As most of you have probably noticed, not much is happening on the Titan front these days. This is certainly no surprise... I actually said we have some very quiet months ahead of us in the 2012 predictions article I wrote at the end of the previous year. It figures I'd get this boring thing right and probably screw up on most of the interesting ones, but it is how it is.

Even more, with Diablo's release postponed and with the MoP beta still quite a while away (April is the earliest we can expect it), I believe we still have several months of Titan drought ahead of us, best case scenario. Unless of course we get some unexpected, unofficial info, but you can never count on such a thing, no matter how easy it is to just let it all out...

Anyway, jumping to more serious and useful things, there are two interesting events on the horizon that are definitely worth mentioning, even if they probably won't bring much to us Titan enthusiasts.

As one of the biggest events for anything digital, CeBIT will always be a rich source of breaking news. Blizzard will of course take part at the event, showcasing its closest to release project, Diablo 3. Visitors will be able to try out the beta of the game and take part in numerous contests for the chance to win beta keys, among other prizes.

Even more, many gaming websites are predicting that the long awaited release date will finally be revealed at this event. It is quite possible, even probable, that this will happen, considering certain recent signs and statements. The biggest one in my opinion is the Q2 release announcement Mike Morhaime gave at the Q4 2011 Results Conference Call.

They would have NEVER predicted another launch window unless they were sure of it. Which means, at the moment they decided to release this little bit of info, they were probably not aiming at a late quarter release. They wouldn't risk such an announcement if even the slightest delay would push the launch into the next quarter. Considering Q2 means April - June, I'm guessing the current target of release is somewhere in May. Blizzard's games usually go GOLD 2 months before the release, so the beginning of March is the ideal period for such a thing to happen, if I'm reading things right. If we don't hear anything at CeBIT, I'm betting one or two weeks after it we will.

Starcraft 2 will also make an appearance at CeBIT, in the form of an awesome tournament I cannot wait to watch! I'm talking about the Intel Extreme Masters competition, that will have its 6th season final hosted by CeBIT. Talented players, awesome casters, probably a very large crowd... definitely something to see.

Mists of Pandaria on the other hand will probably not make an appearance, considering its press event is scheduled right after CeBIT, March 13 to 15.

Also, Titan will almost surely join MoP in absence, although this event might still bring us something, through the ad-hoc interviews the Blizzard people will probably give. It wouldn't be the first time. I'll definitely follow the event and will report anything interesting, but don't get your hopes up (unless they're for a D3 release date).

This one's pretty interesting. GDC is basically a huge think-tank event, where hundreds of game developers, university professors and other digital industry professionals meet and hold tons of speaking sessions, round-table discussions, presentations, etc. I'd watch every single session (even though there are several hundred in just 5 days), but unfortunately the event is restricted only to the above-mentioned categories and even the press that's participating is very carefully selected.

What makes GDC even more interesting is the Blizzard folks that will be attending. Not one, but two of them are presently involved in developing Titan!

First one is Brian Schwab, Senior AI and Gameplay Engineer II at Blizzard, currently working at an "unannounced online game, which will be done when it's done", as stated on his LinkedIn profile. His session is titled "Less A More I: Using Psychology in Game AI" and has a nifty little description:

GDC2012 said:

Update: Found a video with a presentation he gave at last year's GDC. The session is also related to AI Development and he's one of the five people talking... His portion is called "There can be only Fun" and it is quite interesting and... fun. Definitely check it out, especially since it's pretty clear that it is strongly related to the way Blizzard makes its games. Here's the link, skip to 19:20 for his presentation.

The second Titan team member participating is Keith Self-Ballard, Art Manager at Blizzard, currently "overseeing production on Blizzard's unannounced Next-Gen MMO". He'll be part of a round-table session, in which "attendees will have the opportunity to interact with industry peers and listen to accounts of how different studios have dealt with similar problems. The purpose of this round-table is the sharing of experience and the contrasting of ideas."

Both sessions seem very interesting and both Blizzard employees / Titan developers have important positions within the company, so even if they won't mention Titan directly, it would be very interesting to hear what they have to say. Some of their ideas or problems are bound to be related with their current project, aka Titan. I'll do my best to get some info on this, although I can't promise anything, considering that, for example, the art round-table session is not even being recorded by the organizers..

That's it for now... as always, I'm keeping my ear to the ground and if any new info will appear from these or other events, you'll know it too as fast as possible. Meanwhile, any tips or suggestions are more than welcome.