GDC 2009, Day Three

Okay, so this post is a day late -- forgive, because I've been running around the convention center like a maniac all day, and running around the party circuit all night. My voice is going, and I hope it still exists by the time I have to give my rant tomorrow on the IGDA-organized game critics' panel. If you're at GDC and you're reading this, it's tomorrow at 10:30 in the North Hall, so make sure you go -- and say hello to me afterward!

So many of you have come up to tell me you love Sexy Videogameland, and I just can't even put into words how much that means to me. As a writer I just kind of shout out into the universe and hope it's reaching someone, so it's been surreal and lovely to get to talk to people who've been listening. Thank you.

Yesterday for me was all about three huge things: Indies, digital distribution and portable platforms. I attended and covered the IGF Mobile awards, where iPhone was crushingly dominant, and it really opened my eyes to how fast the mobile gaming space is growing and how much potential there is there.

I never thought too highly about mobile games up until last year -- until the iPhone era, really. And even thereafter, although I'm an iPhone user, I still was highly doubtful that I'd ever use it as a gaming platform. When it's not being a phone, it rocks my tunes, primarily (speaking of, hell to the yes right here), it lets me be way more attached to my email than I should be, it texts my friends and it gives me maps so that I don't get lost in San Francisco (New York, I miss you!)

For everything else, I've always said, I've got my DS and I need nothing else. But seeing just what a strong showing these brilliant indies are making on the iPhone was enormously inspiring. I even got a little misty seeing these teams win (hey, I'm emotional, okay?).

We already know that design innovation is going to come out of the independent space -- now add in the low barrier to entry for iPhone apps compared to even XBLA/PSN or Wii Ware development, and that means even more indies are going to be proliferating on that platform. Plus, with the new SDK Apple's going to release at some point in the near future, there's going to be more multiplayer functionality, in-game DLC, and just about everything we're used to on the platforms we already use.

Check out the IGF Mobile coverage to find out which games you need to watch for in the unfortunately intransible morass that is Apple's app store. The audience award was given to a DS game, though -- the lone winner not on iPhone -- that I really think has got to be headed for great things.

It's by a USC team called Team Reflection, and the game is called Reflection. It's a platformer-puzzler that uses the dual screen such that the touch screen literally reflects, like a mirror, the top screen, making for interesting action puzzles. There's also a "shadow" mode. My jaw kind of dropped when I saw it, and I really hope someone grabs on that concept and gets it made so that I can buy it.

With the iPhone accelerating so fast, Nintendo actually seems a little bit late to the party with DSi -- because a camera-equipped touch-input gameplay device with access to a downloadable store already exists in iPhone. It should be very interesting going forward! I did get my hands on a DSi for the first time yesterday when I went to visit mobile developer Gameloft, who's been rushing in just four months to make launch titles for the DSi's digital store.

Asked them all about what it's like to work on the platform, and they told me a lot about how it compares to other downloadable platforms, what the size constraints are, and how Nintendo works with developers (hint: not nearly as restrictive as XBLA/PSN, from what I understand). Check it out!

Later that night, the IGF awards were held. Top prize goes to Blueberry Garden -- more details on the winners here. I can't really put into words how inspiring it was to watch these guys. Following the IGF were the Game Developer Choice awards, and LittleBigPlanet crushed out the competition in just about every category. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know how annoying I find this. I do think it's quite an innovation, adorable, impressive, et cetera. The Media Molecule guys are quite talented. But without going on a rant, suffice to say that I'm not so sure that other games deserved to have been so roundly snubbed in its favor.

However, I was pleased to see Fallout 3 take its due as Game of the Year, and it also won the award for best writing -- I'm so happy for those guys, whom I believe demonstrate the merit of having writers who are also designers, as Emil Pagliarulo discussed on the panel I attended featuring him, Suda51 and Fumito Ueda (AWESOME).

Other highlights of the past few days: Satoru Iwata's keynote (more on that later) at which we all received a free DS Rhythm Heaven two weeks early; spending time with Cactus, Petri Purho, Kyle Gabler, Phil Fish, Derek Yu and other jawdropping indie superstars along with friend (and Offworld chieftain) Brandon Boyer at the apartment of the lovely Jenn Frank; meeting Suda (I don't know how to say "let me bear your children" in Japanese, so we couldn't talk much); watching Mega64's hilarious videos at the awards (I hope these are online soon); rocking out with the brilliant Susan O'Connor (she curled her hair, I straightened mine); being really drunk in front of Cliff Blezinski (I'm sure he thinks I'm lunatic); getting to chat with Tim Schafer (!!!) at the hawt suite party of GDC bosslady and friend Meggan Scavio; viewing a battle tank made of ice at EA's Battlefield 1943 party; getting to personally congratulate N'Gai and hang with Crecente at same party -- and lots more.

Finally, one more funny story. Braid artist David Hellman is a friend of mine, and following the choice awards, we were drinking at the W Hotel bar with many other folks. I'd had a few, and got on my soapbox about how LBP is overrated and blah blah blah, and how I can't believe Braid was snubbed. Guy sitting near us turns to us and declares: "What?! Braid is overrated -- that's bullshit, it sucks." He has no idea who it is sitting next to me, of course, and class act that David is, he didn't say a word.

If you can't tell, I'm having a ton of fun here, working hard and generally loving the week. More to come!

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