As the number of players grow in the world of video game, they are increasingly interested in different games and different subjects. As the games business expands beyond the traditional audience, sports becomes a more and more important part of the business. This shouldn't be a surprise, Sports created the modern videogame business, and while it was at it changed the political map of the world forever...
Keynote Block 2
Keynote - 5:00pm, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th
SK2 - Rm. Salon C,D,E
"Super Mario Health" : Games that Can Make All of Us SuperHealthier
KEYNOTE
Ben Sawyer
Since 2004 The Games for Health Project has focused on building a robust field of game developers, health interests, and researchers devoted to the full exploration and potential of videogames and videogame technologies to improve health and healthcare. During that time we've built a successful conference, online community, and knowledge base. We've seen some early successes like HopeLab's Re-Mission, and University of Washington's Fold.It project. Exergaming has risen to be a $1B global business and the idea that games can positively affect your health is rising. Yet for all this activity, the overall impact level on public health has been low. Furthermore, projects that succeed at scale are still missing. Even exergaming, for all its sales success, does not nearly have a correlated population health effect we can claim.
Why is this?
For the past year the project has been assessing the entire games for health field attempting to answer the general question of what's next for The Project and the field its named for. In late 2010 we began to settle on a few ideas, and over 2011 these ideas have been further refined.
During this keynote presentation, the co-founder of The Games for Health Project will present a new direction for the overall games for health field, one it will be investing significant resources in going forward. Inspired by Super Mario the project has been looking at ideas for games that can help make the world healthier as a whole. Games that, when played, even once, can potentially have a lifelong effect on someone's ability to live a happier, longer, and superhealthier life.
Training Block 0
10:00am, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1st
These sessions run 10a-12p, break for lunch, and then continue 1p-3p.
T1 - Savannah
Windows Phone Game Garage
TRAINING SESSION Glen Gordon Rob Cameron Chris Williams
Windows Phone is the hottest new mobile application platform. With lots of devices on all the major carriers, a thriving and secure app marketplace, plus Microsoft’s strategic partnership with Nokia, there’s no better platform to target development for than Windows Phone.
In this full day event, you'll spend the morning seeing how exciting Windows Phone is with true Xbox Live integration, and learn all about the developer ecosystem for building and publishing application. Then in the afternoon you'll get a chance to work on labs and even your own game, competing for prizes along the way.
We'll begin with a look at the tools and resources for developing games for Windows Phone. You'll see numerous demos of building compelling 2D and 3D games for the platform, as well as how to incorporate industry standard assets such as wireframes, textures, sounds, videos, animations and more.
We'll also show you how to integrate with multitouch and other aspects of the devices. We'll also cover how your skills, code, and resources can translate almost seamlessly into games for the PC and Xbox 360. You'll also see how to connect your game to a variety of Internet services, including Xbox Live for true gamer integration.
We'll finish up the training portion with tips and tricks for getting your app published, making it prominent in the marketplace, and earning lots of money!
During the afternoon, you can work on labs or build your own game, in teams or on your own. Several Windows Phone experts will be on hand to guide you along, and at the end of the afternoon, the person/team with the best game will win a free Windows Phone!
Topic Format : Training Course
T2 - Macon
Unity Training
TRAINING SESSION James Simpson
Join Doctor Unity as he gives you a full overview of the latest game engine speeding past all others. Unity3D is popping up everywhere, and you need to know how to leverage the power of this new engine to get up to speed from everything of web, platform, social network, console and mobile games and applications. Join us from 10 am - noon for a hands-on workshop. From 1 pm - 3 pm Doctor Unity makes another appearance to go over how easy it is to put in multiplayer into Unity and export it to multiple platforms.
Session Block 0
3:30pm, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7th
S0C - Rm. Salon C
Game Design Improv
Ian Schreiber
You’ll spend the weekend learning about games, how about making some of them
now? Back by popular demand, this fast-paced, challenging workshop will stretch
your mind and your game design skills. Participants will take on a variety of game
design challenges based on IP and other constraints. No experience necessary!
The value of a game designer lies in his or her ability to turn anything into a game, and to take any problem and make a viable and fun solution. Game Design Improv will give both practical advice and plenty of practice, with challenges based on real-world situations.
S0D - Rm. Salon D
Rev Your Engines: Which Do You Use?
