The People Have Spoken!
Thanks to your input, we have received over 30,000 votes from over 450 unique voters! With the Austin GDC Advisory Board's input we have narrowed down the final accpeted sessions to the ones below. Please make sure to check out a few of the People's Choice Sessions at Austin!
Game Audio Track
Friday September 7
Truly Original Melodies For Game Music: Use Your Head To Escape Your Head
Gerard Marino
1:30—2:30pm/60-minute Lecture/ Room 3/
This lecture outlines techniques and strategies to both harness the power of the musical unconscious, and to free oneself from it, using examples from the scores of GOD OF WAR I and II. The focus is on creative conceptualization, with technical facility and gear playing supporting roles.
Online Games – Business and Management
Wednesday, September 5
From Austin to Washington: Politics and Videogames
Steve Augustino
11am—12pm/60-minute Panel/Room 5
Videogames have hit the big time, and so have the political issues that they face. The game industry is increasingly finding itself in the middle of Washington debates. This session will explore these issues and the relationship between the video gaming industry and Washington, and what future effects can be predicted.
Starting from Scratch: from Mod team to Triple-A in 6 years
Paul Wedgwood
4:30—5:30pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
Paul Wedgwood discusses the origins of the company Splash Damage. Paying particular attention to the important lessons learned on the way, as well as highlighting failures, this presentation should provide a glimpse into what it takes to start a studio from scratch in the modern development climate.
Online Games – Community and Marketing
Wednesday, September 5
Breaking the In-game / Out-of-game Barrier
Todd Northcutt, Sean Flinn
3— 4pm/60-minute Panel/Room 5
Online plays a crucial role in today’s game experiences and marketing strategies. Developers must provide ways to connect communities to their games - even when not actively playing. Find out how buddy lists, instant-messaging, competition and statistics can tie together to create thriving, persistent communities that engage gamers in-game and out.
Thursday September 6
Playing Nice with Alternative Media
Brent Lassi, Michael Zenke, Alan Crosby, Elizabeth Harper, Sanya Weathers
3—4pm/60-minute Panel/Room 5
A blended panel of industry and independent bloggers and podcasters will discuss the pros and cons of interfacing with alternative gaming press. Also, what value do studio-operated blogs and podcasts provide in terms of community building and product marketing?
The Big Board Debate!
EM Stock, Paul Della Bitta, Chris Mancil, Chris Launius, Cindy Bowens, Troy Hewitt
4:30—5:30pm/60-minute Panel/Room 2
Find out what whether YOUR product should integrate message boards by joining us for a spirited discussion not only exploring the advantages/disadvantages of maintaining Official Boards…but hearing the tales of success and regret from those who were brave (or silly) enough to stray from convention.
Online Games Track - Design
Thursday September 6
Combining Conventional MMO Gameplay with a Mini-game Mindset
Tim Holt, Peter Smith
4:30—5:30pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
The presentation will focus on an in development game built on this type of hybrid gameplay: we take the strong motivational and entertainment style of a conventional MMO and combine it with Flash and other Web 2.0 technologies. By showing their knowledge of physics as presented in mini-games, players are able to level up, gaining access to new regions, skills and gear.
Dupes, Speed Hacks and Black Holes: How Players Cheat in MMOs
Tim Keating
11am—12pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
This talk is an overview of problems encountered by the speaker during his tenure on Ultima Online. A cautionary tale, this talk offers practical suggestions for developers on up and coming products who wish to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes.
Gameplay Metrics for a Better Tomorrow
Darius Kazemi
1:30—2:30pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
This session shows how the collection of gameplay metrics, when coupled with an appropriate methodology, can greatly assist in design, quality assurance, customer service, and community management.
Flogging: Data collection on the high seas
Joe Ludwig
11am—12pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
Formal logging and metric collection are hot topics in the world of MMO development. All three components of the system are outlined, including the in-game API, the database, and the log reporting tools
Writing for Games Track
Wednesday September 5
Alexander the Great: Narrative Approaches to Ludic Historiography and Simulation
Max Geiger
1:30—2:30pm/60-minute Lecture/Room 5
This talk examines the influence of Alexander the Great's historical legacy upon modern video games. Alexander's role as both a fictional and historical character has had a profound impact on the representation of protagonists within games, while simultaneously, the open-ended nature of interactive media offers players a chance to explore and define their own history of a heroic life unlike any other medium.
