Video: Shipping Retro City Rampage on 17 SKUs at once

"Retail is the past," Retro City Rampage developer Brian Provinciano says, explaining that even if the retail price was twice the digital price, he'd net less profit.

developer Brian Provinciano says, explaining that even if the retail price was twice the digital price, he'd net less profit. He reflects on this and several more business and programming lessons he learned being a one-man developer and publisher, in this GDC 2013 lecture.

Retro City Rampage 's custom-built engine created extra considerations for the developer, who says getting his game up and running took less time than conforming to platform requirements. He discusses the core architecture differences across all platforms, along with programming joysticks, leaderboards, saves, menus and more in this hour-long lecture, free courtesy of GDC Vault.

Session Name: One Man, 17 SKUs: Shipping on Every Platform at Once

Speaker(s): Brian Provinciano

Company Name(s): Vblank Entertainment

Track / Format: Programming

Description: This talk takes attendees through the entire process of developing and releasing multi-platform games, from A to Z, with a primary focus on consoles and Steam. From programming to business and production, it's a content heavy talk that covers a lot of ground. It paints the complete picture by detailing everything from code to contracts. The sheer volume of tasks adds up quickly when developing console games; building a game which can can fit every system's varied requirements and SDK adds even more complexity. Preparation is key and this talk provides the roadmap.
About the GDC VaultIn addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form.

Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins.

Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.