Game Developers Conference 2008 - (Page 46) Independent Games Summit MonDAY & tuesDAY The Independent Games Summit features lectures, postmortems and roundtables from some of the most notable independent game creators around, including many former and current Independent Games Festival finalists. The 2008 Independent Games Summit seeks to highlight the brightest and the best of indie development, with discussions ranging from indie game distribution methods through game design topics, guerrilla marketing concepts, student indie game discussions, and much more. (307) independent games summit Independent Games Summit 10am-6pm • room 2024, West Hall ADVisors steve swink FLAsHbAng stuDios evolving aquaria Alec Holowka (bit blot), Derek Yu (bit blot) 11:15am-12pm Indie game creators Alec Holowka and Derek Yu discuss their journey developing the IGF grand prize winning game aquaria. From first prototype to final release, team Bit Blot share old builds and prototypes, mistakes and successes, design decisions and lessons learned demonstrating how aquaria was grown, not planned. Steve is an independent game designer and lecturer. Currently: Flashbang Studios, The Art Institute of Phoenix, Game Feel: A Game Designer’s Guide to Virtual Sensation. Formerly: Neversoft, Tremor Entertainment. N+, the creators of the original title explain how they moved their property onto consoles, with details on financials, technical issues and solutions, and a plethora of other specifics for indies aspiring to console/handheld. spreading Your Message as an indie Developer thomas Arundel (introversion), Vicky Arundel (introversion), Mark Morris (introversion) 2:30-3:15pm Matthew Wegner FLAsHbAng stuDios Matthew is CEO and founder of Flashbang Studios. Most recently he did mechanic design for Flashbang’s off-roaD VELociraPtor safari. Matthew also edits Fun-Motion, a site about physics games, and will be unicycling across the whole of Vietnam in March. the game Attorney: indie edition MonDAY, FebruArY 18 tom buscaglia (the game Attorney, Dev biz, inc.) 12-12:30pm Tom Buscaglia, “The Game Attorney,” provides a legal foundation for indies. Independent game studios and developers need to know the basics of business and legal issues to be addressed before negotiating and signing contracts: how you look for a deal, how to negotiate your best deal, and how to manage the development process to assure the ongoing viability of your studio. This is not just about making games, it is about learning how to succeed in making a living making games by creating a company that stands the test of time. scattershots of play– potential of indie games UK-based Introversion, the creators of DEfcon and the multiple IGF award-winning Darwinia, are notable in their use of effective branding and positioning to become one of the few indie developers making inroads towards entering mainstream gamer consciousness. But how? Explanations will ensue! pekko Koskinen (Ludocraft), Jon Mak (Queasy games), Kellee santiago (thatgamecompany) 10-11am This unique keynote sees dialogue between three major game designers, where the makers of EVEryDay shootEr and fLow meet Scandinavian reality games. Each brings to the table their personal, different vision on gameplay. When we stop at the words “good” or “better” or “fun” we don’t even scratch the surface of what games are or could be. Looking for “better” games seeks uniformity of value. Yet we need to understand the variety, potentiality of games first, to know where we are going or could be going. the Web game renaissance Joseph Lieberman (Arcadetown), chris Hughes (FlashgameLicense.com), chris pasley (Kongregate), Josh Williams (garage games) 3:15-4pm Small web games have become a viable creative form and business model, with sites like Kongregate, Newgrounds, Instant Action, and Arcadetown pulling down huge monthly incomes and attracting millions of visitors per year. Including representatives from the major players in this emerging game space, this panel will candidly discuss the eye-popping financials behind today’s most successful web games. From DEsKtoP towEr DEfEnsE to a host of others, see how tiny in-browser games can be innovative, lucrative, and indie. Lunch 12:30-2pm ninja Ways: An n+ postmortem Mare sheppard (Metanet software), nick Waanders (slick entertainment) 2-2:30pm coffee break 11-11:15am Following the success of addictive ninja-themed platform action title IGF Audience Awardwinner N, which is debuting both on Xbox Live Arcade and on the Nintendo DS/Sony PSP as coffee break 4-4:15pm 46 Visit www.gdconf.com for daily coverage of GDC 2008 http://www.gdconf.com/?cid=GDC08_showguide http://www.gdconf.com/?cid=GDC08_showguide
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