GDC 2007 Adds Suda, Molyneux, FFXII Postmortem

Author: by Staff

The organizers of the 2007 Game Developers Conference (run by the CMP Game Group, as is Gamasutra) have revealed information on a number of new sessions, including lectures by Killer 7's Goichi 'Suda51' Suda, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, and a rare postmortem of Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII. The sessions now include the lecture 'Punk's Not Dead' from Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda, for which it's explained: "This talk will discuss our production style at Grasshopper, which is rooted in appreciation of our native Japanese culture and aesthetic... Grasshopper is not a big company, and each member of our staff has something important to contribute to the games we make. Just like in a band, if the one of the members leaves, the product and the team is forever changed." Also confirmed, though not yet added to the GDC website, is 'Innovations in Fable 2' from Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, dealing with Microsoft's Xbox 360 exclusive. The lecture "...will examine how key game play elements have been refined and expanded. It will also look at what inspiration was drawn for the original game and what lessons were learnt from Fable", and will include news of "a totally unexpected feature" in the game. Finally, in a rare Western appearance, Square Enix's Taku Murata, Supervisor of Final Fantasy XII will appear alongside the other core members of its development team to give a postmortem lecture on lessons taken from the development of the title, the latest in the 68 million unit-selling Final Fantasy series. Further information on GDC 2007 speakers, including keynote announcements, are expected in the relatively near future.