Game Developer April Issue Pits Kong Against Wright

The latest issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra.com, and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, is in the process of shipping to subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and a new single-issue formats. The cover feature for the April 2006 issue is an exclusive postmortem of Ubisoft's multi-format title Peter Jackson's King Kong. The game, to many, marks a potential turning point in licensed games — a big name director, Peter Jackson, and a big name developer, Michel Ancel, collaborated and shared design ideas and assets to create it. In this postmortem, game producer Xavier Poix shares the ups and downs of this unique relationship on the $15 million game title, and how it affected the biggest simultaneous launch in Ubisoft's history. In addition, and grinning proudly on the cover in claymation form, the issue also sports an in-depth, eclectic interview with Sim City and The Sims creator Will Wright, called 'The Wright Stuff'. Here, he discusses his influences and methods, and his passions outside the realm of games. Academics, robotics, games, and race cars are just part of Wright's ever-expanding universe. Also front and center for the issue is Game Developer's fifth iteration of the popular Salary Survey. The survey is even more detailed and thorough than last year's, with additional job designations, international averages, and a whole lot more. There have been significant gains in salary across a number of fields, but the editors at Game Developer don't advocate shaking this article in your boss's face and demanding a raise. In association with that article, Paul Hyman's piece 'Urban Development' outlines several major game development hubs and their various selling points, from the prices of homes to the proliferation of developers in the area, in another fascinating feature. The issue is rounded out by regular news, code, art, audio, and design columns, as well as product reviews and game art features. Worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website, and the new Game Developer Digital version of the issue is also now available, with the site offering six months and a year's subscriptions, alongside access to back issues, all for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of April 2006's magazine as a single issue. Newsstand copies of the magazine will also shortly be available at North American outlets including Barnes & Noble and other specialty bookstores.