Tom DiCesare Patrick Roeder Zach Inks Chris Carson Mick Larkins
Whether it is bringing Unity to your coworkers or having an Unreal experience, the choice of an engine is as important as your choice of language. In many cases, the choice of engine determines your choice of language. However, besides price, each engine has a set of tradeoffs. What features can you use? Eke out? Will it integrate with your workflow? Join the panel as they cover the pros and cons of the engines they work in, and learn which is best for your game.
S0E - Flush Your Portfolio: What to Really Dump on an Art Director’s Desk
S0E - Rm. Salon E
Flush Your Portfolio: What to Really Dump on an Art Director’s Desk
Chuk Vinson (m)
Every aspiring game artist has a portfolio, and every art director is sick of seeing bad ones. Presentation is the key to a good portfolio, and often the applicant’s decisions and/or the guidance provided by instructors does not produce a product that achieves its purpose of a portfolio - making anyone want to hire you. This is the single, solitary goal of the portfolio. This session stems from the hundreds of portfolios its panelists have reviewed and their desire to only get good portfolios from here on. It also covers what you can expect during your first days in the industry.
S0F - Rm. Albany
The Making of Wizard's Castle
Randy Herring Raymond Herring Jeff Bucchino
The true tale of how a father and son created their first game for the iPad using Unity: a dissection of what went right and what went horribly wrong. Also a discussion of a few crucial Unity plug-ins that made the development process easier.
S0G - Rm. Decatur
The Way Forward with Serious Games and Gamification
Richard Hilleman Richard Taylor Ben Sawyer
Benn Konsynski
Richard Teach
Robert Becker (m)
Some say games are destroying the world. Others claim games will save it. The one thing no one denies is that games are having greater impact on our lives than ever before. Leaders from the White House to the board room have begun asking: Can games make us healthier? Can they improve training and education? Can they increase customer engagement and loyalty? Can they help organizations face clear and present dangers or future challenges? Join some of the industry's foremost thinkers for a panel discussion and brainstorming session about the role, value and future of games in corporate, brand and institutional strategies. Expect to participate with questions and views of your own.
S0H - Rm. Marietta
The Audio Skills You Need
Chris Rickwood
Game audio is becoming a highly competitive career path for new graduates and experienced audio engineers alike. In today's market it is not enough to just know how to
run Pro Tools. Can you work in a team? Can you write simple scripts? Can you mix an evolving soundscape in real time? In this session, we will discuss what skills you will need to rise above the competition and have a successful career.
S0K - Rm. Cobb Ballroom
Team Building
Deborah Thomas (m)
Jack Mamais
Joelle Silverio
Looking for just the right programmers and artists to finish your project? Are you an audio engineer looking to work on games? Join us for this team building workshop where we will go over the fundamentals of creating a successful team and then give you the opportunity to meet the other game developers who may become your partners.
S0Q - Rm. Savannah
An ARG at the
Museum: The MCN Alternate Reality Game
Nettrice Gaskins Mary Carlson
The Museum
Computer Network (MCN) hosts this informational and ARG planning session for
"Hacking the Museum," our 39th annual conference taking place
at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta November 16-19, 2011. At the MCN conference,
participants will play an ARG scavenger hunt to find clues at the physical
conference site and online. Participants will sign up and join teams to look
for clues by following Twitter and via mobile tagging which is the process of
providing data on mobile devices, commonly through the use of web page links or
URLs encoded in a two-dimensional (QR) barcode, meant to be read and inputted
using a mobile, or smart device (with a camera) like an iPhone. This session is
for anyone interested in taking part or learning more.
Session Block 1
7:00pm, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7th
S1C - Rm. Salon C
The Business and Design of Social Games
George Skleres (m) Stephen Griffin Marshall Seese, Jr. Deborah Gonzales
According to some, the new hardcore gamer is a 42-year-old woman. Based on the success of social games, there must be a lot of them willing to spend a lot of time and money on your games. Our panelists have been involved with social games of all kinds and sizes, and are ready to address not only where social games have been but where they are going as well.
S1D - Rm. Salon D
Flash Optimization
Matt Woomer Nick Dolce Chris Carson Patrick Fram
You chose Flash as your platform because it's so easy to distribute to the largest possible audience. But now you're facing Flash's sometimes (okay, often) maddening performance bottlenecks. Using the basic features of Flash to build games can lead to appalling framerates. In this panel, hear techniques and tricks Flash game developers have used in shipped titles to get under the hood and get good performance out of the platform.
