After a period of grueling preparation, the ShackStaff is invading San Francisco this week for the annual Game Developers Conference. Like Genghis Khan before us, we will sweep across the booths and lecture halls, cutting down the hordes of gaming vendors and lecture panelists, dissecting them for the populace at large.

In short, we're going to see a lot of games, and a lot of game-makers.

On the corporate show-off side of things, we'll have the chance to check out a diverse offering of upcoming titles, from Street Fighter IV to Battlefield Heroes, Postal 3 to Fallen Empire: Legions, Prototype to Too Human.

But the real fun of GDC is getting a feel for the collective spirit of the industry, listening to the creative minds that work behind the scenes to drive the big business interests. Here game developers can speak their minds without a pesky PR manager whispering into their ears, freely sharing information amongst their peers and bouncing high-minded ideas from podium to podium.

Here are just a few of the talks we're most excited about.

Rules of Engagement: Blizzard's Approach to Multiplayer Game Design
Company: Blizzard
Speaker/s: Rob Pardo

What they say: While epic multiplayer gameplay has long been a defining characteristic of Blizzard Entertainment games, the company's approach to achieving that result has evolved greatly over time. With each new project, Blizzard developers have applied lessons learned from the company's previous games to continually update how they design and implement competitive and cooperative play features. In this presentation, Rob Pardo will discuss the goals the company strives for and the pitfalls it tries to avoid when developing the multiplayer elements of its games.

Why we're excited: A dissection of Zerg rushes? Sounds good. StarCraft is one of multiplayer gaming's most refined wares, and we're eager to see how the company's thinking has evolved since the first landmark title.

How to Go from PC to Console Development without Shooting Yourself in the Foot
Company: Valve
Speaker/s: Elan Ruskin

What they say: Significant challenges face a studio transitioning from personal computers to simultaneous home game console development for the first time. This session discusses how Valve met these challenges in its first Xbox 360 release THE ORANGE BOX, and offers best practices to help make attendees' first console release a successful one.

Why we're excited: Sure, we'd rather Valve stick to its roots than muddy itself with console development, but The Orange Box console port was innocent enough, and carried off with few hitches. Ruskin is a long-time port engineer, so this should be a fairly technical talk, but no less interesting.

An Evening with Will Wright & Friends
Company: Electronic Arts
Speaker/s: Will Wright & Friends

What they say: This will be the only event where you can hear the creator behind The Sims and the forthcoming Spore - acclaimed game developer Will Wright speak during GDC 2008.

Why we're excited: Spore may be an unknown quantity at this point, but it could end up being more painful than The Sims Online and Black & White combined and we'd still be looking forward to hearing Will Wright talk.

Standing the Test of Time: A Q&A with Sid Meier
Company: Firaxis Games
Speaker/s: Sid Meier, Noah Falstein

What they say: The game industry today is targeting a broader audience of players. Platforms, divisions of publishers, independent developers, are all looking for ways to appeal to the potential players who rarely define themselves as gamers. With so many claiming first mover victory in this apparently new area, it's worth sitting down with Sid Meier, who decades ago first captured the attention of gamers, students, teachers, parents, office workers, grandparents, and especially other game developers, and continues to do so today. Sid will be interviewed by Noah Falstein, a veteran designer in his own right, who also happens to be an avid Civilization player. Anyone now working on or considering a broadly appealing title is encouraged to attend, and learn what works and doesn't work in creating timeless, engaging games for everyone.

Why we're excited: Sid Meier's Q&A with Sid Meier? I'd buy that game for a dollar, just like I buy every other Sid Meier game. It's always worth sitting down with the guy who brought us Civilization.

Stylization with a Purpose: The Illustrative World of Team Fortress 2
Company: Valve
Speaker/s: Jason Mitchell

What they say: One of the biggest hits of 2007, TEAM FORTRESS 2 features an illustrative rendering style which serves critical gameplay goals, such as the ability of characters to easily identify each other in a variety of lighting conditions. From historical artistic influences to the inner loops of real-time shaders, we will describe how the interplay of art direction and engineering allowed us to achieve the distinctive visual style of TEAM FORTRESS 2.

Why we're excited: There are a lot of reasons why Team Fortress 2 is as good as it is, but the art direction is certainly high up on the list. After years of muddy green-and-brown shots of the old TF2, the team at Valve did a 180 and brought us something fresh and fun. Getting a look at the thought process behind that is worth paying for, but Mitchell will be talking for free. Valve always has the best deals.

Storytelling in BioShock: Empowering Players to Care about Your Stupid Story
Company: 2KBoston/Irrational
Speaker/s: Kenneth Levine

What they say: Here's a secret: If you're making a first person shooter, most people don't care about your story. BIOSHOCK took a genre that isn't generally known for its great storytelling propensities and made people care about the world of Rapture and it's inhabitants. It did this by inviting the players to participate in the narrative through their own investigation of the world of Rapture. Creative director Ken Levine will share some of the secrets as to how it was done.

Why we're excited: Say what you will about BioShock--it took a diving lunge at the kind of story that few first person shooters attempt, let alone video games of any kind. Screenwriter-turned-game writer Ken Levine should have plenty to say about how he and his team pulled it off.

A Portal Post-Mortem: Integrating Writing and Design
Company: Valve
Speaker/s: Kim Swift and Erik Wolpaw

What they say: Integrating story and gameplay is a daunting task for both writers and designers. PORTAL's project lead and its head writer discuss how they approached this particular problem during the game's development.

Why we're excited: You can argue your preference for a longer game, but you can't deny the pure craft behind Portal's writing. Coherent pacing might be easier to manage in a four hour game, but the talent evident in every line of Portal is hard to locate in even the longest of 40 hour games.

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