THE EAST COAST GAMES SUMMIT AT VGXPO

To serve our professional colleagues in the game industry, as well as those interested in starting a career in games or just curious about the business of games, the East Coast Games Summit offers a wide range of programming for all of our attendees.

The East Coast Games Summit tracks include "Pitch You Game Idea", a session for would-be game entrepreneurs to present their game concepts to game industry leaders; "Scrum Deconstructed," a hands-on workshop for game industry management and technologists; "Breaking In" conference for students and others interested in making a career out of games; and keynotes and panels sessions on hot topics in the game industry.

The East Coast Games Summit will include speakers representing a number of leading companies, organizations and educational institutions from within the game industry, including: Acclaim Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Bioware, Nexon, Red Storm Entertainment, Viximo, Zeitgeist Games, Obsidian Entertainment, International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Entertainment Consumer Association (ECA), Full Sail, ITT Tech, The Art Institutes, SMU Guild Hall, Devry University, Savannah College of Art and Design and the Vancouver Film School.

To kick off the inaugural year of the East Coast Games Summit, all conference tracks are offered at no expense to registered VGXPO attendees. In addition, all game industry trade members whom wish to participate in VGXPO and the East Coast Games Summit are encouraged to submit their credentials prior to Oct. 10 for a free Industry Insider pass to VGXPO (email us at industryinsider at vgxpo dot com).

The organizers of the East Coast Games Summit are committed to building the summit into a premiere industry event for game developers, management and others involved in the games industry. For more information, or to participate as a presenter or sponsor at the event, please contact Jennifer Johnson-Halpin at jennifer.halpin at nbcuni dot com or visit the VGXPO website at www.videogame.net.

KEYNOTE: MMOS, EVERYONE WANTS TO DO ONE!

Keynote Speaker: Matt Shaw, Chief Technology Officer at Mythic Entertainment/EA
Session Title: MMOS, Everyone Wants to Do One!
Date: Saturday, November 22
Time: 12:00 pm

Many companies start making MMOs, many never launch, most fail. Matt Shaw, Chief Technology Officer at Mythic Entertainment, will discuss lessons learned over the years and go over differences in developing MMO's versus single player games. Developing MMOS is a multi-year endeavour, engineering and art disciplines at first blush appear the same as that for making single player games, but the challenges are in fact quite different.

About Matt Shaw Matt Shaw is the Chief Technology Officer at Mythic Entertainment, an EA Studio. In this role, he helps create and implement new technology for all of Mythic's titles including Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the just released fantasy MMORPG based on the Games Workshop franchise, Dark Age of Camelot, Mythic's critically-acclaimed massively-multiplayer online game and Ultima Online, the game that started the modern MMORPG movement over ten years ago. Matt is a 19-year veteran of the games industry, best known for the World War II flight simulation series Fighter Duel. After starting and running two game companies that self-publishing titles for years, Matt joined Kesmai in 1999 as lead of the Air Warrior project. In 2001, he joined Lodestone Games, as a Principal Engineer. Matt became part of the Mythic team in 2003, and enjoys games, WWII aircraft, and the challenging and ever-evolving field of computer graphics.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SATURDAY SCHEDULE

Industry Session: Pitch Your Game Idea!
Saturday, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Join our panel of respected game industry decision-makers for a special games pitch session. Session participants will be invited to provide a 10-minute presentation on their original game concept and receive a constructive critique from our panelists. Based on their vast years of experience in reviewing and developing game ideas, our panel will provide insightful and supportive advice, designed to help a game developer of tomorrow reach their creative goals.

GameRecruiter presents:
"Agile Deconstructed: Workshop for Game Industry Management"
Saturday, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Game industry career consultant and team management expert Marc Mencher hosts a half-day executive workshop on Agile project management in game development. Mencher will be joined by a senior peer group of Agile experts in the games industry, discussing Agile methodology models such as Scrum, Cleanroom, Iterative, RAD, RUP, Spiral, XP and Waterfall.

The game industry is rapidly using a modified version of Agile techniques to work for game development. This workshop is to help you design an Agile process that works for your development facility.

Agile methodologies generally promote a project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation; a leadership philosophy that encourages team work, self-organization and accountability; a set of engineering best practices that allow for rapid delivery of high-quality software; and a business approach that aligns development with customer needs and company goals.

For those studio managers not yet applying Agile methods to the game development process, there are common misunderstandings of these methodologies. With the aid and skilled industry experts working with these methodologies, Mencher will assist in 'deconstructing' Agile methodologies in game development that will increase overall efficiency, communication and product delivery for game studios.

The workshop will provide an overview of Agile methodology and the process for implementation into the development team. Attendees will discover techniques to implement Agile methodology as well as how to transition your staff to incorporate these methods. The workshop will include a strong focus on solid principles and values and how to get your team to adopt them. With a strong understanding of Agile values, attendees will emerge with a refocused view on software development and the tools to bring value back to their companies.

