Bard’s Tale post-mortem at GDC
| Filed under Game trail, Happenings; 2 comments. |
The Game Developer’s Conference is an annual event that invites members of the computer and video game industry to collaborate, inspire, and share their stories and best practices. This professional affair is expensive to attend but nonetheless attracts developers both mainstream and indie.
One of the flagship offerings of each year’s GDC schedule is the post-mortem, where developers take attendees behind the scenes of their memorable games, be they modern or historical. Past post-mortems have included games Maniac Mansion for the Apple II and Raid on Bungeling Bay for Commodore 64.
At GDC 2018, to be held in San Francisco on March 19–23, another classic game will enter the post-mortem vault: The Bard’s Tale I and II. Dr. Michael Cranford, creator of The Bard’s Tale series and programmer for the Apple II version of Donkey Kong, will host the session:
Cranford… will share the vision that led him to the game’s conception, design, and development from his years as a dungeon master. The games are an expression of Cranford’s personal love for the genre and desire to surpass the experience of tabletop gaming. The session will explore the vision behind the game and help illuminate a trajectory in gaming which has remained strong to the current day… [and] many elements in current RPGs are developed in ‘The Bard’s Tale’.
… this talk is not going to be technical. This session targets those who are interested in concepts behind game design (RPG game design in particular), how that came together in the early ’80s, and how it impacted so many people.
Although I’ve not played many games in The Bard’s Tale series, I recognize the role it played in gaming history, as it was named among the top RPGs of all time by both Game Informer and Retro Gamer, inspiring me to back the Kickstarter for The Bard’s IV. I would love to be in the audience for this upcoming talk… but alas, attendance at GDC is not for the casual gamer, with passes starting at $999 $149. I will instead hope the video and slides will eventually make their way into the GDC Vault, where they will be preserved and made available to the wider audience interested in RPG history.
(Hat tip to Gamasutra)
Actually, Expo passes start at $149!
Thanks! I assumed the talk was part of the GDC Conference, not the Expo — but you would know!! I’ll update the post.