pioneer frunze: Looking at the Future of Video Games

The 2012 Game Developers Conference is in full swing this week, sprawling across all three buildings of San Francisco?s Moscone Center. While lots of interesting things happen each year at GDC, we realize they?re often very dry and technical GDC is an swap meet where the people who make the games you love trade ideas, not a convention like PAX or a trade show like E3. In other words, you shouldn?t expect many huge announcements or in-depth hands-on with hot upcoming titles this week.

Instead, 1UP?s editors will each be tackling appointments, lectures, and interviews from their own individual perspective and reporting back to you on the angle they?ve each elected to explore. From the challenges of preparing for next-gen hardware to the role of narrative, we?re talking to the people who make games about the future of their work. What?s in store for them, and by extension, you? That?s what we aim to find out this week.

Unfortunate trends continue to make gaming hostile towards female players. Bob Mackey investigates what it will take to change this.

OP-ED: With Mass Effect 3, BioWare Snuggles up to Inclusivity
There?s much more to Mass Effect 3?s same-sex romance options than simply courting controversy.

What do developers at GDC2012 view as the actual future for this most vaunted of platforms? Thierry Nguyen investigates.

Coming Soon!

As we move into the next generation of consoles, Jeremy Parish asks how the classics of bygone days shape the new age of game design.

Square Enix Localization Looks to the Future
From spoony bards to mog clocks, how Square is tackling the translation needs of the HD era.

MyCheats editor Marty Sliva pursues his belief that games don?t need to tell a story, but rather supply the tools for us to create our own personal narratives.

Why Does Asura?s Wrath Not Trust Me?
The action spectacle stifles all user creativity in its aim to echo anime.

Managing editor Matt Leone spot-checks some of the most exciting small independent games and developers, then looks forward to what?s coming next.

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Contrast: A Portal-Inspired Puzzle Game About Shadows
A new indie game centers itself on one mechanic ? the idea that you can move in 3D or flatten yourself against walls in 2D.

It?s the year 2012, and we?re in the seventh generation of our current console cycle. Associate editor Jose Otero is convinced that this extraordinary period could be coming to a close soon, as rumors continue to point to the possibility of new hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Is it too soon to pull the trigger and move home consoles forward?

Coming Soon!

As the industry polarizes toward insanely expensive blockbusters and free-to-play social games, Ryan Winterhalter asks if gaming?s creative, fertile middle ground is a thing of the past.