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 Tom PRATA Senior Director, Project Development Nintendo of America In recent years, video game development has changed more than during the past two decades combined. Game developers are challenged with creating new ideas, finding new audiences and exploring new distribution, all while confronting bigger expectations and more competition. For the last 10 years, Tom Prata, Sr. Director Project Development at Nintendo of America, has had the unique experience of working as a Nintendo liaison with development groups in North America, Europe and Japan. Those projects have ranged from large, Nintendo-published retail titles, to compact WiiWare and DSiWare projects distributed digitally. Through anecdotes and demonstrations, Tom will share his thoughts on the key concepts behind game development that attracts and retains the attention of all video gamers--those who have been playing for 25 years…and those who picked up a controller yesterday for the first time. |
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Mike PERONTO President and Chief Executive Officer WildTangent For years, the casual games industry has survived on revenue breadcrumbs - the 1-2% of gamers who will actually pay real dollars to play your games. These breadcrumbs have been an OK way to make money over the years, but that is changing. The price of games is experiencing a radical shift, the development costs to stay competitive are rising furthermore the global recession has made the 1-2% even more stingy with their 1-2%. So what is a developer to? Diversify. Mike Peronto, WildTangent’s new CEO, will open up and share the tough development, distribution and monetization lessons WildTangent learned the hard way, starting from the 1999 dot com meltdown to the present day’s economic landscape. Using real-life data, Peronto will present case studies to demonstrate how developers and publishers can learn from WildTangent’s harsh times to diversify their risk and determine the correct monetization method to achieve a balance between retail, download, subscription and ad-supported revenue. Kris SOUMAS VP, Interactive Lifetime TV Adam ZELLER Director, Digital Media Starz Media Chris MATE VP Interactive Entertainment National Geographic Games Lloyd MELNICK CCO Merscom Big media is serious about casual gaming. Find out why household names like Starz Entertainment, National Geographic, and Lifetime Networks consider casual gaming a key part of their strategy and how they are approaching it. With television viewership down, magazine and newspaper readership dwindling and overall advertising revenue under pressure, major media companies are looking at the casual game space as an integral element of their growth, not simply a licensing opportunity. This session will have speakers from major media companies discuss their casual gaming strategy, experiences and successes in the casual space and future opportunities. The speakers will discuss opportunities they have identified to extend their brands using casual games, ways that casual games can bring new customers, opportunities to integrate advertising across media and results to date of merging casual games and big media properties. They will look at different platforms (from PC download to iPhone to MMOs) and how those all fit into their vision. They will also discuss what they are looking for in partners and different revenue opportunities.
Kathy JOHNSON Co-founder Consort Partners Relaxation or Competition: Are hardcore and casual game genres merging? At last year’s Casual Connect, a cross section of women over 35, the hottest demographic among casual gamers, talked about their passion for social games, about the camaraderie that develops online among players. But behind their loves of these games are two contrasting motivations: casual games provide a way to relax as well as a means to stoke competitive fires. Are hardcore gamers and casual gamers merging? Forget about what you’ve heard and find out the real story when these women face off in an uninhibited focus group panel dedicated to revealing what drives the industry’s dominant playing group. Luis ONGIL CEO GameDuell Boris WASMUTH Co-Founder and Marketing Director GameDuell GmbH In this mind-opening talk we will compare successful marketing strategies for the USA, Latin America and several European countries. You will learn how the country-specific metrics and market peculiarities require completely different approaches to make money and do effective marketing. Michael ROSENBERG Chief Operating Officer Future Ads Michael Rosenberg, COO of Future Ads, owner and operator of top 5 site Gamevance.com and recently launched PlaySushi.com, presents proprietary research on the shifting behavior of the casual gamer in the ongoing recession economy. Analyzing consumer demographic and site-behavior data from an online casual gaming destination receiving 12 million users a month, Rosenberg will provide an authoritative--and often surprising-- window into emerging casual gaming trends - who's playing, what, for how long, and how are consumers engaging and interacting at casual gaming sites today. This detailed analysis is designed to help websites, game developers, and