Austin GDC: The Best Of Tuesday's Coverage

Gamasutra is at Austin GDC 2008 this week, and we've compiled the best of our industry-leading coverage of the major MMO, virtual world, and game writing lectures presented since Tuesday. AGDC, which is organized by Gamasutra parent Think Services, is taking place in the Austin Convention Center from Monday 15th-Wednesday 17th September, and multiple Gamasutra reporters are on hand to document many of the lectures and panels taking place there. Here are the highlights of Tuesday's sessions at AGDC 2008: AGDC: Property Rights In Online Games - Who Owns What? "Raph Koster from Areae, Scott Hartsman of Ohai, game lawyer S. Gregory Boyd, author Erin Hoffman, and moderator Erik Bethke of GoPets discuss how to improve the EULA for all – with significant conversational travel into real money trading (RMT) territory." AGDC: Hanna Talks Google Lively's Game API Extensions "Google Lively's Kevin Hanna explained the genesis of the search engine giant's online world space, along the way revealing an upcoming API to embed playable games inside Lively." AGDC: Jim Lee On Translating Comic Book Designs To A 3D Game "Speaking in an Austin GDC panel on the art of upcoming Sony Online Entertainment MMO DC Universe Online, noted DC comic artist artist Jim Lee shares some insights on translating 2D characters and designs from comic books to fit an online 3D game's style and needs." AGDC: Sterling Keynote: A Creative Call To Arms "Futurist and author Bruce Sterling delivered the Tuesday keynote speech at Austin GDC -- a dual message of the way improved technology will change games and how stagnation in the creative side of the industry will hamper their evolution." AGDC: Advanced Storytelling Techniques In Tomb Raider: Underworld And Beyond "Eric Lindstrom, creative director of Tomb Raider: Underworld at Crystal Dynamics, delivered an impassioned and even frustrated presentation about the need for more nuanced storytelling techniques and roles within the development team, to create satisfying next-gen game stories." AGDC: ZeniMax's Firor On The Quandary Of The Subscription MMO "ZeniMax Online president Matt Firor took the 'subscription MMO' end of a subscription vs. free-to-play debate, explaining the current state of the triple-A MMO space, and discussing World Of Warcraft's 'perfect storm' and why there will be million-subscription games post-WoW." AGDC: Nexon's Kim On The North American Free To Play Business "Nexon's Min Kim discussed the free-to-play online game model pioneered by his company in Korea, revealing U.S. revenues of almost $30 million in 2007 for their MapleStory-including slate of products -- details within."