Game Developer September Issue Goes Mobile, Fantastic

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, has now shipped 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 mobile gaming-themed September 2005 issue is an exclusive developer-written postmortem of Square Enix's Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, a groundbreaking mobile title that uses the platform's camera and network functionality innovatively to weave a side-story to the classic RPG. From the stiff technical requirements to the game's initial popularity, the creators explain how they created a landmark mobile game in this month's postmortem. The second major feature, State of the Industry: Mobile Games, explores how, over the last few years, the North American mobile phone market has grown by leaps and bounds. But how is the interaction between developers, publishers, and carriers shifting as the market matures? In this state of the industry report, Paul Hyman investigates what the market holds for all the major stakeholders. In addition Mobilizing Content: Porting Games For Mobile Devices has Glu Mobile's Mike Ying, Jacob Abrams, Vikas Gupta, Bob Whiteman, and Kal Iyer looking at some of the common problems and possible solutions for those making multiple SKUs of mobile games effectively, from palette swapping to compression methods, and Mike Yuen of Qualcomm contributes Business Level: The Tipping Point, looking at the connection between wireless and traditional gaming platforms. Finally, the magazine features reviews of tools including Tira Jump Product Suite and SlickEdit 10, Steve Theodore's continuing look at how CG eyes are constructed, Sean Barrett's exploration of immediate mode GUIs, and regular audio and design columns, as well as the Heads Up Display news section and a gallery featuring Capybara Games' Plant Life, plus much more. 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, and access to back issues for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of September 2005'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.