The developers behind Nintendo 3DS summer hit Animal Crossing: New Leaf will arrive at GDC next week and even host their own panel titled "How to Turn a New Leaf at the Animal Crossing."
The panel will surely be one of the more interesting Nintendo-focused talks as Animal Crossing: New Leaf blended both Eastern and Western sensibilities to great effect, earning a glowing review from yours truly. Here's the panel description:
Nintendo has many globally popular franchises. One of them, Animal Crossing, is now 12 years old. Like many other Nintendo franchises, the latest Nintendo 3DS iteration has been played both by people who enjoyed the original game as well as their children! Animal Crossing: New Leaf uses network communication to build upon the first Nintendo 64 game's mission of "encouraging communication among different players." Mr. Katsuya Eguchi and Ms. Aya Kyogoku, the respective producer and director of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, will discuss the different approaches they tried to develop ideas that would take advantage of the environment surrounding players so that the franchise would always provide both old and new consumers with something fresh and appealing, while keeping the franchise true to its original uniqueness.
In addition to the fan-art contest run, Isabelle, your dedicated Mayor's Office attendant, is taking questions for the developers via Twitter.
[News] Ever wanted to know what it takes to create Animal Crossing? Ask ur question w/ #ACNL for a chance to have it answered by the devs!
— Isabelle (@animalcrossing) March 13, 2014
We'll be attending the Animal Crossing GDC panel so look out for coverage from GDC in San Francisco next week!