marketers know what to expect and focus on in this extended downturn - and how to keep those recession gamers super-engaged as the economy improves. The research-driven presentation will include key insights from casual gamers on what they are looking for now – and will be doing - next. Josh LARSON VP Sales and Marketing Mochi Media Chris HOUTZER Director of New Media RealGames Mike VANN Vice President, Sales & Business Development Skyworks Michael SHEHAN CEO SpotXchange Anu SHUKLA Founder and CEO Offerpal Media Discussion led by Dave MADDEN Executive Vice President WildTangent Developers are primarily concerned with making great games, but the real goal is to leverage great games to drive great revenue. Many business models have emerged for making money off of casual games from try-and-buy downloads, to micro-transactions, through pay-per-play games and also advertising. This panel of professionals represents a quality cross-section of companies who have successfully executed business models and driven revenue for their own games and their partners games going beyond they try-and-buy download. They will discuss methods of execution for driving quality revenue for web, social and downloadable games through new and expanding models and how your games can make great money. Jesse REDNISS Vice President of Digital Strategy USA Network Shervin SAMARI Founder Omelet Peter LEVIN Co-Founder Glow Interactive It’s no secret that the gaming industry is one that has withstood recessions and even continued to experience growth, so the conversations of the day center around one burning question – what’s next? What can this mammoth business that brings in billions of dollars annually, do to reinvent itself and give fans something new – the answer: new players – enter organizations such as USA Network. Eric DOYLE Director of Integrated Communications The Conversation Group We often speak about community as it relates to multi-player or social gameplay, but sometimes overlook the impact of community and social media can have on marketing single-player games. As Facebook fans and twitter feeds abound, marketers must understand how to navigate these new channels to drive brand advocacy and minimize risk. Learn the lessons in how to use social media to build your brand, draw attention to your game and build lasting relationships with your fan base. Alex NORSTROM VP Advertising Sales & Games Acquisitions King.com Alex Norström, VP Advertising Sales & Games Acquisitions for King.com, will take a case study approach to explore tools and techniques to get your Flash games onto hundreds and even thousands of websites. Using case studies such as the hit Flash game, Hunted Forever, he will talk about the marketing and viral tactics that ultimately lead to the game being played more than 2 million times and hosted on more than 1000 web sites within a few weeks of its debut. Dr. J. Alison BRYANT Sr. Research Director of Brand & Consumer Insights and Digital Analytics Nickelodeon/MTV Networks Kids & Family Group We know that casual games engage our audiences, but why and how? In order to better grasp the power of casual games to reach consumers, MTV Networks recently undertook innovative biometric research to understand the engagement and effectiveness of three key online messaging techniques – banner ads, pre-roll video, and integrated messaging in casual games. The result has been a ground-breaking set of findings and best practices for the industry that will shake up the way you (and advertisers and agencies) think about both casual games and your audiences. Cooper MOO Vice President of Business Development GSN/WorldWinner Witness casual games as a spectator sport when your industry peers square off on stage playing a variant of one of the most successful casual games of all time! Cooper Moo will explore the evolution of online competitive entertainment experiences that are turning online players into virtual contestants with virtual audiences to cheer them on. Casual games are undergoing a sea change. The download financial model is being challenged and social gaming is making the traditional, single-player experience seem flat and lonely by comparison. Traditional asynchronous game tournaments give players the experience of competing against real players and the rush of adrenaline that comes with a win, but don’t always foster a sense of community. As competition formats move to ladders and brackets, players begin to experience a more socially competitive universe, which includes friendly rivalries (and some trash talking) that transcend the online gaming community. Today’s social competitions have been enhanced to entertain spectators along with participants. These virtual spectator sports allow online stars to emerge much like game show contestants, complete with online audiences to follow their victories and cheer them on. This session will cover the various tournament formats – from Halo battles to WorldWinner and GSN’s W3Games championship series – and the social dynamics of each. Anita FRAZIER Video Game Industry Analyst NPD Group It seems as though the past year has been one of the most transformative of any in recent history in terms of defining the consumer for gaming. Between the