Game Developer March Issue Shows Sam & Max Style

Author: by Staff

The March 2007 issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra.com, and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, has now shipped to subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats. The cover feature for the March issue (accompanied by an exclusive Steve Purcell-painted cover) is an postmortem of the episodic process used to make the new Sam & Max monthly 'Season 1' PC instalments from Telltale Games, and is described as follows: "Do the words “episode one” still make you groan from the 12 times you watched all the Star Wars movies in one session? To developers, they signify a new day. Telltale Games, working with Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, embarked on a months-long journey to create a game series that would be episodic in both content and distribution cycle. A handful of company insiders share how the plan came to fruition and what measures they took to adapt to the new schedule." The March issue also takes a look at security issues in video game coding, of which it's explained: "When game developers talk about player protection, they're usually referring to cheating. However, some developers are coming to see that there's more at stake in matters of security. Microsoft security experts Dave Weinstein and Michael Howard consider how the machines of online game players might be left exposed to virtual perpetrators." Another major feature is a 'state of the industry' piece on digital distribution, including interviews with major figures from Microsoft, Sony, and Valve: "Are video games retreating from store shelves en masse to fully join their digitally exclusive brethren, to create a game version of the iTunes Music Store? With digital distribution, developers and publishers—even of console games—are not only cutting out the middleman, but also enhancing their products. And they need more than just a lower price point to make it work." The issue is rounded out by an interview with original home video game creator Ralph Baer, GameLab co-founder Peter Lee, and the customary in-depth news, code, art, audio, and design columns from Game Developer's veteran correspondents, as well as product reviews and game art features. Worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website, and the Game Developer Digital version of the issue is also now available, with the site offering six months and a year's subscriptions, alongside access to back issues, all for a reduced price. There is now also an opportunity to buy the digital version of March 2007's magazine as a single issue. Newsstand copies of the magazine are now available at North American outlets including Barnes & Noble and other specialty bookstores.