GDC Play showcase details first batch of exhibitors

Author: by Staff

With GDC 2012 a couple of weeks away, the show's first-ever GDC Play showcase is starting to take shape, and organizers are highlighting some of the creators showing new games or studios there. As outlined previously, GDC Play is a new program that gives emerging game developers a chance to show off their games to a host of specially invited industry decision makers, in addition to the 19,000-strong GDC attendee base. The showcase itself will take place Tuesday March 7th through Thursday March 9th in the Esplanade Ballroom in the South Hall of Moscone Center in San Francisco, and all GDC attendees are welcome to check out the products and companies on display at specially designed IGF Pavilion-style kiosks and meeting rooms. In addition, GDC 2012 All-Access Pass holders and exhibitors can also sign up in the recently announced GDC Business Matchmaking software and book meetings with GDC Play companies right now, or can turn up on site to check out the kiosks. The GDC Play hall will also be home to the recently announced 'History Of 3D Games' exhibit from the Bay Area-based Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, also free to all GDC attendees. Here are the first set of organizer-highlighted companies at the first-ever GDC Play showcase: - The intriguing Australian indie gaming firm Current Circus will host a booth at GDC Play to demonstrate its commitment to developing games for the Kinect hardware and other depth-sensing cameras. With body-controlled projects such as Beat Booster, the firm is looking for game publishers and investors to help it distribute and expand. - The team behind Simple Machine will showcase Twirdie, its cunning Twitter-powered golf game, where the ball's travel distance is based on the number of times that word was tweeted in the last 60 seconds. The company is also discussing its 2012 line-up and looking for potential partners. - The online game-making community Glorious Trainwrecks will showcase its "Pirate Kart" collection, which will include numerous games created by indie and hobbyist developers from around the world. Later this month, the group will host an online event in which developers will make as many games as they can to pack into this new collection. To be among the first to check out the final result, visit the group's booth at GDC Play. - Indie developers XGen Studios, creators of Defend Your Castle, are showcasing much-anticipated Flash game sequel Super Motherload [trailer] at their kiosk, and are looking for web advertising partners and additional distribution partners for their portfolio of games. - Lima, Peru-based Bamtang Games is the veteran creator of titles such as Adventure Time web games for Cartoon Network, and is looking for "publishers to support our own IP for iPhone, Android and PS3 development", as well as new business for its core web & mobile work-for-hire projects. The exhibitors at GDC Play include experimental game projects, more established indie game teams, contract development help, and much more, giving the showcase a unique, varied assortment of content. To learn more about any of these exhibitors or to see the full GDC Play lineup so far, please visit the showcase's official exhibitors page. Keep an eye out for even more GDC Play highlights as the event draws closer, as there are plenty more companies yet to be detailed. For more up-to-date information on GDC 2012, please subscribe to updates from the GDC news page via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. GDC 2012 will take place March 5 through March 9 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and is owned and operated by Gamasutra parent company UBM TechWeb.