expanded audience for video games ushered in at retail most notably through the DS and Wii platforms, and digitally via PC gaming websites, the increase in mobile, smartphone, and social networking gaming, the acceleration of digital distribution gaming, and the plethora of free gaming content available on a multitude of platforms, gaming is simply everywhere. As a consequence, gaming is increasingly able to reach a wider array of consumers and with the greater diversity in potential customers come the need to understand who these consumers are, how they naturally differ from each other in terms of playing behavior, buying patterns, and demographics. This presentation will utilize an array of market research studies covering a breadth of games industry issues and provide insight into the size of the games market including non-retail revenues generated from gaming websites subscriptions and digital downloads, the impact of the iPhone and iPod Touch on gaming activity on other platforms, the willingness on the consumer's part to pay for various types of content digitally, the profile of various types of gaming consumers segmented by behavioral attributes mentioned previously, as well as the impact of more non-traditional but "big-game" content on the marketplace. The audience will come away with up-to-date insight into how the games landscape has changed and based on trends, where it is likely to go in the next few years. |
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James ACKLEY Audio Director ArenaNet Jesse HOLT Composer/Sound Designer GameHouse Barry DOWSETT Owner Soundrangers Discussion led by Greg RAHN Owner Soundmindz Ever wonder what work life is like for an audio professional? This session explores the differences between signing on with a company as a staff audio guy versus working independently as a freelance audio provider. From his experience on both sides, Greg Rahn will comment and reflect on the differences together with a panel of qualified pros who have been on both sides. Expect amusing stories about the challenges involved in both positions as well as insight into self marketing, contracts, costs and dealing with co-workers.
Greg RAHN Owner Soundmindz Barry DOWSETT Owner Soundrangers Kane MINKUS Managing Partner SomaTone Matthew JOHNSTON Senior Producer, Platforms Team PopCap Pete ELLISON Owner Disko Warp Records Jesse HOLT Composer/Sound Designer GameHouse Discussion led by Aaron WALZ Lead Composer & Sound Designer Walz Music Are you a game developer, producer or publisher with burning audio questions? Come have lunch with your favorite Casual Game audio guys and they will answer your questions while you dine. There will be topics ready to discuss in case you are shy, run out of questions or are too busy eating. So, don't miss out on a chance to learn all about game audio! Aaron WALZ Lead Composer & Sound Designer Walz Music During this session, game developers and audio professionals have the opportunity to learn about the practice, process and benefits of adding live instruments, ensembles, singers and voice acting into game audio. Did you know that breathing some real life into a project can be done in an affordable way and can create a more enjoyable and profitable game? MIDI files, sampled music, and acoustic recording examples will be compared and some music "terms for dummies" will be explained in a clear way to give non-audio folks a greater understanding of the audio world. You will also not want to miss the live instrument recording demos during this presentation. Get an inside perspective on how audio professionals work to create stellar recordings. Kane MINKUS Managing Partner SomaTone The communication process between audio professional and producer is crucial to be in sync, if a producer wants to achieve their audio vision. If you begin to tune into people’s language you will notice it revealing a very important quality about how they think. Specifically, it shows how they organize their world internally to process messages and make decisions. Without paying attention to this, you can be communicating in your own paradigm, while those around you are listening from theirs. Based on the research of Neuro Linguistics, the most cutting edge science for human communication and relations, there are 22 Metaprograms that we use to deign our internal world and process information. When we have decoded these Metaprograms (through other peoples’ language), we can more precisely know how to communicate with them - in their own paradigm. We shift from miscommunication to precise communication, confusion to being in rapport, we shift the level of precision of which things get done and the ease at which we can manage and influence others. All this by listening in a new way and understanding the way the brain processes using Metaprograms. In this session, producers who work with audio professionals will learn about the 4 most common Metaprograms in creative audio conversations that keep people from communicating and managing effectively. Participants will leave with the ability to identify communication preferences and shift theirs to be speaking to others the way they are wired to listen. Ultimately leading to more effective audio production conversations