Once a year, the biggest and brightest in game development gather to talk about not only what they've done, but also what they someday hope to do.

While at first glance the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco seems rife with technical tidbits and arcane knowledge, the week of presentations, parties and keynote speeches often plots the course for the future of gaming.

This year was no different. We break down the big picture that emerged from this year's confab:

Biggest news

Sony entered the show beleaguered and set upon by gamers wanting more for less - specifically more games and a smaller price for the PlayStation 3. The company quickly turned things around by unveiling Home, a sort of Second Life for the PlayStation 3 that allows gamers to create avatars on their PS3 and then walk around in a virtual world where they can hang out with buddies in a customizable apartment. Home also lets you hang your real-world pictures on the wall, watch your videos on a television or movie screen and listen to music on a digital boom box. The online-connected community will be available via a free download in the fall.

Home sweet Home?

Five things you can do on the PS3 Home, coming this fall:

1 Customize the view from your apartment with things like a beautiful sunset, a boat floating in the water or a flock of geese flying across the sky. 2 Make a person who is bugging you literally disappear from your world. 3 Surf a sofa down the stairs of your apartment. 4 Potentially use your Home avatar in another game, a laNintendo's Wii avatars. 5 Gather your friends in your Home apartment and then jump into games to play as a group.

Best game

The PlayStation 3 now has its Excalibur, that one game that Sony and other gamers can point to as a reason to buy the console. LittleBigPlanet is perhaps more toy than game: You control tiny rag dolls, using them to interact physically with the game's environment that you help create. A demonstration showed the result of a few hours' work, a little side-scrolling world of soccer balls, stylized plants, flat houses and rocks. Four of the rag dolls raced through the user-created levels trying to collect the most sponges. What makes the game so amazing is both the immediacy of the act of creation and the amazing look of the game. LittleBigPlanet will be available in the fall in short-form and in 2008 as an actual game.

And the winners are . . .

Gears of War cleaned up the Game Developer Conference Awards, among the most coveted honors in the field

• Game of the year: Gears of War

• Best game design: Wii Sports

• Best audio: Guitar Hero II

• Character design: Okami

• Best technology: Gears of War

• Best visual arts: Gears of War

• New studio: Iron Lore Entertainment

• Best writing: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The wit and wisdom of Miyamoto

A few of the eye-opening quotes from Shigeru Miyamoto, creative director for Nintendo and the man behind Mario and Donkey Kong:

"This is a big event in my house. It would have been more expected for me to come home and find Donkey Kong eating at our table."

On returning home

one night to find his non-gaming wife

playing with the Wii

"We must reach out to not only those who don't understand video games, but those who fear it. Wouldn't it be great if we could get them to play games too?"

On the need to expand the market to non-gamers

The strangest scene

Let's hope up-and-coming studio Gamecock Media Group can deliver a game as interesting and strange as its late-night party. Held in a cavernous room lined floor to ceiling with red velvet and walnut panels, the soiree featured Burning Man performers dressed as frightening/titillating clowns who did aerial acrobatics, tumbling, singing, tap dancing and, in one particularly memorable case, gave birth to a chicken. Gamecock has five original titles announced for release over the next two years.

I Am 8-Bit

The Game Developers Conference isn't just about keynote speeches and game play. Art, too, managed to make its way onto the show floor. The I Am 8-Bit gallery showcased a collection of game-centric paintings by popular artists. Pieces included:

• 1Up by Jen Rarey, featuring a smiling chef leading a grumbly line of food across the screen

• Pong Kong by Jon Burgerman, featuring a pastel collage of freaky game character interpretations

Up, Up, Down, Left, Right . . . What?!?! by Dave Chung, an acrylic inspired by classic side-scrolling shooter Contra

Best retro moment

During the Game Developers Choice Awards, Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation. Pajitnov, who strolled majestically across the stage to thunderous applause with a grin on his face, was given a First Penguin Award. The award annually honors a person in the industry who paves the way for others with some innovative creation in game development. While most famous for Tetris, Pajitnov is also widely accepted as the father of the casual gaming movement.

Back to Top