In 2011 Uncharted: Golden Abyss was one of the flagship launch titles of Sony's PlayStation Vita console, which meant that developer Sony Bend had to sort out for itself the best way to design games for the Vita's unique interface, effectively from scratch.

At GDC 2013 Sony Bend senior designer Ron Allen shared some of the key lessons learned through that process in a remarkably frank and informative talk.

In under 20 minutes Allen explained how the studio adapted familiar controls from a AAA franchise for use in a (then alien and unfamiliar) portable system with completely unique forms of input

In the years since Golden Abyss launched many developers have struggled with many of the issues Allen addresses in his talk, which makes it all the more exciting that you can now watch his entire presentation for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.



Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. 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 by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.



Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech