GDC Vault Adds Free 2D Boy, Bungie Video Lectures

Author: by Staff

GDC organizers have released two new free lecture videos recorded at Game Developers Conference 2010, including 2D Boy's Ron Carmel on funding independent games and Bungie's Brian Sharp on compassionate leadership in game development. The two new lectures, published at the GDC Vault website, feature video technology that allows users to simultaneously view a presenter's slides alongside video and audio of their presentation. First, the Independent Games Summit at GDC this year was kicked off by Ron Carmel's lecture, 'Indies and Publishers: Fixing a System That Never Worked', for which the full video presentation is now available. Carmel, co-founder of World Of Goo creator 2D Boy, is one of the key movers behind the recently-announced Indie Fund, an "angel"-style funding source for indie game makers, and his lecture and Q&A discusses his thoughts on the future of funding for independents. The lecture begins with IGS co-organizers Matthew Wegner and Steve Swink introducing the Summit and making remarks about the state of independent games - click on the 'Indies and Publishers' link in the navigation window if you'd like to move straight to Ron's talk. In addition, Bungie's Brian Sharp gave one of the highest-rated lectures of Game Developers Conference 2010 in the form of 'Concrete Practices to be a Better Leader', now also available for free at GDC Vault. Game development veteran Sharp uses a clever custom slide deck and heartfelt techniques to discuss how to "distill leadership to its essential qualities with practical techniques for developing them", with inspiration "drawn from a wide range of sources, from serene Buddhist meditators in monasteries to freewheeling pickup artists in Hollywood penthouses." Both lectures were originally presented at March's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and show organizers will be posting new videos bi-weekly throughout the year on GDC Vault, which is designed to eventually showcase a decade or more of historical show recordings. GDC Vault's free videos section includes a previously-announced selection from GDC 2010 featuring talks from Zynga, Ernest Adams, several 'art game' panelists, and NCsoft, as well as several lectures from previous GDC events. The section also includes sponsored GDC 2010 sessions filmed in association with companies such as Intel, Palm, and Nvidia, including CCP (on EVE Online) and Firaxis (on Civilization V). 2010's sponsored videos are free to watch after entering a valid email address for sponsor information purposes, and 2009's sponsored videos are now free to watch without any restrictions. The free recordings available are a fraction of the content currently being flowed into the GDC Vault. Full GDC Vault access, including synchronized video recordings for over 200 of GDC 2010's sessions and hundreds of historical video and audio recordings, is available to GDC 2010 All-Access Pass holders, as well as All-Access Pass holders for other GDC events during the year. In addition, companies who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available by contacting Suzanne Cunningham or viewing an online demonstration. Individual Vault subscriptions not tied to All-Access passes are being considered for a 2011 launch.