Amnesia The Dark Descent

New to the conference this year is the Independent Games Summit, which will feature lectures and panels from the most influential figures from the indie games space on topics covering game design, business strategies, marketing, and more.

Speakers at the panel will include Tale of Tales' Michael Samyn (The Path), Stout Games' Jeroen D. Stout (Dinner Date), Moboid's Heather Kelley (GAMMA), thechineseroom's Dan Pinchbeck (Dear Esther), and Frictional Games' Thomas Grip (Amnesia: The Dark Descent).

The game abandons fail states and other horror game staples, and Grip will explain why these omissions made Amnesia more enjoyable to play.

Moving beyond the context of his own game, Grip will also discuss how these sorts of unusual design choices can benefit games of other genres.

Players," which will focus on how multiplayer games can provide engaging experiences even without a strict set of rules and computational systems.

Drawing examples from traditional folk games, design research, and even his IGF-nominated party game B.U.T.T.O.N., Wilson will explain how games without rigid rules can encourage self-motivation and improvisation.

For those interested in the Independent Games Summit talks, GDC Europe organizers have introduced a special reduced-price Independent Games Summit Pass that grants access to all the sessions outlined above, as well as the GDC Europe Expo floor on Monday, August 15.

The pass is available for 200 Euros via the registration form on the official GDC Europe website -- quantities are limited and passes will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

In addition to the Independent Games Summit, GDC Europe has added Summits on Social Games, Smartphone & Tablet Games, and Community Management to the existing line-up this year.

GDC Europe 2011 also recently announced a number of Main Conference talks for the show, including lectures on DICE's Battlefield 3, Harmonix's Dance Central, and MMO storytelling. Other recent announcements include a Business & Marketing track keynote with Wooga founder Jens Begemann, as well as a host of other talks from Zynga, Epic Games, and more.