S1E - Rm. Salon E
Extending Your Game's Life Cycle with Effective Digital Distribution
David Hensley
It's a whole new game biz these days, with community content, DLC, special events, and a constantly changing game experience. Some critics charge that this does little to make for better games, instead being cheap ploys to wring the last penny from their players. However, it can be done well. Tripwire managed to extend the life of Killing Floor and build an even more vibrant gaming experience and player community through effective digital distribution. Join us for a look at how you can use paid DLC, community content, contests, free game content, and special events to keep the game selling, keep the player count increasing, and keep the game vibrant and exciting.
S1F - Rm. Albany
Top 10 Legal ‘Pitfalls’ Facing Gaming Companies
Zach Bishop (m) Tom Buscaglia TJ Mihil
Stickier than quicksand and more likely to bite you in the ass than a crocodile, legal issues can impact every part of your project. This session focuses on the most common situations almost all game companies and developers must face, from employment issues to copyrights to publishing agreements and more.
S1G - Rm. Decatur
CDC's Serious Games Efforts
Dan Baden Tim Orr Rick Klomp
Over the last few years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has increased its involvement in the use of games and other innovations to advance public health. Examples include: developing a simulated underground coal mine that allows small groups of trainees to attempt to escape from an underground fire; designing a virtual reality training simulation for health professionals who will be deploying in response to disasters; using a public health policy game to educate policy-makers across the country about the impact of their policy decisions; partnering with virtual world to promote vaccinations in real life; and supporting the development of a safer sex video game. This session will provide an
opportunity for attendees and CDC representatives to meet, share examples of current and past efforts, and explore opportunities for future collaboration.
S1H - Rm. Marietta
Superstars of Game Audio and How They Got That Way
Jesse James Allen Bryan Higa (m) John Patrick Lowrie Ellen McLain Matt Piersall Chris Rickwood
Everyone has to start somewhere, and it is never at the top. Learn the very different ways these panelists entered into the world of game audio and clawed their way to successful careers.
S1P - Rm. Macon
Art Directors' Roundtable
ROUNDTABLE
Ben Knapp (m) Zach Inks
Art direction is a lot more than handing off pretty concept pictures for other people to create. Art directors need to schedule, budget, work with programmers, understand a wide array of tools, clean up problems, and sometimes even get to create art. Few people in game design have to deal with as many contractors as an art director, and they are the ones most likely to have to deal with offshore contractors as well. Join us as we delve into the areas of art direction no one thinks about before they get the job, and how we can actually free up time to make art as well as manage people.
Session Block 2
10:00am, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th
S2C - Rm. Salon C
What the F*%& is a Designer?
Brad Merritt (m) Colman Bryant Harrison
Pink Andrew Greenberg Michelle Menard Ian Schreiber
Lead designers often take on other roles (level design, scripting, art, janitorial services, etc.), but is this a good thing? What does a designer do, how does he or she do it well, and why is this position different at every company?
S2D - Rm. Salon D
Hi-Rez Studios Presents Playing God: Creating Characters in SMITE
David Riddle Travis Brown Jerry Gardiner Daniel Lilleberg Bryan Higa
In SMITE, players assume the role of a mythological god, join session-based arena combat, and use custom powers and team tactics against other player-controlled gods and non-player controlled minions. Meet the team and see the first playable god characters and their custom powers. Learn about our cross-functional god-creation process and see how we go from concept thru playable god!
S2E - Rm. Salon E
Secrets of the Technical Artist
Mick Larkins (m) Eric Evans Roger Faso Patrick Fram
Are they
programmers or artists? Necessary team members or lacking the skills or real
programmers and artists? What does a technical artist bring to the project that
can’t be handled more effectively by a specialist? What career path does
one follow to become a technical artist? Who knows what a technical artist
really does? After this project, you will.
S2F - Rm. Albany
The Ever-Changing Business of Games
Clinton Lowe (m) Travis Williams Jesse Lindsley Alan Wilson
From the old days of 5 1/4” disks sold in ziplock bags to today’s world of digital downloads, games on your phone and everywhere else, the business of games has changed dramatically - and the changes only keep coming. Join our experts in a look at the current state of affairs and a peek at the next great opportunities.
