Kirby and the Forgotten Land will be featured in a special presentation from its developers at this year's upcoming Game Developers Conference. For the uninitated, the Game Developers Conference is an annual event where a variety of tutorials, lectures, and roundtable discussions are hosted by industry professionals. This allows for the game dev community to exchange ideas, solve problems, and network like any other expo event. While GDC 2021 was held as a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, GDC 2022 marked a return to in-person attendance. 2023 will also be an in-person expo.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land released last year to critical acclaim, breaking a major sales milestone for the Kirby franchise in the process. It was praised for transitioning the series into a fully 3D environment while retaining many aspects of the franchise that made the games so fun. The story and cinematic elements have also been praised, making for a much grander adventure than previous entries. With the game now about a year out from its launch, the developers will be hosting a presentation about its design at GDC.
According to GDC's official website, this presentation will be hosted by Shinya Kumazaki, the series' Executive Director and voice of King Dedede, and Tatsuya Kamiyama, the director of the game itself. This presentation is under the "design" category, and will be accessible for attendees who have bought either the All Access Pass or the Core Pass. The description for this presentation notes that the two directors will be discussing how they brought traditional Kirby gameplay into 3D, along with the origins and implementation of Forgotten Land's Mouthful Mode.
In addition to Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the developers will talk about the design of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, which will have been released by the time the presentation has been held. Kumazaki and Kamiyama will be discussing how they reimagined the 2D gameplay along with the multiplayer mode for the Wii remaster according to the description.
This presentation notes it is closing out the 30th anniversary celebration that had accompanied the release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and cheekily notes that "pink attire [is] not required." For game developers or fans interested in the attending this session, the expo will be held through March 20-24, 2023, with the presentation having a runtime of 60 minutes.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Source: GDC (via NintendoLife)