Emergent Play

One of the GDC’s staple presentations has been cancelled this year. The Experimental Gameplay Sessions showcases new and experimental games from indie to AAA developers. Some of the past highlights have included experimental prototypes from World of Goo’s creator Kyle Gabler, Keita Takahashi’s Katamari Damacy, and Valve’s Portal. Last year we saw The Unfinished Swan, Shadow Physics, current work and prototypes from I Wish I Were The Moon creator Daniel Benmergui, and a series of experiments from Jenova Chen and Nick Clark of thatgamecompany demonstrating early spacial movement trials for the game Flower. It is safe to say that the EGS has been one of GDC’s most popular and informative sessions for the past nine consecutive years.

I have been unable to find an official statement from GDC organizers about this cancellation but I have my theories. A forum post on TIGSouce leads me to the conclusion that with the explosion of indie developers last year, art games and experimental games have become too mainstream for the session to continue. With the advance of game engines like Blender and Unity, and sites like Kongregate, more small-time developers are swimming with the big fish. Add in sweeping rounds of layoffs from the established yet recession-hit companies and you have the perfect storm for a surge in well-executed video game originality and creativity. That being said, why kill the session quietly at the peak of its popularity and only a few weeks before GDC starts. Are this year’s indie developers too “mainstream” to be recognized at the EGS? If the EGS organizers believe that the session needs a revamp to remain at the cutting edge of video game creation, then by all means let it take place, but not at the expense of the very audience that has been its support for nearly a decade.