GDC 2012: Skylanders, Deus Ex, Frozen Synapse added to schedule
A massive cross media hit, successful revival and indie favourite all feature in newly-revealed GDC 2012 sessions.
Skylanders senior design specialist Mike Stout will give a talk called Reaching Into the Toy-Chest: A Look into Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure's Design, about the phenomenally successful toy/game hybrid. Topics covered include the highs and lows of development, working with 32 playable characters, and how Activision has reacted to the game's success.
Eidos Montreal game director Francois Lapikas will provide yet another presentation on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This one apparently goes in-depth on development, and is called Reimagining a Classic: The Design Challenges of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Ian Hardingham of Mode 7 Games will present Relaxed Hardcore: Why Asynchronous is the Next Big Thing in Core Gaming, which, astoundingly, is abut how asynchronous multiplayer is awesome. It obviously is, but the talk should be pretty good anyway.
Speaking of unusual gaming features, the Game Design Challenge is back for another year, this year focusing on games shorter than 60 seconds which have a "measurably positive impact" on players. Passage designer Jason Rohrer, who won last year, will be challenged by Uncharted lead game designer Richard Lemarchand and Noah Falstein, co-creator of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.
The GDC 2012 schedule is increasingly fraught with agonising decisions, as the number of unmissable sessions climbs.