Develop Conference is largely an event aimed at bringing together the UK community of triple-A studios and indies, although there were developers from all corners of the world in attendance. The event's smaller size relative to Game Developers Conference (GDC) gives it a more intimate feel, making it a great setting to exchange ideas, meet old friends and make new ones.

I was at the Develop Conference with a dual role: one-half representing Gbanga and the other half to give a talk on my up-coming book about classic drawing and design fundamentals for game art. It was an exciting chance for me to present my ideas, which explored the components of visual grammar and how an understanding of traditional art theory can help visual artists design stronger emotional experiences and more varied gameplay.

The dominant theme at Develop Conference this year was on cross-platform development, emphasised by EA's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Development, Andrew Wilson. Andrew stressed the importance of brands having a pervasive presence across all platforms at a time when customers are empowered to choose when, where and how they want to consume. If a brand is based on a Playstation 3 franchise, for instance, it's important to additionally engage players on Facebook and mobile platforms, where there's the potential for distraction from rival brands. Rather than see these emerging platforms as secondary, developers should create rich and rewarding content to extend their brand. 

Andrew discussed the proven formula of CONNECT-BUILD-PLAY-SHARE around which to design games and drive social interaction. In support of this approach he suggested including comprehensive customisation features allowing players to create unique online identities and tools for players to measure their identities and success against friends.

Andrew Wilson also cited Schumpeter's law of creative destruction as a call for developers to continue innovating, using the success of Amazon and Netflix as examples of companies that developed revolutionary business models in their respective industries whilst continuing to innovate.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Gbanga appear in a talk by game journalist Stuart Dredge titled, 45 Games in 45 Minutes: A Brisk Guide to Mobile Gaming Innovation,highlighting the most inspiring mobile games to have emerged in the past year. Notable games that appeared in Stuart's talk included Sword & Sworcery, Wiki Golf and Tiny Tower, for iPhone and iPad.

Left to Right, Kareem Ettouney, Alex Evans and Mark Healey from Media Molecule discussing development

of Little Big Planet (image courtesy of Game Kudos)

Former Executive Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Phil Harrison, chaired an interesting discussion between Media Molecule's founders, Kareem Ettouney, Alex Evans and Mark Healey, on the phenomenal success of Little Big Planet. The team discussed the trials of building a big franchise and the importance of starting out with a strong core team whose collaborative strengths cover all disciplines. As Little Big Planet evolved, Alex Evans believed that it was this core team that helped the them develop with confidence whilst the overall team size increased at a deliberately slow pace. On the same topic, Alex Evans recommended a presentation viewable on YouTube, by Ed Catmull of Pixar titled, Keep Your Crises Small.

The panel discussion on Storytelling for New Platforms also delivered some useful insights from industry veterans, Charles Cecil, Adrian Hon, Alexis Kennedy, Patrick O'Luanaigh and David Varela. With regard to dealing with the limited attention span and short playing times inherent in mobile gaming, the panel suggested creating bite-sized stories that fit within a larger story arc but have a satisfying conclusion in their own right. Each bite-sized story should finish with a storytelling hook to entice players back for more and give them direction on where to go next.

Iain McCaig revealing artwork from his current feature film in development during his keynote at Develop Conference 2011 (image courtesy of Edge Magazine)

My personal highlight of the conference was an inspiring keynote from artist Iain McCaig whose prestigious portfolio dates back to illustrations for the Fighting Fantasy series of books as well as concept art credits for films such as, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, for which he designed the characters, Darth Maul and Princess Amidala. Iain invited members of the audience to draw, hand-picking some participants who nervously got on stage to continue adding ideas to a drawing where the previous volunteer left off. The drawing demonstrated the process of collaborative creativity and imagination in developing characters for movies and game development.

All in all, the conference was filled with many more useful tips and insights into the tricky process of game development and I hope to return next year for more.

Chris Solarski

Creative Director at Gbanga and writer for Watson-Guptill Publications

http://www.gbanga.com

http://www.solarskistudio.com

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