GDC 2013 opens registration, Summit submissions close tomorrow

Next March's Game Developers Conference 2013 is now starting to take shape, and those interested in attending can secure their passes now, as online registration is now open for the major industry event. You can register for the show by visiting the info page on the official GDC 2013 website, and discounted Early Bird pricing will remain in effect until February 13. If you're looking to host a Summit presentation at the 2013 event, however, be sure to act soon, as GDC 2013's call for Summit submissions will close tomorrow, October 23, at 11:59pm ET. The GDC Summits, which take place the first two days of the five day conference, are one and two day events that cover relevant topics in emerging sectors of the game industry, with a focus on broadening the scope of games to incorporate new audiences, new platforms and new gameplay ideas. This year, the show will add three new Summits to its robust lineup: The Game Narrative Summit, the QA Summit, and the Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit. (Submissions for the GDC 2013 Main Conference have already closed.) The Game Narrative Summit comes to GDC in San Francisco after being held for seven years at GDC Online in Austin, Texas. The two day program covers interactive narrative in all its forms, from AAA blockbusters to indie games to transmedia projects. The summit is looking to feature an all-star lineup of speakers from every corner of the discipline, with session content ranging from the advanced and theoretical for writers, designers and others seeking to hone their skills. The introduction of the QA Summit, meanwhile, marks the first time that the GDC will have dedicated content to quality assurance, which is a critical component in game development. Since there is no standard methodology to QA, this summit will discuss new and/or current tools, processes and organization methods being used in QA today and to show how QA is an integral part of development. Finally, the Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit (the successor to the Social & Online Games Summit) will be taking submissions covering a range of topics relating to free-to-play (F2P) titles - from postmortems on new and successful F2P games, to the latest and greatest monetization techniques, to lessons learned in designing F2P titles from the ground up, to experiences on social features, among other pressing trends that F2P developers face. The new summits join a lineup of popular and major returning summits, including the Independent Games Summit and the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit; the complete lineup for the GDC 2013 Summits is as follows: Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit Game Narrative Summit GDC Education Summit Independent Games Summit Localization Summit QA Summit Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit GDC 2013 itself will take place March 25-29, 2013 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. More information on the call for submissions and on Game Developers Conference 2013 is available via its official website.