Category Archives: Austin GDC 2008

Speaking to Spong, Valve’s Doug Lombardi has branded speculation of Google being poised to buy the firm as “100 percent rumour.”

The Inquirer originated the talk, as you can see here.

This Inquirer piece is rumouring that Google may be moving to buy Valve.

The story cites “well-placed sources” and was filed from Austin GDC.

If true, Steam is the main target, says the site.

Also, it would be contrary to comments from Gabe Newell at Games Convention last month. Snip from the interview:

So you’ve got no interest in selling Valve?

GN: Right now we’re super-happy. We’ve been an independent company from day one, and we think that that contributes to our good decision-making. We’re much more concerned about finding more people that are like us and want to work with us – and doing a great job for customers – than looking for people that want to buy the company.

Have you had any approaches for the company?

GN: I get approached a couple of times a week by people saying, ‘Can we invest in you, can we buy you?’ That’s been true for several years. We’re having too much fun.

Full thing through the link.

Google made a few pebble-sized splashes when it waded into the videogame industry with Lively, but as with anything Google does, it won’t remain obscure for long. At the Austin GDC, the ubiquitous online company announced the next step in its plan to expand Lively: opening the gates to game developers.

For now, Google plans to provide developers with Lively’s API and go from there, but in time, Google creative director Kevin Hanna noted, the hope is that Lively will become “invisible” – like Java, Flash, or HTML.

“Google has already been in 3D world space, if you think of like Google Earth – a tool a lot of us use every day,” he concluded. “Google in 3D space and online space is here to stay as much as any online company.”

Somehow, we doubt that’s very reassuring for those online companies.

Thanks, GI.biz.

By Nathan Grayson

Seems there was a bit of a scuffle overnight regarding an id Rage talk at Austin GDC. A 1UP story reported that:

id Software lead designer Tim Willits the developer is cutting back on the amount of content they would have liked to include in their upcoming shooter Rage. The main reason for limiting the game’s content is the Xbox 360′s limited disc storage, which allows about six to eight GB of data.

“The PC is limitless in the amount of data you can put on it,” said Willits. “The PS3 has about 25GB. But the Xbox 360 roughly has 6 to 8 GB of data. We’re hoping we can squeeze the game down to two discs for the 360 version.”

According to Willits, the game was supposed to feature several wastelands for the player to explore. Because of the limitations of the Xbox 360′s media, they had to cut down the wastelands to only two, which are themselves split into multiple instances. These changes have been made across all versions of Rage, not just the 360 port.

Willits fired back angrily after the story went web-wide, telling Shacknews, “There was NO CONTENT removed from RAGE because of the 360–NONE AT ALL. We feel the 360 is a great platform and will provide a fantastic Rage experience.”

When in doubt, WRITE IN CAPITALS. Follow the links for more.

Deus Ex designer Harvey Smith has been confirmed as the keynote speaker of Austin GDC this year.

His talk’s entitled, “Luckiest People Alive,” apparently, and is unlikely to focus on plane crash survivors, and such.

The event’s taking place at the Austin Convention Center from September 15-17. Press release after the link.

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According to GamesIndustry.biz, science fiction author and futurist Bruce Sterling will appear as a keynote speaker at this year’s Austin Game Developers Conference, which takes place on September 15-17.

Sterling’s keynote will focus on the “future of computer entertainment and predicting its expansion by 2043.”

“We are thrilled to have Bruce Sterling as a keynote speaker this year. He will not only inspire our industry’s storytellers to see the future of gaming, and their role in shaping that future but also provoke the minds of all of Austin GDC’s attendees,” said game writer and GDC advisor Susan O’Connor.

By Michael O’Connor

Here. You’ve got until April 14 to get your session ideas in. The show itself runs from September 5-7 this year.