S2G - Rm. Decatur
Games in Public Education
Mark Evans Michael Orey Casey O'Donnell Gabriel Garner
With more and more US citizens becoming increasingly critical of the Public Education system some educators are looking for innovative ways of teaching. One way is to use digital literacy and game creation as a way of teaching the hard academic skills as well as the soft skills of the digital industry.
S2H - Rm. Marietta
Secrets of Getting Into Game Audio
Bryan Higa Watson Wu Ellen McLain John Patrick Lowrie Chris Rickwood Hamilton Altstatt
Got a demo, ambition, and a passion for video games? Is your demo good enough? Why not? Once it is, where do you send it? Why are you not famous yet? These questions and more will be answered.
S2P - Rm. Macon
Academic Roundtable
ROUNDTABLE Jon Preston (m)
This round table is open to everyone within the academic community who teaches, advises, recruits, places, or otherwise incubates the next generation of talent for the video game industry. The round table addresses issues of best practices, professional standards and certifications, and guidance for using game-related topics in high school and youth education curricula.
S2Q - Rm. Savannah
Game Testing: The Proper Way to Break Things
Tanya
Cannon (m) Jeff Persson Kabir Barry Jared Collins
What's the
best way to make sure a game works as intended? Find all ways that it can
break! Come listen to industry professionals hash out why QA is so integral to
developing a game despite its reputation as a bottom-rung position, and what
you can learn from being a tester. Discussion on industry trends and practices
will also be present for professionals to incorporate into the workplace for
more efficient, effective testing methods.
Session Block 3
11:30am, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th
S3C - Rm. Salon C
Designing Content in a Single-Server Environment
Nick Blood Jason Bolte Chris Cowger Nathan Knaack
The CCP Content team is responsible for many large systems in EVE Online: missions, exploration, and other familiar experiences like incursions and live events. They will discuss what it is like design content such as this in the single-server environment of EVE, and what unique challenges and opportunities that presents.
S3D - Rm. Salon D
Designing Efficient Networks
Lincoln Hamilton Nathan Hanish
Bandwidth use in massively multiplayer games can grow out control quickly, and unless managed carefully can lead to long waits and choppy play for players and to big bandwidth bill for developers. In this panel, developers discuss their strategies for efficient networking and share what works and what doesn't.
S3E - Rm. Salon E
Pipeline Development for Distributed Teams
Matt Woomer (m)
Dev teams
that do not share a home base face challenges when it comes to efficient
pipeline development. In this panel, developers share tips and techniques
they've learned from designing a development pipeline for a distributed team.
Also learn what traits they look for in off-site contributors, and how you can
be a valuable member of such a team, working at home in your pajamas.
S3F - Rm. Albany
New Designers, New Audiences
Deborah Thomas Joseph Saulter George Skleres
Games attract players of every type, but most of the people who make them still fit a common mold. If we want to expand our audiences, we need to create an industry that includes more types of creators. Join this roundtable for a discussion of how to attract both new designers and audiences to our games.
S3G - Rm. Decatur
What Can Game Designers Learn From Serious Games?
Curtiss Murphy
Entertainment games use a language that often centers around ‘fun’. Learning games, on the other hand, use a language that centers around ‘learning outcomes’. These two groups approach the design process from very different perspectives. But, they’re fundamentally very similar and there are a lot of lessons they can teach each other. In this talk, we will explore some fundamentals of game design as well as a successful learning game, the Navy’s Damage Control Trainer (DCT). The DCT is part of the recruit training program at Great Lakes, Il and helps to prepare all US Navy recruits for Battle Stations 21, the ‘world’s largest training simulator.’ We will discuss lessons that apply to both entertainment and learning games. This talk is part game design, part postmortem, and part bridge between game designers and instructors. It attempts to answer the question, what can game designers learn from serious games?
S3H - Rm. Marietta
Top 10 Game Audio Mistakes
Jesse James Allen
While often crucial to a game’s overall review score, audio is often the most overlooked aspect of game design. Jesse James Allen discusses some of the mistakes you may be making with your game and how you can maximize the impact sound has on your future projects.