and high quality soundtracks. Barry DOWSETT Owner Soundrangers This session will track the development of a sound effect beginning with its initial capture in the wild, follow the sound’s development through the different editing, sweetening and implementation phases, and finish with a demonstration of its final deployment into the game. The session will highlight the process behind the creation of sound effects, where they come from, how they're conformed for game development, why they cost money to create, and finally, why adding a sound designer to your game can increase its sound quality exponentially. This session is for anyone interested in the game audio design process. The presentation will also include audio and photos from the location recording, demonstration of the editing and implementation tools, and final gameplay featuring the sound. Jesse HOLT Composer/Sound Designer GameHouse This lecture will discuss integrating musical elements into the sound effects areas of a game as well as integrating sound effects elements into the music. This can be done with stingers, background music, menu music, scoring stringers and sound effects. |
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Gareth DAVIS Platform Manager Facebook When it comes to social applications, Facebook is the place for distribution and engagement, and Gareth Davis, Program Manager for Games at Facebook, has seen it all. In this presentation, Gareth presents what you need to know to succeed, and maybe more importantly not fail, when building, distributing and monetizing social game applications on Facebook Platform. Steve MERETZKY VP Game Design Playdom David ROHRL Executive Producer Playdom N'Gai CROAL Founder & Principal Hit Detection A Siskel & Ebert-esque survey of the best, most interesting, most ground-breaking social games of the year. What games introduced new features and gameplay not yet seen in a social game; what new methods of virality have appeared; what new twists on monetization; and what games raise the bar on production quality and polish? The most unique and interesting content is not always the most successful - but is often a leading indicator of tomorrow's killer app.
Garrett LINK General Manager GameHouse Derrick MORTON CEO Flowplay Jon DAVID Director, PC/Online Products PopCap Discussion led by David NIXON Executive Producer Oberon Media Rumors abound of great riches to be gleaned in the crowded forests and stratospheric user-bases of Social applications - so why have so few successful casual game publishers unearthed the secrets of Social success? Is there an opportunity for Social Games companies to tap in to the Casual Games audiences for customers or revenue? An experienced panel of successful publishers explore the deceptively deep gulf between "casual" and "social," seeking the right place to build a bridge. Craig SHERMAN CEO Gaia Online Andrew SHEPPARD Executive Producer hi5 Networks Daniel JAMES Founder & CEO Three Rings Design Lisa RUTHERFORD President Twofish Min KIM Vice President NEXON America Inc. Discussion led by Chris EARLY With economies of virtual items & currencies (aka "microtransactions") having been established as the revenue growth engine for online games with frightening speed, we're all wishing we'd paid a lot more attention in those college Economics & Statistics courses. Apparently, the visionaries who planned our Liberal Arts curriculum saw this coming, but we were too myopic (or perhaps too, um, hungover) to recognize it. Well, now we know, and so we really can use this panel of experts to help us put in context the questions we never thought we would ask, but nonetheless have started to. Questions like: If a 2% paying customer base is good and a 5% customer population is great, how do I take gameplay developed in an 'everybody pays' business model and make it profitable at the lower customer percentage? Millions of people are playing my Flash games, and no one's paying more than tip money - what's going on! How often should I be modifying prices on items? I have a huge surplus of unspent currency, is this bad? What do I do about it? How do I define and measure key economic indicators in my economy? Roy SEHGAL General Manager Zynga John PLEASANTS CEO Playdom Sebastien de HALLEUX COO & Co-Founder Playfish Discussion led by Eric GOLDBERG Managing Director Crossover Technologies Social media famously can aggregate enormous numbers of people while generating little or no money. The leading social game publishers, on the other hand, have distilled the winning formula that takes millions of players, gives them many hours of enjoyment, persuades them to recruit their friends, and extracts revenues from ten to over one hundred million dollars per year. Want to find out how? Representatives from these leading publishers share the building blocks to achieving eight- or nine-figure revenues with social games, while their colleagues work on the game suites that can generate billions of dollars - about which they may drop hints, but won't tell you the crucial details (at least until next year). This is your opportunity to mingle with the leaders in the Community & Social sector of the casual games industry. Drinks and appetizers provided by Playdom.
