Author: by Staff

Organizers of next month's Game Developers Conference have revealed major new talks from Keita Takahashi on Noby Noby Boy, Valve's Michael Booth on Left 4 Dead, and Level-5's Akihiro Hino, on Professor Layton and his firm's other titles. A high-profile late addition to the program for the San Francisco-based developer event, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi will present a talk called 'All About Noby Noby Boy', discussing his supremely quirky new PlayStation Network title. Attendees are promised that "This class will be a refreshing change of pace." Also newly confirmed is 'From Counter-Strike to Left 4 Dead: Creating Replayable Cooperative Experiences' from Valve's Michael Booth. As the description explains: "This session will review the high-level design of Left 4 Dead, how it evolved from Counter-Strike, and the importance of procedural systems such as the AI Director in creating replayable and compelling cooperative experiences." Finally, in one of the firm's first-ever Western conference appearances, Level-5's Yasuhiro Akasaka will speak alongside company president Akihiro Hino on 'Level-5’s Techniques to Producing a Hit Game — From Professor Layton to Inazuma Eleven and The Another World'. The studio is noted for games spanning Dark Cloud through Dragon Quest VIII. More recently, its acclaimed Professor Layton DS puzzle game series and move into self-publishing in Japan is notable, with upcoming titles including Studio Ghibli co-operation The Another World. Game Developers Conference 2009 takes place at the Moscone Center from March 23rd to 27th, and more information on the event and registration is available at the official GDC website.