A recap from the Game Developer's Conference (GDC '14).
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Recap from GDC '14

Virtual Reality (VR) was the star at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, which took place last week.

Digital Trends notes how Sony and others jumped aboard the VR bandwagon, with plans to offer 3D gaming using technologies similar to the Oculus Rift: a virtual reality headset that has been making waves in gaming due to its quality and cost-effectiveness. Sony calls their new VR headset 'Project Morpheus', which will be available for the PlayStation 4.

A move to free-to-play was an obvious trend in gaming this year, similar to the strategy used by World of Tanks where users can download and play games for free. Traditional pricing models are not going away (most console games still cost $60), but the pendulum has swung towards the new free-to-play pricing model. Many developers are trying monetization models where users play for free, but are charged for in-game currency to purchase upgrades that help them advance in the game.

Crowdsourcing is also being embraced by the industry, allowing players early access to new games, along with tools allow them to customize and develop content. Games like World of Warcraft and Minecraft have been utilizing this strategy for years, but more games are trending this way: allowing anyone to be a developer and helping to build great crowdsourced content for games.


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Whenever I see one of those “Top ten designs of the year” or “Eight keys to good navigation design” I usually rip into them. It’s really not that I am a negative person. It is just that they always tend to be so overly simplistic. They underappreciate the importance of context or completely misunderstand human behavior. Read More →


Know what kind of experience you create for your users: always design with usability in mind to create meaningful outcomes with lasting results.

All the best for you and your business this month,

The Situated Research Team
info@situatedresearch.com

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