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Kenny DINKIN VP & Creative Director PlayFirst The Risk of Creativity and the Creativity of Risk – Facing skyrocketing development costs, tough economic realities, a continued glut of content, and new market temptations, casual game makers are left to navigate a blurry roadmap. In this talk, Kenny Shea Dinkin, VP and Creative Director at PlayFirst, explores the consequences and rewards of creative risk-taking during times of economic crisis. Focusing on considerations for new mechanics, meta-play, and narrative, Kenny will explore a path forward from the vaudevillian experimentation of early downloadable games to the richer territory ahead that may one day fulfill the promise of casual games as true mass market entertainment. George DONOVAN CEO Gogii Games Yes I agree it seems crazy but at Gogii we have done it and continued to be able to increase our ROI thru an effective development cycle, extended brand lifecycle and y treating developers the way they need to be treated to provide the type of creative input that a casual title needs. We will review our development process our corporate lifestyle and our views on the future growth of the business and how best to plan for it. Tony LEAMER Sr. Studio Director I-play Dan PRIGG General Manager, Publishing & Programming RealGames Craig BOCKS Director of Publishing PlayFirst CJ WOLF Founder and CEO iWin Lloyd MELNICK CCO Merscom Discussion led by Jeremy SNOOK Director of GameHouse Partners RealGames Ever wonder if a publishing deal might make sense for your studio? Come listen to five publishers talk about their publishing philosophies and business models. Attendees should leave the session with a clear understanding of the publishers’ offerings and possible alignment with their studio’s needs. Developers are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the conference at devquestions@casualconnect.org. Developer questions will be spontaneously woven into the panel for candid, unprepared responses from the panelists. Sean ELLIOT VP Business Development Playrix Entertainment Steve SHATFORD President GamesCafe.com Arthur HUMPHREY Founder, Lead Designer, Lead Engineer Last Day of Work Nick FORTUGNO Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer Rebel Monkey Discussion led by Terri HARDIE Arcade Producer Reflexive What’s in a name? When deciding on a name for your game, inspiration may strike when you least expect it…or maybe not at all! How do you pick a great name for your game? Do you try and establish a brand right from the start or do you just go with something catchy? Come hear what other top developers and publishers have to say about game names and hear the inspiration behind the names of some of the best-selling games of all time! Arthur HUMPHREY Founder, Lead Designer, Lead Engineer Last Day of Work Arthur will discuss strategies to create lasting and profitable brands in the new highly competetive casual spaces. From the traditional casual try/buy model, to the new iTunes goldrush (which is seeing ~150 games added per day!), secrets and examples will come from Last Day of Works catalog of #1 best-sellers (including their new family sim, Virtual Families), and games from other developers that have managed to stand out in the new storm. Emphasis will be on differentiation, game design with marketing in mind, and practical take-aways for developers. David FOX VP of Technology iWin For all of those developers out there who want to make more informed decisions about tools and engine technologies before embarking on game development, come join us for a lively overview of the most popular kits and SDKs out there. We will touch on just about everything you need to create a game, including programming languages, 2D frameworks, game servers, social game platforms and even iPhone development kits. Terri HARDIE Arcade Producer Reflexive John DOBROWOLSKI Director, Developer Partnerships Oberon Media David WORLE Senior Director, Business Development WildTangent George DONOVAN CEO Gogii Games CJ WOLF Founder and CEO iWin Discussion led by Michael WYMAN Founder & CEO Big Splash Games Exclusivity is a hot topic in the downloadable casual game space. As portals continue to look for effective ways to distinguish themselves and to compete, they have evolved differing strategies related to exclusivity – both in how they treat new games and in how they work with publishers. To gain insights into how these competing strategies have evolved, and into what the future might hold in terms of exclusivity, a group of key leaders from several companies in the casual games space, both large and small, will come together for a 'round table' panel on the topic. Making games approachable and fun through user-testing: Catan (XBLA), Chocolatier (PC), Lottso! Express (PC), and Pandemic (Board) as