SNEAK PREVIEW
S3P - Rm. Macon
QA Roundtable
ROUNDTABLE Tanya Cannon (m) Jeff Persson Matthew Canei
Testing used to be something tacked on during alpha and beta to catch the main problems. Now, in this era of unending metrics, it is a continuous process of bug catching, usability testing, engine modifications and more. How do you plan for QA? How do you handle outside testers? And, perhaps most important, how do you get programmers to test their code before they submit it?
Session Block 4
2:00pm, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th
S4C - Rm. Salon C
Tripwire Interactive Presents: Designing the Perfect Level
Kevin Powell Katelyn Pitstick Chad
Steingraber Keith Balding (m)
Good level
design can make or break a title no matter how incredible the art or
technology. How do you combine such disparate elements as art and audio cues,
good player flow, story and setting, all while creating a challenge for
players. Is the perfect level just a dream or is it something that can be (or
has been) achieved?
S4D - Rm. Salon D
Jedi Mind Tricks: Effective Team Management and Droid Recovery
Travis L. Williams
These are not the problems you are looking for… You can go about your business. Move along. Ever try to inspire a development team to deliver on time and with quality? It can be daunting if you don’t know what to look for in your staff. From programmers to designers to artists alike, everyone needs something special to keep them performing… Since Jedi mind tricks don’t work on the weak minded you might have to resort to some tricks I have learned over the years. Join Travis Williams while he shares some valuable Producer lore.
S4E - Rm. Salon E
Rendering Techniques for 2D Games
Matt Woomer (m)
Your company
chose 2D for a game. Maybe you wanted to achieve a particular art style; maybe
you wanted to target a platform like Flash or mobile that can struggle with 3D;
or maybe you wanted to meet a development timeline or budget. In this panel,
veteran 2D game developers discuss their favorite techniques and tricks they've
used in shipped 2D titles to get the best performance, avoid pitfalls, and get
a distinctive look for their 2D games.
S4F - Rm. Albany
Accounting: Not Just Another Game
Jessica Mytrohovich Sandy Reynolds Jo Oglesby Jesse Lindsley
We like to think that the only numbers that matter are 0s and 1s, but in fact we like to see lots of 9s at the end of the check. Managing these numbers is too often an afterthought, but early prep can save a lot of cash - and headaches. Budgeting, expenses, handling income, determining liability and making sure you get paid are all part of this look at the basics of game studio accounting.
S4G - Rm. Decatur
Serious vs. Entertainment Game Design and Production
Eric Church
While the technologies of serious games are similar to entertainment games, their design and production processes often differ in interesting ways. This session will use the production cycle of both to introduce the differing design and production considerations. Funding methods, technical requirements, client differences, and the requirement of working with instructional design and subject matter experts each affect the creation of serious games. Eric Church will draw upon his understanding of both types of games gained through over 15 years as a game designer as well as the collective experience of BreakAway, Ltd., to highlight the process, and discuss how making a serious game presents challenges and opportunities not
found in entertainment games.
S4H - Rm. Marietta
Audio Budgets for People Afraid of Audio
Matt Piersall
Audio is a necessary piece of the video game development puzzle. However, most producers do not know how much time or how much money the creation of sound, voice, and music actually requires. In this session, you will learn how to budget for audio and maybe even save your company money and time (often an even more precious resource).
S4P - Rm. Macon
Bitter Truths of Hiring and Firing
ROUNDTABLE Michael McMain (m)
Cathy Montes
We’re all glad that the game industry is booming, but that brings with it the quest to find the right people to keep the boom growing. Hiring people who have the abilities your team needs is not enough. General wisdom is that the wrong person on a software project can make things exponentially harder for everyone. How do you find the right people and convince them to join you? How do you part from the people who turn out to be the wrong ones? Share your insights and experiences while learning from the pros.
Session Block 5
3:30pm, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th
S5C - Rm. Savannah
Ethics In Games
Ian Schreiber
What does it mean to include ethics in your game design? Can players be presented with more than a simple choice of playing a "good" or "evil" character? How can games provide deeper, more complex ethical choices to the player? This panel will explore these and other ethics-related topics.
S5D - Rm. Salon D
Tripwire Interactive Presents: Going Unreal with Unreal
John Gibson
Unreal is the engine behind some of the best and most successful games out there, including Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 1 and 2. The Tripwire team has dealt with numerous versions of Unreal and learned how to get the most out of this powerful-but-often-finicky engine. Join them for a discussion on how you can do the same.
