This week will see the launch of the iPad 3, but another event is going down this week that vies for your attention – GDC.

The 2102 Game Developers Conference starts today and will be taking place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. While game developers and those in the industry are already there, there will be plenty of exciting news for those of us at home watching the festivities.

While GDC has traditionally been an arena for developers to talk to each other and hone their craft, it has evolved into so much more. While the spirit of the event stays the same, expect plenty of announcements and pre-E3 buzz all week.

Some of the major events that will be happening at GDC this year include the AI Summit, the Game IT Summit, the Localization Summit, the GDC Educational Summit and others. While most of these events will probably be only of interest to those in their respective fields; there may be a few announcements at these lectures that will surprise everybody.

The coolest thing about this year’s GDC is the Flash Forward event which will open the convention proper. It will give each main conference speaker a chance to give a short preview of the topic they will be covering. Some of the keynote speakers include Zynga COO John Schappert, Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan, Bungie lead engineer Brian Sharp and more.

The Classic Games Postmortem is making a return this year where developers talk about their experiences making classic games. The speakers this year include Alone in the Dark designer Frederick Raynal, Fallout producer and lead programmer Tim Cain, Gauntlet creator Ed Logg and Harvest Moon producer Yasuhiro Wada.

There will also be a new section for independent developers to show off their games. In recent years, GDC has become a huge launching point for independent developers to get their name out and even sign with a major publisher.

“The GDC has long served as a platform for innovation and exploration within our community and we are proud to say that as we head into our 26th edition of the event, we continue to uphold those principles,” says Meggan Scavio, general manager of the Game Developers Conference. “With the addition of Flash Forward, GDC Play and our new Track Keynotes format, and the efforts we’ve put into enhancing our returning content, we continue to emphasize how important it is to evolve and introduce fresh ideas. We are on the cusp of a brand new era in digital entertainment and it has never been more crucial for the industry to come together and exchange ideas at a forum like the one GDC has provided for more than two decades.”

While there will be plenty of announcements and maybe even an appearance of the rumored Valve console, there will be two other events that gamers will want to watch out for. Two awards shows – the Independent Games Festival Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards will both take place on March 7. These awards are unique as the industry themselves vote on the winners. It’s great to see the industry congratulating itself on the prior year.

You can be sure that we’ll be covering all the big news emerging from GDC this year. The floor opens today and continues to Friday. There’s a lot of potential for a lot of great announcements.

What are you most excited about at GDC? Are you hoping for any reveals? Let us know in the comments.