case studies, Part 1 Matt LEACOCK Principal User Experience Designer Sococo Aaron NORSTAD Senior Producer PlayFirst Ira FAY Senior Designer Pogo.com Discussion led by Jason SCHKLAR Game & User Experience Consultant Initial Experience Consulting Play-testing is one of the most important tools of any game designer. Refining core concepts, ensuring they are approachable and fun, and iterating on balance and pacing are all accomplished by playing the game, taking notes, and trying out fixes. Our panel addresses the ways you can augment standard play-testing by bringing outside users in at certain key points during game protoyping and production. We will cover a variety of user-testing methods that have worked well for us and outline techniques and tips for people to bring back to their own game development and publishing studios. Jason SCHKLAR Game & User Experience Consultant Initial Experience Consulting This talk addresses the ways you can augment standard play-testing by bringing outside users in at certain key points during game protoyping and production. We will assume that audience members will have attended Part 1 where we covered a variety of user-testing methods that have worked well for us. |
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Bart DECREM CEO Tapulous Gui KARYO COO Majesco Dean TAKAHASHI Lead Writer for GamesBeat VentureBeat Shervin PISHEVAR Co-Founder & CEO Social Gaming Network Discussion led by Sharon WIENBAR Managing Director Scale Venture Partners Since the release of the iPhone 3G, the device has been touted as the best portable gaming device by Steve Jobs himself and Apple fanatics everywhere. Games are now established as the top-selling applications for the IPhone/iPod Touch, so we can examine how this newest portable gaming ecosystem will evolve. Incumbent handheld makers Nintendo and Sony are fighting back with a variety of innovations. How do these platforms, their players, distribution channels to market and economics differ? How should game developers target their investments between single-purpose game platforms and this first mass market multi-purpose games device? Greg BALLARD President & CEO Glu Mobile Come ask the CEO of Glu Mobile questions about the future of mobile gaming. The Money in Free Games: The Latest ROI from Ad- and other Marketing-Supported Games Keith KATZ VP Marketing Cellufun Michael CHANG CEO & Co-Founder Greystripe Mike VANN Vice President, Sales & Business Development Skyworks Discussion led by Mark DONOVAN SVP of Mobile & Senior Analyst comScore, Inc. Web-based Flash games make money for developers through advertising. Will "free" mobile games follow the same course and put real dollars into the coffers of mobile game creators? Mike BRESLIN VP of Marketing I-play Matt LISZT VP of Global Product Marketing Glu Mobile Daniel BERNSTEIN CEO Sandlot Games Discussion led by Matthew BELLOWS VP, Sales Vivox Whether you have one title or many, you have questions about how to make your IP work in the mobile space. Do you develop it internally? What channels are relevant? What are the lessons others have learned? Patrick STANTON Director of Content Operations Ovi Store/Publish (Nokia) Steve HEGENDERFER Group Product Manager Windows Mobile Discussion led by Chris JAMES Founder Pocket Gamer In this panel, we explore all of the "other" options in smartphones popping up across the mobile gaming landscape. In no time, there will be many app stores with many highly capable smartphone devices. Which one is worth your time and money as a game developer? Will anyone challenge the iPhone and the App Store? Brian ROBBINS Studio Head, Fuel Games Denver Fuel Industries Kyu LEE President Gamevil Tom HUBINA CEO Amplified Games John GROTLAND Senior Director Operations and iPhone Oberon Media/I-play Discussion led by Leonard QUAM VP of Product Development Sonic Boom It's a little more than a year since July 11, 2008, and who would've predicted how much the iPhone has changed things? We look back at what happened and look forward to 3.0 and the future. Come join us for this "all things iPhone" panel of insights and tips on getting the most out of your iPhone development plans. With all the exciting opportunities developing for the casual games on mobile devices, don’t miss the opportunity to meet with the leaders making it all happen. This year has been amazing for the mobile sector of the casual games industry: the stereotypical casual game player has come out in force to play games on their mobile devices compounded by an influx of younger early adopters playing games on their iPhones. Coffee, drinks and snacks. |
