards, trying to find anyone who might be interested in doing a crossword in decidedly old-tech 2D.
Then there were the independents - a vast collection of the strangest games you could hope to see, all crafted with love and dedication. Highlights included Super Meat Boy (the long anticipated follow-up to Meat Boy) and Enviro Bear 2000 (tagline: "Who is driving the car? A bear is driving the car! How can that be?!")
If there was one downside to the experience it was the lack of freebies. I came away with some magazines, an Intel chapstick, and one (one!) t-shirt. But I had seen the future, and it has depth (not just height and width).
Who am I to argue with Wario?
The popular Intel booth. Must have been the lure of chapsticks.
Cool, but a bit big to fit in the flat.
3D glasses - functional and fashionable!
A strange augmented reality game where you care for a mutant monkey by actually holding a real thing that appears in the game...if you see what I mean. Here he's getting a shower.
Amir goes fully immersive in Avatar.
Guitar Hero on the Palm Pre. I can't help feeling it loses something once you get rid of the guitar-shaped controller. And then shrink the experience to the size of a postage stamp.
Who is driving the car? Amir is driving the car! Enviro Bear 2000 proves to be a challenge.
