Austin GDC Program Guide 2008

September 15-17, 2008 A ust i n C onvent i on C ent er • A ust i n , TX SESSIONS – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 DESIGn – lECTurE Interactive Actors That Express Emotion Gerry Seidman (ActorMachine) 3 - 4PM | Room 5 In order for games to get more of the sort of character buy-in we associate with linear narratives, they require simulating an actor’s inner process. Body language, gestures, actions, and gaze gain meaning as actors adjust their expression to sell interior emotion such as conveying being in love, encountering enemies, and being in a sacred place. DESIGn – lECTurE building efforts and in many can help grow your potential audience more than traditional marketing alone. This lecture will discuss the best practices and tactics on how to get the most out of your beta. TEChnOlOGy & SErvICES – lECTurE WrITInG FOr GAMES – lECTurE A Future Told: Writing for Cinematic Design Paul Marino & Mac Walters (Bioware) 3 - 4PM | Ballroom B A wise man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun”. As storytellers, our tool set is fairly welldefined, but as game designers, our canvas is never constant. From pure text to life-like characters, the medium is constantly evolving and has required writers to think performance over prose. To this, the lecture will look at writing for cinematic design at Bioware – a glimpse at its trajectory over past projects such as JaDe empire and maSS effeCt, with a rack-focus on future areas such as digital acting and the dynamic staging of characters. WrITInG FOr GAMES – rOunDTABlE Modeling Infrastructure Cost for MMO Launch Ruben Cortez (Bioware Austin) 3 - 4PM | Room 4 In this lecture, we will model the infrastructure cost around building and launching an MMO. We will explore the different decisions that need to be made, and when, that impact your final launch cost on capital, non-recurring charges, and recurring charges. We will model two scenarios: the budget conscience MMO title vs. the AAA title. We will do most of the work live in a spreadsheet, which will be made available to the attendees. TEChnOlOGy & SErvICES, SESSIOn Sticky from the Start Stieg Hedlund (Turpitude) 3 - 4PM | Room 7 The skill tree system first developed in DiaBlo 2 was a class-based progression system allowing rich customization of classes. This was very successful not just for DiaBlo 2; it has also become the paradigm across the MMORPG category. It can be seen across a wide variety of games. In addition to meeting the needs of the game, the skill tree allows players to understand character progression, inclining them toward time investment. This type of “foreshadowing” can be used as a specific set of criteria for designing systems and UI in order to create a sticky user experience. DESIGn – SESSIOn Game Writers’ Workshop Richard Dansky (Red Storm Entertainment) 3 - 4PM | Room 3 Almost every writer can benefit from the review and critique of their work. In this session, limited to the first 15 who sign up, participants will be asked to submit game writing samples at least two weeks in advance that will be shared out among the group, and each writing sample will get a group critique during the conference. Other conference attendees are welcome to observe the session. This is part one of a two-part series. Participants should attend both sections. AuDIO & DESIGn – SESSIOn Performance Considerations for Intel® Integrated Graphics Arzhange Safdarzadeh (Intel) 3 - 4PM | Room 8C Sponsored by Intel A significant portion of the desktop and notebook systems today include, and will include (in the foreseeable future), integrated graphics devices. This course will focus on current and upcoming Intel architecture for integrated graphics. Topics covered will include performance optimization guidelines/suggestions, Intel’s Vertex Processing Selection Capability, and Intel product roadmap (including feature sets). TEChnOlOGy & SErvICES – SESSIOn Zombie Survival Seminar: A Case Study on Short Timelines, Limited Resources and Achieving Big Results Adam Creighton (Emergent Game Technologies), Paul McLaurin (Emergent Game Technologies) 3 - 4PM | Room 8A/B Sponsored by Emergent Game Technologies In this case study, Emergent Game technologies deconstructs their GDC 2008 technical demo, Forbidden Terror on Station Z, and discusses how they leveraged their company’s technology to create a compelling playable cross platform demo. Forbidden Terror is an on-rails shooter gameplay demo. The demo is an example of rapid multi-platform development (the entire technical demo was built in less than two months for four platforms), and shows how much functionality (including integration with partner technologies) can be produced in a short amount of time by only a few developers. SOCIAl nETWOrkInG & COMMunITy – lECTurE Dolby Axon. Better Voice. Better Game. Paul Boustead & Matt Tullis (Dolby Laboratories) 4:30 - 5:30PM | Room 10 Sponsored by Dolby As social interaction becomes an increasingly important part of online games and virtual worlds, voice communication is emerging as a musthave feature. Dolby® Axon enables developers to go beyond basic channel-based chat to deliver an immersive, high-quality 3D voice experience. Come to this session hosted by Paul Boustead, Director Interactive Voice, Dolby Australia, and Matt Tullis, the Dolby Axon Product Manager at Dolby Laboratories, to learn more about this exciting new technology. BuSInESS & MArkETInG – PAnEl Video Game QA Outsourcing: Do’s and Don’t, Best Practices & Challenges Guillaume Fournier (EDS Global Testing Practice - USA), Venugopal Somasundara Rao (EDS Global Testing Practice – India), Paul Sterngold (THQ) 3 - 4PM | Room 2 Sponsored by EDS Partner selection, effective communication, defining the right metrics and dashboard are the keys to successful Quality Assurance (QA) outsourcing – and real cost reductions. This session will address the opportunities, benefits and risks of QA outsourcing while sharing case studies on AAA next gen titles. Hear from QA practitioners who pioneered the first steps for outsourcing and offshoring and take away lessons that you can utilize in your day-to-day production, QA or game development activities. From Feudalism to Enlightenment: Building a Better EULA Moderator: Erik Bethke (GoPets, Ltd.) S. Gregory Boyd (Davis & Gilbert), Scott Hartsman, Erin Hoffman (Philomath Games), Raph Koster (Areae Inc.) 4:30 - 5:30PM | Room 6 The Better EULA Project is an initiative to explore virtual rights in the context of human and property rights throughout history, and the potential business and ethical advantages of offering real Online Games Under Construction: Run Your Beta Right. Jonathan Hanna (Kaneva), Richard Weil (Cartoon Network) 3 - 4PM | Room 9 Online game betas are about more than just testing your product and are often a missed opportunity for developers. Though it takes planning, betas can be an effective part of your marketing and community Audio Business & Marketing Game Design Social Networking & Community Technology & Services Writing for Games 9 https://www.cmpevents.com/GDAU08/a.asp?option=C&V=1&cid=AGC08_PGWPX2

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Austin GDC Program Guide 2008

Austin GDC Program Guide 2008 Contents Conference-at-a-Glance General Information Conference Overview Advisory Board Keynote Speakers Conference Sessions Game Career Seminar Worlds in Motion Summit Austin GDC Events Austin GDC Evening Events Speakers Sponsors & Media Partners Exhibitor Directory Expo Hall Map & Exhibitors

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