Thursday, October 27, 2005

Thursday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Using BigWorld Technology to Create a MMOG in 1 hour
In these days of climbing development budgets and massive teams, middleware has been positioned as the solution to reduce risk, effort and time to market. Can it really help? This presentation will show you how BigWorld Technology can reduce your technology mountains to mere molehills by producing a complete (but simple) massively multiplayer online game in just one hour. It will cover world building, particle systems, AI, UI and general scripting?
- Simon Hayes, Chief Technology Officer, BigWorld Pty Ltd

Thursday, 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Xbox 360 Live Marketplace
Marketplace is Xbox 360’s one-stop shop for content downloads demos, trailers, and premium subscriptions on Xbox Live. Marketplace is an evolutionary leap from the content downloader of Xbox 1 and will feature both Dashboard and Guide versions where users can easily browse, find, and download free and premium content items. This talk covers the basic features of Marketplace and an overview of the APIs that Marketplace exposes to titles. In addition, the talk provides an in-depth section on specific marketplace content features that will be useful to planning, creating, and submitting your content offerings.
- Jeff Pobst, Lead Technical Game Manager, Microsoft

Thursday, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Next-Gen Graphics on Windows Vista™ Revealed
Windows Vista™ is coming! This session will reveal the exciting new improvements to the graphics stack in the next version of Windows and what it means for game developers. Initially covering an overview of the new Display Driver Model and improved DirectX 9 Experience on Windows Vista, the majority of this session will be focused on DirectX 10: What are the capabilities of the revolutionary new hardware pipeline? What will the developer experience be on the new API & D3D runtime? What unprecedented visual experience will next-gen Windows titles be capable of as a result?
- Chuck Walbourn, Software Design Engineer, WGGT Microsoft Corporation

Thursday, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Blending Character Animation and Physics in Next Gen Games
This talk summarizes Havok’s innovative approach to blending
artist-driven character animation and physically-enabled reactions
in the game, to deepen the character’s believability and the player’s immersive experience. Havok’s flagship product HAVOK COMPLETE is presented, along with an overview of the production pipeline and cutting edge demos that illustrate how this exciting approach is already being used in upcoming game titles under development.
- Jeff Yates, VP Product Management, Havok

Friday, October 28, 2005

Friday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Casual Game Evolution Summit:
Moving Beyond Downloads
Casual game downloads have flourished as a ?300 million per year business overnight. Hit download titles will generate millions of dollars of revenue from players. However, with a short shelf-life and fewer blockbuster hits, the download market is changing. Meanwhile, with ever-increasing broadband penetration, new revenue and distribution models are showing promise; such as virtual merchandise sales, advertising, tournaments, subscriptions, and more. Join us for an engaging panel and discover these emerging models from the people who are pushing the industry forward.

Five 256 MB RAM drives will be raffled at the session!
- Moderator: Adeo Ressi, Game Trust, Inc.
- Peter Glover, Shockwave.com
- Margaret Wallace, Skunk Studios
- Mark Cottam, United Developers, Mumbo Jumbo
- Brian Robbins, Fuel Industries, IGDA

Friday, 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Casual Game Evolution Summit:
Tech Today for Tomorrow’s Hit
Writing a casual game may appear easy, but writing a great casual game is hard. What language do you choose? How do you optimize game play? Can you go multiplayer, and what are your commerce options? Learn tips and tricks from veteran developers and top technology providers, including Macromedia, Sun Microsystems, and Game Trust.

Five 256 MB RAM drives will be raffled at the session!
- Moderator: Adeo Ressi, Game Trust, Inc.
- Chris Melissinos, Sun Microsystems
- Tom Higgins, Macromedia

Friday, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Reaching the mass market with connected mobile games
The future of gaming is mobile and connected. Everybody?s talking about it - publishers, developers, operators, analysts, press... Billions of dollars to be made in connected mobile gaming in the coming years. And everybody?s trying to figure out how to get there to ride the wave. This presentation will discuss the promise of connected mobile gaming and how you can reach the mass market audience with these games.
-Markus Huttunen, Business Development Manager, SNAP Mobile, Nokia Games Business Program

Friday, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Creating games, community, and entertainment

Overcoming challenges in making rich content for mobile

Defining content for a new platform - making games for N-Gage

Blurring the distinctions between the gaming device and the mobile phone

Enabling a gaming community through the mobile channel

- Scott Foe, Senior Producer, Games Business Unit, Nokia