ESR’S TRIP TO GDC: HIGHLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS
This year, we connected with the creative minds behind major titles like Spider-Man 2 PS5, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Hogwarts Legacy, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Highlights of ESR’s Exclusive Interviews:
Baldur’s Gate 3
Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios, discussed the challenges and joys encountered while developing Baldur’s Gate 3. Addressing the recent layoffs in the gaming industry, Swen highlighted the importance of maintaining trust within the team. He believes that consistent and reliable leadership is crucial to building an exceptional team, rather than resorting to layoffs as a cost-saving measure. Jason Latino, Cinematic Director told us that teamwork is the key to overcome the challenges they had faced in the making of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Insights from Spider-Man 2 Developers
We had the opportunity to speak with Robert Coddington and James Ham, developers behind Spider-Man 2. They discussed the innovative Quick Time Events (QTE) integrated into the game. Even when players fail a QTE, the game continues seamlessly with a sub-story. For instance, if a player fails to save someone in time, a second Spider-Man character steps in to save the day. This helped to keep the momentum going in the game without punishing players.
Immersive UI in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Our conversation with Daanish Syed, art director at Bit Reactor, delved into the immersive UI design of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Daanish emphasized the importance of integrating UI into the gameplay to enhance player immersion. Instead of pausing the game to view a map, players can pull up a hologram, maintaining the flow of the game.
Mapping out Hogwarts Legacy
Stephen Dona, the Sr Tech Designer behind Hogwarts Legacy spoke with us about their process with mapping out systems and despite having previous knowledge before working with Avalanche. It’s ultimately a never-ending learning process, but the team figured out a balance for the game to please both the Harry Potter fans and the hard-core gamers.
Shifts in Focus: From Web3 to Core Gaming
Last year, GDC had a noticeable focus on Web3 gaming. This year, however, the presence of Web3 was significantly reduced, with the conference placing greater emphasis on traditional game development and innovation.
By attending GDC, ESR continues to stay at the forefront of gaming industry developments, bringing our audience the latest insights and trends from top developers around the world.
You can watch more about GDC and our exclusive interviews with game devs on “Next Level Play!” Podcast, where we had ESR’s own creative director Chase Kuertz featured as a guest to discuss his time at the convention –https://youtube.com/watch?v=mxJ62tXz4lk%3Fsi%3DPRE-cNbYWWNuqb2L%26start%3D282
About ESR
ESR is the first 24/7 Gaming TV Network in the USA. It features award-nominated exclusive gameshows, podcast, scripted comedy series, celebrity streamers, documentary-style coverage of Web2 and Web3 gaming events and major esports tournaments, including the biggest games and names in the world of gaming and Esports. ESR’s English and multi-language gaming channels are distributed in over 100 countries worldwide.
ESR covers all top video games including Apex Legends, COD: Warzone, CS:GO, Dota2, FIFAe, For Honor, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Hero of the Storm, LOL, NBA 2K, Overwatch, PUBG, Rainbow Six, Rocket League, Smite, StarCraft, Super Smash Bro., Valorant, and WOW.
ESR’s programming or live channels on XUMO TV, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Vizio, Pluto TV, Digicel, Alcom, DigitAlb, DNA, du, Elisa, Etisalat, KPN, Magenta, Omantel, Meo, MTS, MTN, STC, SKY TV, Telefonica, Telia, Tigo, O2, Orange, Proximus, Vodacom, Vodafone, Yettel, T-Mobile and many other platforms around the world. Follow @esr_tv on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. For more information, visit https://www.esrevolution.com.
About GDC
Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the world’s largest and longest-running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games.
This year GDC has hosted nearly 30,000 registered attendees for five full days of inspiring sessions and networking opportunities with peers and leaders in the games industry.
GDC featured workshops and sessions led by some of the biggest names in the games and entertainment industry. Esteemed developers shared their insights into the creations of hit games including: Alan Wake 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Zelda: Tears of Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more. During GDC, there were several major reveals including Xreal’s live demonstrations of its Xreal Air 2 AR glasses, AMD’s announcement of AMD FSR 3.1 and Magmic’s unveiling of their Web3 MLB-licensed mobile and web game. Roblox, NVIDIA and Ubisoft also sparked interest with their AI reveals, where Roblox presented its AI-powered tools to boost 3D content creation, NVIDIA announced its AI B200 chip and Ubisoft unveiled its generative AI NEO NPCs. Lastly, Epic Games’ State of Unreal revealed news about its upcoming iOS and Android store debut, new Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra trailer, new Chrono Odyssey trailer, addition of MetaHumans to UEFN and expanded partnership with Lego Group.
Source:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mxJ62tXz4lk%3Fsi%3DPRE-cNbYWWNuqb2L
source: https://www.esrevolution.com/index.php/our-blog/63-esr-s-trip-to-gdc-highlights-and-insights