The workshop speakers and instructors include Matt Shaw, CTO at Mythic/EA; Ravi Mehta, VP of Publishing at Viximo; Chris Oltyan, Director of Product Development at Zeitgeist Games; David Kotch, IT Architect at AOL; David Walker, Program Dean, Games Simulation & Programming at DeVry Institute; Michael Gjere, Director of Product Development at Brain Farm Entertainment; and Steve Reid, EVP and Managing Director at Red Storm.Entertainment/Ubisoft.

VGXPO Industry Mixer, co-hosted by IGDA Women in Games and Women in Games International
Saturday, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

IGDA Women in Games SIG and Women in Games International are co-hosting a special industry mixer at VGXPO, entitled 'Attack of the 5 Foot Women.' Free-flowing food, drink and door prizes will be offered to all East Coast Games Summit attendees, speakers, sponsors and VIP's at the swanky Solefood Lounge, located at Loew's in Philadelphia, 1200 Market Street. Scheduled from 5 pm to 8 onSaturday, November 22, the mixer is free to attend. More info is available at www.igda.org/women.

Plus more content to be announced.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SUNDAY SCHEDULE

Breaking In - co-hosted by GameJOBS.com & GameRecruiter

Keynote: The Changing roles of a Game Designer
Sunday, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Presented by: Dave Warfield, Head of Game Design at the Vancouver Film School

Since the 80's a game designers role has changed considerably... The depth of the games, and the impact and individual has on the games continues to evolve. As part of this presentation I would discuss just how those roles have changed, and what today's Game designers are expected to do.

Tips and Tricks - Breaking into the Game Industry
Sunday, 11am - 12pm

Tips and tricks from working veterans in the game industry on how to get attention to either get into the business or transition from one development community to another.

Moderator:

Susan Gold, International Development Manager & Faculty, Masters of Digital Media Program, Great Northern Way Campus; Chairperson, IGDA Education SIG

Panelists:

Fiona Cherbak, Chair, IGDA Women in Games SIG and VP of Marketing, GameRecruiter
Jim Rivers, Hiring Manager at Obsidian Entertainment
Brenda Brathwaite, Game designer and professor of game development and interactive design, SCAD
Rob Catto, Program Director for the Game Development Bachelor Degree Program at Full Sail Real World Education
Paula Fellbaum, VP of Human Resources, Nexon Publishing

12:00 pm to 12:30 pm - Lunch Break

What's Next?: Women in Games
Sunday, 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm
Hosted by IGDA Women in Games Special Interest Group

How has the game industry evolved in the last 5 years in terms of women on the job and women playing games? What we should expect over the next 5-10 years for women in the workplace and the marketplace? While women continue be a slim minority in the game industry workplace, the player populace is demonstrating a significant increase in female players. This session will explore the strides that have been made and the possible challenges ahead.

This panel of esteemed industry experts takes a close look at what women have accomplished in games and what happens next for female professionals and players alike. We will explore how the games industry has evolved in the last few years in terms of embracing more professional women in games, as well as catering more to the needs and interests of the female game consumer.

Our line-up includes a developer, a gamer, an editorialist and an educator, providing a broad representation of the many roles women fill in games: Gano Haine, Principal, The ONAG Group; Amber Dalton, PMS Clan Leader; Kim Callery, Game Design Program Chair, IADT-Detroit; and Jill Duffy, Editor-in-Chief, GameCareerGuide.com and Senior Contributing Editor, Game Developer. Moderated by Fiona Cherbak, Chair of IGDA Women in Games SIG.

How to Get an Education in Gaming
Sunday, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

An agnostic look at the courses and direction interested individuals should consider in any discipline if they plan on making game development their career.

Moderator:

Amber Luckie, Game Design, Career Services, Brown College

Panelists:

Kim Callery, Game Design Program Chair, IADT-Detroit
Rebecca Kaufman, MSED, Assistant Director of Career Services, The Art Institute of Philadelphia
Donald Magee, MS, MA, Professor at DeVry University
Mike McCoy: Professor, SMU- The Guildhall

Nexon Publishing
Sunday, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Panelists:

Kim Wilder, COO, Nexon Publishing
Paula Fellbaum, VP, Human Resources, Nexon Publishing

Portfolio/Resume Reviews
Sunday, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

During this seminar hour, HR managers and education recruiters will be on hand to evaluate your portfolios and resumes. These reviews will provide you with candid one-on-one assessments of your work and give you tips on what you can do to make improvements.

Moderator:

Norma Crippen, Account Executive/Lead Recruiter, Mary Margaret

Panelists:

Rebecca Kaufman, MSED ,Assistant Director of Career Services, The Art Institute of Philadelphia
Tina S. Gaddy, MS, Director of Career Services for DeVry University
Jim Rivers, Hiring Manager at Obsidian Entertainment
Mike Worth, Composer and Sound Designer for Video Games
Professor Dmitriy Kupis,Game Design Development Coordinator, Union County College
Michael Gjere, Director of Product Development, Brain Farm Entertainment