This was my first GDC ever!! It was one of the coolest events I have ever got to be a part of – special thanks to Cystem! Without them, I would have not been able to go. However, as part of this post, I wanted to touch on a few big takeaways that I got from GDC in 2024. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
AI/ML Continues to Rise
One thing that will probably sound like a broken record at this point, as it is with most industries worldwide, is the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Throughout the entirety of GDC, there were tons of AI/ML-focused talks. I counted over 40 talks, including summits and chats, that alone referenced some level of AI to be discussed as part of their topics. According to pitchbook and TechCrunch, funding for AI focused startups exceeded $68.7 billion in 2023(1). While that number was absurdly high, the likelihood of AI/ML focused funding will likely only increase.
(Yahoo Finance)
I can’t imagine a world in which AI does not grow, and it will likely continue to be a larger focus of most companies’ strategies for the foreseeable future. There are so many implications that AI can be leveraged, especially within gaming. Artists can use it to ideate and iterate upon concept art, level designers can use it to build and generate expansive terrains, and developers can use it to help debug code. However, on a darker side of that same token, these same tools can be used to steal and infringe upon creative work that people put their blood, sweat, and tears into, and it was a point of concern for many that attended GDC. One can only hope AND support any movements that directly support creatives and developers’ rights to royalties and/or compensation incentives for any usage of their likeness and/or direct or indirect contributions.
Game Development Continues to Evolve
Unity, Godot, and Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) were all in good showing. All three had multiple talks and stands as part of the expo. The massive multi-level of the Unreal stage offered lots of shows for what to do with UE5 and Unreal Editor Fortnite (UEFN). Even real cases of indie games utilizing these engines were on display at GDC. However, I don’t want to delve in that too much, but talk more about the uniqueness that various companies use engines to their advantages.
One of my favorite talks was delivered by Takuhiro Dohta-san, Junya Osada-san, and Takahiro Takayama-san for Nintendo’s Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (ToTK). If you have played ToTK, you know that the world as you proceed from one zone to the next is vast and seamless (excluding fast travel).
(Hyrule Blog – The Zelda Blog: Tears of the Kingdom – Start Confirmed (touriantourist.blogspot.com)
The ToTK developers desired multiplicative gameplay. For those who aren’t familiar with multiplicative gameplay, it refers to a design approach where various game elements interact with each other in a consistent and interconnected way, often following a set of rules or mechanics. This approach aims to create depth and complexity in gameplay by allowing different elements to combine or affect each other in meaningful ways, leading to emergent gameplay experiences. Within the experience of physics in ToTK, here’s the principles that the ToTK team followed regarding multiplicative gameplay:
- All game objects are connected by the same world rules (E.g, Physics, Chemistry).
- Actions, objects, and the game field can interact on a rules basis (e.g, Falling boulders damage enemies).
- Design each area based on these rules.
If you’ve played the game, you undoubtedly know that all of these principles apply to ToTK. The way the ToTK team seamlessly implemented Physics and Sound design into the game is an absolute marvel. Its environments are vibrant, and there’s countless opportunities to use your imagination for combat or vehiclular transportation. I’ll add a cool YouTube clip below, but I HIGHLY URGE YOU to watch any hilarious ToTK moments, or Korok videos for those less inclined to cringing by Korok torture (note, they aren’t ever hurt/damaged, all the korok’s are fine).
https://youtube.com/shorts/1NsbFD2sTwQ?si=_UB4sdE3Z14DnIs2.
INDIE GAMES WILL NEVER DIE
Indie games will never die, especially in such a turbulent market. as of writing this to date, over 80,000 individuals have been let go of their job responsibilities. And it’s not like gaming is a massive industry – to summarize the numbers from Statista, almost 30% of the gaming industry has lost their job in this year alone, as of April 2024 (3). It’s been truly heartbreaking to observe as hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs over the year. I’m not sure if I have too many readers, but for those who have been affected, I’m truly sorry. Y’all put your hearts and souls into these projects of pure passion, to deliver a wonderful experience, and so many aren’t able to watch their masterpieces come to fruition. It’s not easy to let go of, but hopefully you find something new that you love. Hopefully that personal project becomes a major success, and maybe this situation will turn into a brand-new opportunity and open doors you have never seen! I’m pulling for you!
On a happier note, it seems like companies have responded in one or two ways. For more established companies, they’re really focusing on previously successful franchises, and remaining relatively quiet in terms of updating game strategies. Think Roblox, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Madden, Pokémon, etc. From a practicality standpoint, this makes tons of sense – why deviate from your core strategy to something new. Strategy is focus, so might as well focus on something that is tried and true. Plus, to quantify it, according to MMORPG.com, 60% of playtime went to games that are 6 years or older (2). So not only is the money there, but the gamers are definitely coming back for more.
However, indie games don’t have this kind of IP access – no Roblox, no Fortnite (Not including UEFN games), and no Madden. To even be considered competitive, indies need to be creative, and they have to be disruptive. Indie games will forever define the direction of where games go. With that said, keep in mind, this was my first GDC, and I’ve never seen so many games with such unique perspectives and compelling gameplay options. For example, games like Venba don’t mold themselves to the traditional hack and slash or retro platformer (4). It is a short narrative-focused experience, where you play as an Indian mother who immigrates to Canada. It introduces a culturally warming and accurate experience into the world of Indian cooking. On the flip side, games like Anthology of a Killer unleash a wicked, vibrant, and unique art direction to deliver a ‘funny cartoon horror game’(5).
Some runner-ups! (This is short I promise!)
The role of marketing, especially with TikTok!
Another interesting area is TikTok marketing, an area that was very successful and popular for Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3. They got to reach a new audience by utilizing TikTok, and they really understood their audiences. For example, in the talk, the speaker referenced how TikTok is focusing more on funny/meme-able content, while YouTube generally caters to an older audience that seeks new information. However, with the pending sanctions on TikTok in the United States, it will be interesting to see how developers and marketers alike will utilize this platform (or others).
Learning even more from Players
As we’re in the age of information, there’s so much information to be shared for us to learn from – especially with information on players. World of Warcraft hit one of its lowest subscribers counts ever post-shadowlands. Players did not like ‘borrowed power’ and were generally upset about the lack of content delivered. To paraphrase the speaker, he mentioned that “we lost trust with our players”.
(Thank you Reddit for the subscriber count overlay: WoW has over 7 million active players : r/wow (reddit.com))
WoW did an incredible job redesigning the experience of WoW with multiple flavors – Classic, Retail, and Season of Discovery. As someone who plays Dragonflight, I can say that this expansion is much better than before and brings back memories of the old WoW magic I loved when I first started playing.
References
(1) ‘Mega-deals’ could be inflating overall AI funding figures | TechCrunch.
(2) 60% of All Playtime Went to Games Six Years Old or Older in 2023 | MMORPG.com
(3) U.S. video gaming employment 2023 | Statista
(4) Venba | A game about cooking, family and more (venbagame.com)
Gaming stuff 
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