The breakout of online video games into mainstream culture is reshaping our audience. At the same time, the massive popularity of social networking web sites as a cultural phenomena is bringing the Internet to the forefront of people's daily experience. This serves to reinforce the first lesson of the Internet: it's all about Community.

What does the convergence of these trends mean for game developers and operators? It means our audience is changing, and that difference implies changing community dynamics and requires that we evolve new techniques and best-practices.

Evolve with new techniques and advice from professionals fromKaneva, MindCandy.com, Multiverse , Playfish, and the University of Texas.

To view all Online - Social Networking & Community sessions, click here.
To view all Austin GDC Sessions click here

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Featured Sessions

The Psychology Of The MMO Gamer
Speakers: EM Stock (Senior Community Manager, SOE Austin TX), Troy Hewitt (Director, Community Relations, Flying Lab Software), Sean Dahlberg (Community Manager, EA Bioware, Austin), Dr. Samuel Gosling (Professor of Psychology, University of Texas, Dept. of Psychology, University of Texas), Dr. James Pennebaker (Chairman, Dept. of Psychology, University of Texas, Head of Dept. of Psychology, University of Texas)
Session Description
How people behave online versus in the real world is one of the most intriguing phenomena ever to hit the Internet. Without fear, gamers will do and say things they would never dream of when interacting in person.Read More

10 Key Ingredients for a Successful Social Game
Speaker: Kristian Segerstrale (Chief Executive Officer, Playfish)
Session Description
This presentation uses data and design examples from the Facebook hit, 'Who Has The Biggest Brain?', to go over 10 key learnings from developing a top-10 game for social networks. Read More

Designing for Player Sociability
Speakers: Bob Moore, Ph.D.(Game Designer, Multiverse)
Session Description
While the video game industry has years of experience in developing sophisticated computer graphics, it has much less experience developing social systems. Read More

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Meet the Austin GDC Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is comprised of 20 seasoned industry professionals volunteer their time to help develop the numerous sessions at Austin GDC. They work to ensure that the quality of the content provided to attendees is high-level, relevant, and timely. Their dedication and passion for the game industry is critical to the success of the conference.

Read about the members of the Austin GDC Advisory Board