S5E - Rm. Salon E
Hi-Rez Studios Presents: The Art of Tribes: Ascend
Sean McBride Ben Knapp Adam Moore Kevin Powell
Join the Tribes: Ascend team from Hi-Rez Studios to discuss the many challenges they faced taking a classic game line and bringing it up to date. Tribes has roots more than a decade old, and the team wanted to preserve the franchise aesthetic but with modern look and gameplay. See what steps they had to take to bring Tribes back to life.
S5F - Rm. Albany
Effective Use of IP
Tom Buscaglia TJ Mihil (m) Blake Sorensen Courtney Perry
Copyrights, trademarks and patents, oh my! Which do you have, which do you need, and what do you do with them once you get them? This session looks not only at protecting your intellectual properties but how to make the most of them. Ancillary rights, licensing, first right of refusal ... what are these terms and why do they matter? More importantly, how can they help you make your studio even more successful?
S5G - Rm. Decatur
Game-Changing Transmedia
Doug Grimmett Rob Shepps
Primal Screen recently completed a wildly successful transmedia project for Sesame Workshop. It was an animated, interactive extension of the live action show, The Electric Company. Every on-air episode last season was tagged with a two minute cartoon ending in a cliff hanger. The viewer could then go on-line and participate in the show to save the heroes. The popularity of the games exceeded already high expectations. It’s also interesting that during the month of May, the ratings were higher for the show even though the live action segments were repeats. The on-line games drove tune-in by premiering the animated cliff hanger on-air before opening the corresponding zone. The site was monitored using Google Analytics after the launch and Sesame Workshop shared their metrics from another source confirming the results. The traffic and engagement times increased ten fold. Electric Company's Prankster Planet represents a number of milestones. For the first time, a show's online, on-air and print forms have been developed by the same team at the same time. Moreover, for the first time these three forms rely on one another to complete the narrative and deliver a curriculum. Primal screen founder, Douglass Grimmett and creative director, Rob Shepps will take you through the process and share the secrets to building a powerful transmedia experience.
S5H - Rm. Marietta
Quick-Fire Audio Post Mortems
Jesse James Allen Matt Piersall Chris Rickwood Watson Wu
Get a glimpse inside the complete process of game audio creation. Each panelist will give a 10-minute presentation on one aspect of a past project.
S5P - Rm. Macon
Inner Secrets of Level Design/The Worst Level I Have Seen
ROUNDTABLE Kevin Powell (m)
So we all know the basics of level design - flow, difficulty progression, story elements, etc. But what are those things that really make a level work? Audio cues, good use of lighting, the right effects at the right time - all these and more are up for discussion. Share your best results, and don’t be afraid to bring up those levels that show what NOT to do.
Session Block 6
10:00am, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9th
S6C - Rm. Salon C
Designing Your First Game
Xander Davis Chris DeLeon (m) Adam Massingale
Why do some
student and hobby videogame projects unravel during development, while others
finish on time and better than expected? Find out tips and tricks that have
helped dozens of first-time individuals and teams get off to a good start, stay
on track, and complete their creations successfully. Takeaways include
immediately actionable techniques for design planning, scope control, and
understanding tradeoffs in platform selection. Whether you're planning to work
alone or with a team, most of the material covered applies to either, though
additional information will be provided tailored to common solo and group
challenges. Don’t worry - next year we’ll have a session on how to
be burned out, bitter and jaded.
S6D - Rm. Salon D
Beyond the Static Skybox: Spheres and Clouds
Ed Hobbs Tom DiCesare
Games used to take place within a large cube centered around the camera with clouds painted in the sky and constant directional light. What happens when the sphere replaces the cube? Reversing the process used by mapmakers, panoramic photos are around the dome like maps around a globe. Clouds and other sky objects can move along the surface. The lighting can evolve as the sun sets and the sky turns a mix of orange, purples, and dark blue. Suddenly the lighting depends on which part of the sky it comes from. In this panel, hear about the evolution from boring to dynamic skies.
S6E - Rm. Salon E
Secrets of Environmental Art
Matthew Canei David Riddle
Working with
level designers, understanding memory and frame rate budgets, building assets,
getting the lighting people to cooperate and keeping the feel of the game
uniform - sounds easy, right? Only if you know the secrets.