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David ROBERTS CEO PopCap Games In the industry’s quest to pigeonhole casual games for soccer mom micro-demographics, we sometimes forget that great games should be fun for everyone. With the traditional gaming companies lumbering their way toward permanent dinosaur status, casual games developers have an opportunity to innovate with games that appeal to everyone, including traditional “hard core” gamers. Miles TILMANN Co-Founder Pixeljam Rich GRILLOTTI Co-Founder Pixeljam In this session, Miles Tilmann and Rich Grillotti, co-founders of Pixeljam Games, will discuss the lessons learned from their multiplayer flash game Dino Run, as well as candidly diving into what makes a game and it's characters memorable to all types of gamers. Topics will include the process of creating a lively community of players around a particular game universe, the pros and cons of doing work for hire, and why it's important to make games that people actually care about. Tom BUSCAGLIA The Game Attorney Dev-Biz, Inc. Console and PC digital downloads allow independent developers to retain the lion's share of revenue. But core casual games on these platforms have to be targeted toward gamers with the sophistication and expectations of experienced gamers who no longer have the bandwidth to spend hours and hours playing, but still want a quality experience. This presentation will provide some insights into this type of game and what it takes to succeed in this quirky market. Various present and upcoming opportunities will be discussed including the best approach to take when targeting this growing market. We will discuss ways to get a leg up through gorilla marketing and Indie game competitions and how to capitalize on exposure to generate buzz to help your game succeed. Additional methods to commercially exploit your core casual game will also be discussed. Scott AUSTIN Director XBLA Microsoft Casual Games Come learn about the different ways to get games onto Xbox LIVE. With Arcade and Community Games there are options for developers. Bruce CHIA Lead Programmer Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab For the first time internationally, this presentation will reveal the various stages of development of CarneyVale: Showtime and showcase how the game was developed using an agile production methodology from concept to finish. It will also give a review of what we thought we did right and wrong, as well as cover some tips for casual game developers who are considering the Xbox Live Community Games channel. Jim GREER Founder/CEO Kongregate Greg McCLANAHAN Developer Relations Manager Kongregate Over 15,000 games have been uploaded to Kongregate. Some succeed wildly for obvious reasons, some fail for reasons just as obvious. What we'll look at in this talk are games that *should* have done well, but didn't. We'll try to explain why by using plenty of data on ratings and gameplay statistics, with some wild guesses thrown in for good measure. Damon MARSHALL Director, Content Acquisition IGN Entertainment - Direct2Drive Rick MARAZZANI Director of Content Exent Juan GRIL Studio Director & Founder Joju Games The ever-expanding demographic and distribution for casual games offers numerous opportunities to reach all types of gamers, even those who have been core gamers in the past. Come learn about the quickly-expanding ecosystem of the core casual online demographic. Direct2Drive and Exent will share the details of the latest trends in online PC distribution, who's buying the games and how they are different from other portals. Martyn BROWN Studio Director Team 17 Digital Self-Publishing for Indie Developers. Tim CONKLING Programmer Three Rings Design How Corpse Craft turned real-time strategy into a casual affair. Jason YORK Producer Microsoft Game Studios Rick MARTINEZ Senior Producer Microsoft Game Studios This 30 minute session will review the challenges faced and lessons learned in the making of the Fable® II Pub Games. This will touch upon identifying the various multiplatform challenges, the necessity of working closely with our partners to deliver a very time sensitive project to the masses, and the release timeline and lessons learned there as well. Dave WALLS President Funkitron Poker Superstars has been the top selling poker game in the casual space for the past 4 years. This post mortem will be about the Poker Superstars design and development, dealing with a license, refreshing through sequels, porting to iphone, as well as the challenges facing a casual game that targets mostly male players in a mostly female marketplace. Alex NEUSE Designer/CEO Gaijin Games In this session, I will be using BIT.TRIP BEAT as the primary example during a discussion of a phenomenon that I call the "Casual Hardcore". As pick-up-and-play games become more and more popular, the "casual" audience is gaining what I argue are "hardcore" gaming skills. These are skills like spatial awareness, resource management, and reflex actions, among others. Games do not need to be “casual” or “hardcore”. They