GDC Europe adds World of Tanks session, Diamond Dash postmortem, and more

In the latest update for GDC Europe, event organizers have revealed an all-new session covering the evolution of World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net, as well as mobile game talks covering Wooga's Diamond Dash and tips for cross-platform development. Like the rest of the sessions at GDC Europe, these talks will take place Monday through Wednesday, August 13-15, 2012 at the Congress-Centrum Ost Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. The full details on these new sessions are as follows: - Over in the Business & Management track, Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi will discuss how the free to play model was essential to the success of the studio's hit game World of Tanks, and why that model could spell the end of the boxed retail game. The talk, "World of Free-to-Play – Triple A by Wargaming.net," will examine the company's growth since it embraced the free to play model, and Kislyi will argue why it works, how it should be implemented, and why it's a better fit for today's players than any other business strategy out there. - As part of GDC Europe's Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit, Wooga lead product manager Christopher Parschat will look back on how the social giant moved one of its most popular games to mobile in "Postmortem: Bringing Diamond Dash to iOS." Diamond Dash was the first Wooga game to make it from Facebook to iOS, and in this session Parschat will outline how the company created a new version of the game that offered synced cross-platform play with the original version on social networks. Along the way, he'll share some important lessons learned to help any developer looking to adapt a Facebook title to iOS. - Also in the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit, Darya Trushkina, the VP of business development for the Russian game studio Game Insight, will present a number of case studies to help developers create mobile games that span both iOS and Android platforms. His talk, "Cross-Platform Mobile Game Development: What, Why, and How Much?," will examine cross-platform Game Insight titles like Mystery Manor and Paradise Island to explain what works when creating a multiplatform game, and perhaps more importantly, what doesn't. These talks join other previously-announced sessions including Indie Game Summit talks on Fotonica and Eufloria HD, as well as notable postmortems on The Witcher 2 and the independently developed MMO, Love. For a full list of all GDC Europe sessions announced thus far, check out the show's newly launched Schedule Builder. Keep an eye out for even more exciting keynotes and sessions, and GDC Europe organizers have plenty more in store before the event opens its doors this August. Those interested in attending GDC Europe can secure their pass for the Gamescom co-located event now, as early registration is now open until July 18th. For more information on GDC Europe, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. GDC Europe is owned and operated by Gamasutra parent company UBM Technology.