S6F - Rm. Albany
Outside the Box: Alternative Sources of Financing
Clinton Lowe (m) Casey O’Donnell Burton Posey
The old model of publisher-funded game studios has not completely gone the way of the dodo, but it does seem on the brink of extinction. Without that option, what are the best ways to get your game funded, created and released, if your team is not willing to donate their kidneys? Kickstarter, grants, investors, and sweat equity are just some of the options.
S6G - Rm. Decatur
Games for Health and the Humaginarium
Robert S. Becker
Craig Bowman
Bill Ferguson
Keith Hobgood
Would you like to design games that help sick or injured people become healthy again? This session may get you started. The presenters begin by explaining how games are changing the cost, availability and effectiveness of health care. They describe research, technology and examples of games for health that are achieving amazing results. Then they focus on an example: what they're calling a “humaginarium.” the notion of playing games inside a virtual human body. You’ll learn how hyper realism and unbridled creativity can deliver entertainment and education at the same time - to astonishing effect.
S6H - Rm. Marietta
Crowd Sourcing
Dov Jacobson
Crowdsourcing can introduce fresh resources that can be applied to talent discovery, content development, testing, marketing and even initial funding. In this session, we consider which opportunities are most appropriate for the crowd. We discuss different formats that enable creative collaboration and competition. We look at a few tools - custom made and commercial - that make the job easier and consider communities where talent abounds. We review DARPA’s crowd-source game platform and the powerful principles behind the technology. In the spirit of crowdsourcing, attendees share their own discoveries. Naturally, we expect the best ideas to come from you.
S6P - Rm. Macon
GGDA Roundtable
Open to All ROUNDTABLE Clinton Lowe (m) Deborah Thomas (m)
Every year, GGDA grows stronger through community input and volunteerism. In this session, we discuss the association's current initiatives and build strategies for a successful year ahead. How can GGDA be of more service to your company? How can we expand the value and influence of SIEGE? How can GGDA better achieve it's goal of making the southeastern US a hot-bed of game studios and awesome game titles?
Session Block 7
11:30am, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9th
S7C - Rm. Salon C
Agile vs Waterfall Development
Stew Chisam Toby Fifer
Agile. Scrum.
Iterative. Waterfall. Modified Waterfall. Canadian Yaksmen. Okay, we made up
the last one, but the rest are ways of designing games that can make a big
difference between failure and success. Waterfall is tried and true, but agile
is hot and fresh. Join us for this faceoff, and learn which is better ... at
least for you.
S7D - Rm. Salon D
Serious Games for the Kinect
James Ashley
The Kinect was originally intended for games on the XBOX. Soon after its release, however, researchers, hobbyists, hackers and interactive agencies quickly took up the technology and started applying it for other uses including education, marketing, office productivity tools, art installations and robotics. In this talk, we will explore how the Kinect technology is being used well beyond its original limits, the source of this wellspring of creativity and, in particular, how Razorfish is using gesture recognition to create interactive experiences to enhance brands. We will also demonstrate code and concepts from the Microsoft Kinect SDK and how this has become a game changer for working with the Kinect sensor.
S7E - Rm. Salon E
Mobile Art Optimization
Randy Shepherd Josh Chudnovsky (m)
It’s
like starting over again. A while new range of hardware, operating systems and
GPUs with a weird mix of abilities from the old to the new. What makes it and
what breaks it? Time to go down the list of what new mobile technologies can
handle so you can change your habits and pick up some good ones.
S7G - Rm. Decatur
Game Changing Games: How the Military Is Using Game Technology For Medical Education
Edward Kensinger
S7H - Rm. Marietta
Rickwood Music Presents: The Voices of Portal and Team Fortress 2
Ellen McLain John Patrick Lowrie
Join husband and wife John Patrick Lowrie (known as Sniper on Team Fortress 2) and Ellen McLain (known as GLaDOS from the Portal Series) as they discuss what goes into voicing some of the video game industry’s most incredible and beloved, not to mention hilarious, characters!
S7P - Rm. Macon
Real-World Project Management
ROUNDTABLE Craig Lipinski (m) Toby Fifer (m) John Lyons
Project management looks so easy in the textbooks. Put together a task list and a Gantt chart, and then all you have to do is tell people what they should do. Ah, if only it were that real. As soon as planning meets people, anything they can go wrong will meet someone named Murphy. Share your experiences with project management and learn how other people have dealt with the innumerable problems and surprises that invariably crop up.
