If you aren't familiar with Taylor's work, you've never played Fallout or Star Trek: Starfleet Command. (He's not to be confused with the more casual Chris Taylor, creator of titles like Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander.) Interplay says that bringing Taylor back on board is just one of the additions to its "growing development studio."

As long as we just leave Clayfighter alone, Interplay, remembering it was a cute curiosity for its time, we're on board with this whole shoring up thing you're doing.

Interplay launches new web site; adds Chris Taylor to growing development team [Interplay - thanks, Mr. Blah!]

“This is an awesome framework for the industry to aspire to, and ultimately so that we can provide our customers with the gaming experience that they have wanted for years, and really deserve.”

Hit the jump for the full list of rights. They're intelligent, well through-out, and will never be officially instituted in a million years.

Stardock Announces “The Gamer’s Bill of Rights”
- Indie Developer / Publisher Hopes to Encourage Better Customer Service

Plymouth, MI – August 29, 2008 – Stardock announced today the Gamer’s Bill of Rights: a statement of principles that it hopes will encourage the PC game industry to adopt standards that are more supportive of PC gamers. The document contains 10 specific “rights” that video game enthusiasts can expect from Stardock as an independent developer and publisher that it hopes that other publishers will embrace. The Bill of Rights is featured on Stardock’s website (www.stardock.com) and is on prominent display in Stardock’s booth (1142) at the Penny Arcade Expo.

“As an industry, we need to begin setting some basic, common sense standards that reward PC gamers for purchasing our games,” stated Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock Corporation. “The console market effectively already has something like this in that its games have to go through the platform maker such as Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony. But on the PC, publishers can release games that are scarcely completed, poorly supported, and full of intrusive copy protection and then be stuck on it.”

Chris Taylor, CEO and founder of Gas Powered Games stated, “This is an awesome framework for the industry to aspire to, and ultimately so that we can provide our customers with the gaming experience that they have wanted for years, and really deserve.”

As an example of The Gamer’s Bill of Rights in action, Stardock instituted a policy of allowing users to return copies of The Political Machine purchased at retail to Stardock for a full refund if they found that their PC wasn’t sufficient to run the game adequately.

“The PC market loses out on a lot of sales because a significant percentage of our market has PCs that may or may not be adequate to run our games. Without the ability to return games to the publisher for a refund, many potential buyers simply pass on games they might otherwise have bought due to the risk of not being certain a game will work on their PC. The average consumer doesn’t know what ‘pixel shader 2.0 support’ means, for instance,” said Wardell.

According to Stardock, the objective of the Gamer’s Bill of Rights is to increase the confidence of consumers of the quality of PC games which in turn will lead to more sales and a better gaming experience.

The Gamer’s Bill of Rights:

1) Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.

2) Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.

3) Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.

4) Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.

5) Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.

6) Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.

7) Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.

8) Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.

9) Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.

10) Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

Taylor will also be appearing with Dr. Michael Capps and David Perry at a "Best Selling Games" panel on Tuesday of the conference, where they will discuss...best selling games? Hey, at least I gave you a pretty trailer to look at.

Chris Taylor to Present the "Making of Demigod" at GCDC

LEIPZIG, Germany - July 29, 2008 - The organizer of the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) today announced that industry legend Chris Taylor will be the keynote speaker for Wednesday, August 20 at this year's event. Under the title, "The Struggle for Independence and the Making of Demigod," he will address the challenges of developing games today. Moreover, together with Dr. Michael Capps and David Perry, the other two keynote speakers of GCDC 2008, he will participate in a panel discussion on "Best Selling Games" on Tuesday. GCDC takes place prior to GC - Games Convention in Leipzig, August 18-20, 2008.

Chris Taylor will reminisce about his 20-year career in the interactive entertainment industry covering his budding years and the experiences that inspired him to form his own independent games studio. He will talk about how the industry has changed over the years, and how he has had to adapt his own mindset and the direction of his company to meet its new challenges. Taylor will also speak about the difficulties faced when delivering new, truly innovative games versus the typical sequels and derivative works currently plaguing the industry.

"Expect a surreal journey into my bizarre and twisted mind," said Taylor, adding, "Please bring your sense of humor with you."

For the past 20 years, Taylor has been one of the game industry's most imaginative and dynamic visionaries. The creator of the first true next-generation RTS game, Total Annihilation, has a well deserved reputation as an innovator who is able to push both technology and gameplay to their limits.

Taylor is the CEO and Creative Director of Gas Powered Games (GPG), which has released the Dungeon Siege series, Supreme Commander, and its expansion, Forged Alliance. In 2008, GPG will unleash its newest action/RPG, Space Siege, and in 2009, the company will launch the innovative action/RTS game Demigod.

"Our goal is to present keynote speakers that inspire our attendees, while providing valuable insight into the changing landscape of the games industry," said Frank Sliwka, project director of GCDC. "Chris Taylor's participation takes the already content rich conference program to a higher level and makes GCDC an absolute must-attend event."

Further information about the schedule and the speakers of GCDC can be found at: http://www.gcdc.eu.

... the only thing stopping me from doing it [adding new factions] on any sequel is memory. I've been told by my engineers that for Supreme Commander 2, I don't have enough memory in a PC with 4GB of RAM to have more factions.

"It inconveniences a little but now they know why. And then we can get the economics back in line and maybe we can actually start offering it up at a lower price point in the future. So it will come around full circle"

Demigod Revealed [1UP]

When I ride the lawnmower I don't think about steering and cutting grass... I think about life. I think about work. I think about things I have to do. I recharge - charge my batteries up.

When I finish mowing the lawn, I haven't done a chore - I'm actually ready to take on something. That's what I think gaming needs to be.

That's it, we're going on strike. Suck it, great video games we've been waiting years for! We just bought a new Toro.

Supreme Commander dev has intriguing ideas for games [gamesradar] [image]

Hollywood has a cry button...That's damn refined art...It's like science. They were in a lab researching it and refining it. It's the science of refining the art and the tools and it'll take us years and years.

The first time you play through you're probably going to say 'yes, yes, yes - give me the cybernetics' and you're going to be a hulking cybernetic master...But you're ending's going to reflect that - you'll walk into a room and people will scream and be like 'who the hell is that?! That's the hero?!

Freaking brilliant. It sounds like Too Human, but they get to the point in one game. Can games make you cry? [cvg]

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is a standalone sequel to SupCom that will feature over 100 new units, a new single-player campaign, and an entirely new faction taking up arms in the Infinite War, as was hinted at by events in the first installment.

"Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is not only the continuation of the epic story that is unfolding inside the game's universe, it is the continuation of our goal to move the bar for RTS gaming even higher than ever," says Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games

THQ unveils Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance [Eurogamer]

"Projects include PC titles within the Supreme Commander franchise, PC titles with original IP and something new - an original IP that is the company's first next-generation console project"

Gas Powered Games confirms console project [GamesIndustry.biz]