Game Developer Feb. Issue Casually Blasts Guitar Hero, Jak X

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 February 2006 issue is an exclusive postmortem of critically acclaimed PlayStation 2 title Guitar Hero by Harmonix's Greg LoPiccolo and Daniel Sussman. The postmortem discusses how peripheral-based games are often a risky gamble, but the firm managed to come out with the critically lauded, consumer-embraced title in just nine months - a highly entertaining, guitar-shreddin' read. Another major article for the issue is 'From Smart to Finish: Jak X: Combat Racing and the Naughty Dog Production Method', by Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand. Jak X: Combat Racing found Naughty Dog working in a new arena. The developer had never before made a combat racer, beyond some elements in previous Jak titles. So how did they go from concept to finished product in a relatively short time, in an area slightly outside their comfort zone, with features they'd never before attempted? The answers lie within. In our final significant feature, 'State of the Industry: Casual Games', Game Developer notes that the casual games market is expanding rapidly, and so too are its associated business practices. In an essential market overview, Paul Hyman investigates some of the current and future-leaning tactics that casual game developers and publishers are using to make their businesses profitable, from PopCap to Yahoo! Games. Also in the February issue, Skunk Works reviews Autodesk 3ds Max 8 software, our regular columnists do a sterling job of covering multi-core processors, demo versions of graphic tools, and 'when the hunter becomes the hunted', plus guest columns from LucasArts' Jesse Harlin and Cryptic's Clarinda Merripen cover some fascinating new ground, among many other news items, features, and art pages. 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 February 2006's magazine as a single issue. Newsstand copies of the magazine will also shortly be available at North American outlets including Fry's Electronics and Barnes & Noble.