S7Q - Rm. Savannah
Speaking in Numbers: The Art of Pro Forma
Clinton Lowe
It's obviously a great project. So, why can't I get funded? Why aren't investors beating down my door? Have you ever made a million dollar decision? Can you appreciate the investor's delimma? What proof would you require before giving up $1,000,000 of your own hard-earned cash? In this 1-hour session, we'll deconstruct a game studio into real dollars and generate the financial statements needed to justify our request for capital, equity valuation, and ownership retention of our project.
Session Block 8
2:00pm, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9th
S8C - Rm. Salon C
Dungeon Blitz Postmortem
Matt Woomer Lincoln Hamilton Nick Dolce
Hear tales of what went right and what went wrong
as the tiny Blue Mammoth Games worked to build Dungeon Blitz, a full-featured
MMO on the Flash platform.
S8D - Rm. Salon D
Privacy and Data Integrity
Cecilia Holman (m) John Foster
Every year, the ability to protect data privacy becomes more crucial to staying competitive in the marketplace, especially within interactive entertainment and gaming. With online Internet micro transactions and monthly MMO subscriptions, many game developers focus on a great game but not on protecting customer information. As you know, this can halt business altogether, result in fines or penalties or keep great game ideas from ever coming to fruition.
S8E - Rm. Salon D
UI: It's My Job
Jesse James Allen George Skleres Harrison Pink
If the user
interface works right, no one ever notices it. Let it get in the way of the
game, and it can make you throw your controller right into your new wide-screen.
So who gets the credit (or the blame)? Is it the designer who said how it
should work? The artist who gave it form? The programmer who breathed life in
it? Or the audio guy who made it beep and boop? Join us for a wide ranging
discussion of what goes into a good UI and how to avoid a bad one.
S8F - Rm. Albany
Game Law 2.0
Rob Hassett (m) Zach Bishop Deborah Gonzales TJ Mihil Courtney Perry Blake Sorensen
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that games are protected speech, we can do anything we want, right? Well, not quite. Join our panel of legal experts for a look at the hottest issues in the industry, from violent video games to social networks to crunch time. Bring your questions.
S8G - Rm. Decatur
Opportunities in Serious Games
David Martz
Serious games represent an excellent growth opportunity within the games industry. Games to teach and train are gaining prominence in Education, Health Care, Corporate Training, the Military and the non-profit sector. All of these sectors now host significant trade shows and conferences focused on the use of serious games. This presentation focuses on managing a growing studio in this emerging market. It addresses “lessons learned” during Muzzy Lane’s eight-year-history and the company’s evolution in the serious games space. The session also focuses on the challenges that designing and deploying serious games present, and the corresponding developer opportunities that arise from knowing how to meet those challenges.
S8K - Cobb Ballroom
Pro Game Design Improv
Ian Schreiber
Are you ready to take on the impossible and do it anyway? Back by popular demand, teams will compete in this advanced version of the Game Design Improv session to make the best non-digital game in a short period of time. Based on attendee vote, one group will reign supreme as SIEGE 2011’s Ultimate Iron Designers.
S8P - Rm. Macon
Breaking the Language Barrier: Cross-platform Development
ROUNDTABLE Jesse Jacobson (m)
Designing for multiple platforms is never as easy as we hope it will be, even when some engines promise that it can be done with a single button click. Share your horror stories of crossplatform development and gain insight on how to avoid the worst problems.
Session Block 9
3:00pm, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9th
Rm. Salon C, D, E
TOWNHALL MEETING
PLENARY Andrew Greenberg Clinton Lowe
Come enjoy a post-mortem review of SIEGE 2010 with a terrific slide show and commentary of special moments shared by friends over the weekend. Awards and special recognitions will be given. Help grow and improve the conference by participating in our interactive feedback session.
Sessions
Clinton Lowe (m)
Join the Tribes: Ascend team from Hi-Rez Studios to discuss the many challenges they faced taking a classic game line and bringing it up to date. Tribes has roots more than a decade old, and the team wanted to preserve the franchise aesthetic but with modern look and gameplay. See what steps they had to take to bring Tribes back to life.
