Steam for Linux, Oculus Rift, Hawken, HTML5 sponsored sessions come to GDC 2013

GDC 2013 organizers are highlighting notable sponsored sessions for the March 25th-29th show, including Valve/Nvidia on moving Steam to Linux, Oculus Rift, Google on native HTML5 apps, and Microsoft on second screen gaming with SmartGlass. 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: - Nvidia is presenting a notable session in the form of 'Porting Source to Linux', with Valve's Rich Geldreich and Nvidia's John McDonald discussing "tool alternatives on Linux, OS issues and pitfalls, and porting from Direct3D to OpenGL." - In addition, much-hyped Oculus Rift creator Oculus VR will present 'Virtual Reality: The Holy Grail of Gaming' with CEO Brendan Iribe and founder Palmer Luckey highlighting "VR's false starts, what's different this time, and why virtual reality is poised to revolutionize the way we play games." - Nvidia's second high-profile session is 'Enhancing Hawken and PlanetSide 2 Through Turbulence and Destruction' with their own Dane Johnston and Aron Zoellner explaining how APEX Turbulence and Destruction can create more immersive game environments than was possible in previous-generation games. - Microsoft will present 'Developing a Second Screen Experience with Xbox SmartGlass' with principal program manager Rosa Thomas covering how to create a SmartGlass-enabled game for Xbox and how to use the Xbox SmartGlass SDK to develop on the second screens of Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. - Amazon AppStore will present 'Making Money with Mobile Gaming: Best Practices' with manager of software development Chirag Mehta sharing "information on game design and monetization approaches they see successful across their store." - Elsewhere, Google will present 'Native Apps? With HTML5? Yes You Can!' with Joe Marini showcasing the Chrome Packaged Apps platform that allows the creation of native app experiences using HTML5 technologies that work offline by default, have access to native platform features, and can run across a variety of operating systems. - Finally, MOL Inc./Rixty will present 'Launching Online Games in Emerging Markets: Insights from the Pros' with executives from CCP, Gameforge, Meteor Entertainment, ProSiebenSat.1, and Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi discussing best practices to launch and grow games internationally. 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 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.