Game Developer March Issue Shoots Gun, Previews GDC

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 March 2006 issue is an exclusive postmortem is titled: 'Gun: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly', and sees the Neversoft development team looking in unflinching detail at its 2005 multi-format Activision-published Wild West title. As the magazine notes: "Can veteran cowboys learn new tricks, or will they fall into the same old gulch? This postmortem offers a very honest appraisal." In addition, the magazine's regular Game Developers Conference Preview 2006 appears in this March issue. With GDC just around the bend, the editors of Game Developer and Gamasutra.com have written up a set of event highlights, session previews, and other informational delights. While by no means a comprehensive guide, this feature gives you a nice sampling of what's to come, filtered by the personal preferences of each editor. The featured technical article for the issue is 'Dynamic Skyscapes' by Michael Gehling. As pointed out, a game's sky is integral to its believability, but creating a convincing one can sometimes be a daunting task, especially in the new generation of consoles. Gehling details the creation of a stunning yet scalable sky using modern techniques. Also featured in the issue are highlights from Frank Cifaldi's Playing Catch-Up columns for Gamasutra, as well as an excellent plethora of technical articles from regular columnists on everything from multithreading through game audio databases, plus a controversial Business Level dealing with 'Crunch-less Development', and product reviews of Elsevier's High Dynamic Range Imaging book and Razer's Copperhead high-precision mouse. 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 March 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.