GDC 2013 showcases Destiny visibility rendering, Skulls of the Shogun sponsored talks

Just two days before discounted registration ends, GDC 2013 organizers are highlighting notable sponsored sessions for its March event, including automated visibility rendering in Bungie's Destiny, Skulls of the Shogun's development across Microsoft platforms, and a 'Japanese Games & Publishing in Japan' panel. These sponsor-supported talks are part of the Main Conference for Game Developers Conference 2013, which will take place Wednesday-Friday, March 27-29 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, and are open to all relevant passholders. Some of the highlights from the multitude of vendor sessions at this year's show include: - In 'Powering up Destiny's Level Creation and Rendering with Umbra 3 (Presented by Umbra Soft)', and Umbra's Otso Makinen will discuss his company's newest automated visibility solution. Bungie's Hao Chen will then share how this solution lead to "a new level of artistic freedom and rapid content iteration times," which is "vital in the creation of Bungie's next universe and its unparalleled gaming experience." - In '5 things to know: Japanese Games & Publishing in Japan (Presented by JETRO)', attendees will learn how to succeed in the game markets in Japan and overseas, which types of Japanese games will be successful in western markets, how to partner with Japanese gaming companies, and how to source Japanese games or developers. The growing lineup, in a panel moderated by veteran Jon Kimmich of consulting firm Software Illuminati, will include Alexander Aniel of Land Ho (multiplaform developer in Japan, localized Ubisoft's Just Dance and We Cheer series), Atsushi Ishii of Dango (Magimon, Land of Zombies developer), Masaki Sato of WINLIGHT (mobile game developer, Elemental Knights Online), and Tomonori Sugiyama of Vanguard (Trauma Center 2, Mononoke Fever multiplatform developer). - In 'Emerging Regions 2013: (Presented by Payelp Global)', attendees will learn which regions the ones to watch for games and how to gain revenue from these regions. Speakers will include Victor Kislyi of Wargaming.net (World of Tanks), Larry Koh of Kabam (Realm of the Mad God publisher), Lars Koschin of Blackmoon Games (online game consultant, Wargame 1942), and Rahul Sandhil of GamersFirst (online game portal for Super Monday Night Combat and APB Reloaded) - In Crossing Microsoft Screens: Building Cross Platform Gameplay in Skulls of the Shogun (Presented by Microsoft)', 17-BIT's Borut Pfeifer and Ben Vance will share how they overcame UI challenges across Xbox 360, Windows Phone and Windows 8 and how they got the most out of new Xbox LIVE APIs. - 'Understanding Online Gaming Trends in North America, Europe and China (Presented by Tencent)' will be a panel on emerging local consumer gaming habits and business trends which are shaping the future of the online games business. Speakers will include Chinese internet service portal Tencent's Gordon Bellamy and Steven Ma, industry analytic firm NPD's Liam Callahan, games investment bank Digi-Capital's Tim Merel, market research firm iResearch's Will Tao, and MMO publisher Gameforge 4D's Carsten Van Husen. - Finally, in the programming lecture 'LOD Techniques for Boosting Rendering Performance (Presented by Simplygon)', the company's Gustaf Johansson and Ulrik Lindahl will explain Level-Of-Detail (LODs) techniques that optimize "the number of triangles and draw calls, as well as reducing skinning and material complexity," along with other techniques that can "preserve the highest possible visual quality of the scene." The schedule builder of GDC 2013 is available online for attendees to plan their week of can't-miss lectures and tutorials, including those just highlighted. GDC still offers over $100 discounts to select pass purchases made by Wednesday March 20th at 11:59pm EST, with prices increasing for onsite registration. GDC 2013 itself will take place March 25-29 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2013, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.