can be both. The skills mentioned above are not gamer skills, but are life skills — and we all possess them to varying degrees. Difficulty in games does not necessarily eliminate a casual audience. Instead, I propose that difficult or complex controls bear more of the weight in determining whether something is considered traditionally hardcore or casual. Ada CHEN Sr. Product Marketing Manager Mochi Media Online distribution for games is one of the greatest platforms for content distribution and syndication, providing a rich and largely untapped channel for creativity and monetization. An online game can spread to thousands of websites in a matter of days and be played by tens of millions of people in its lifetime. However, despite these attractive audience demographics, only recently have new solutions emerged for developers to effectively monetize their games. This talk explores the state of the market and new emerging channels, including iPhone ports to micro-transactions that are revolutionizing the space. |
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Tim CHANG Principal Norwest Venture Partners As casual gaming continues to grow in popularity and market share, significant trends are emerging. Come hear Tim Chang’s take on what’s hot and what’s not. Remember, today’s niche market may become tomorrow’s billion dollar business. Kunal SARKAR Co-Founder & CEO Lumos Labs Ted SPOONER Founder & CEO Respondesign Michael COLE Founder & CEO Fit Brains Colin GARVEY Director of Business Development CogniFit Amy Jo KIM CEO Shufflebrain Discussion led by Alvaro FERNANDEZ CEO & Co-Founder SharpBrains With the overwhelming success of Wii Fit, Brain Age and dozens of other programs that help deliver mental and/ or physical exercise using ‘fun' methods, a vital new gaming category is emerging. Hey, come to think of it, is Wii Fit a game, or a fitness experience? Will "games" ever become part of a recommended medical treatment program? What specific healthy outcomes may games contribute to, and how can they be measured so that distribution partners such as insurance companies and health systems find them credible? Last but not least, what are some emerging business models to make money making games that are good for you? George DOLBIER CTO IBM Gaming Division Michael GIALIS New Business Development Sun Microsystems Rajat PAHARIA Chief Product Officer Bunchball Jeffrey POPE Executive Vice President 3di David EDERY Principal Fuzbi Big businesses are spending big money on game development. Training employees, technicians, contractors and specialists can be dramatically more effective when the training materials are as entertaining as they are informative. As a new generation of young adults who have grown up in a digital world enter the workforce, smart businesses are using gaming to engage and train them using 21st century techniques. Tim CHANG Principal Norwest Venture Partners David WALLERSTEIN Senior Executive Vice President TencentQQ Strategic Ventures Andrew CLELAND Executive Director Time Warner Investments Jeff CLAVIER Founder and Managing Partner SoftTech VC Discussion led by Mark STEVENS Partner Fenwick & West If you’re thinking about hanging out your shingle, then don’t miss this one-of-a-kind overview of tips and tricks to success. Mark Stevens leads a no-holds barred discussion of information and techniques you need to start and fund a company in the games business. Geoff COOK CEO MyYearbook Adam CAPLAN President SuperRewards Ron HIRSON SVP Product/Marketing BOKU Robert GOLDBERG CEO GMG Entertainment Rita GARG Business Development MySpace Discussion led by Mark FRIEDLER Founder GameDaily Advertising, micro-payments, mobile-phone billing. . . there are several new ways to monetize your gaming properties. Come listen to the ‘who’s who’ of the emerging business models designed to put more money in the game developer’s pocket. David HELGASON CEO Unity Sibley VERBECK CEO The Electric Sheep Company Robin CHAN Founder & CEO XPD Media Raph KOSTER Co-founder and President Metaplace Discussion led by Mark FRIEDLER Founder GameDaily The World of Warcraft gets all the press and attention, but the truth is millions of gamers are logging on to casual MMO’s and virtual worlds every month. Over the last 18 months, more investment capital has been poured into this segment than any other in the games industry. Come and learn which companies will be winners of this growing category. Andreea ENACHE-THUNE VP Games & Digital Distribution Marvel Comics Dave LONG CEO/Co-Founder Exponential Entertainment, Inc. Robert NASHAK Vice President EA Interactive Electronic Arts Mark STEVENS Partner Fenwick & West In this panel, some of the biggest names in Hollywood share their involvement in gaming and their strategies for launching popular intellectual properties across all forms of electronic entertainment. |