ALPHA | EVENTS
THE DEVELOP CONFERENCE 2011 A round up of some of the most exciting sessions at this year’s Brighton event
The international games development industry are gathering again in Brighton in 2011
ith the summer already upon us, it’s time to start thinking about heading down to the seaside for the return of the excellent Develop Conference in Brighton. To get you in the mood for all that sun and surf and sitting still and paying attention, we’ve rounded up the pick of the sessions litter from each of the eight tracks on offer. Take a look over them while you pack the bucket and spade.
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BUSINESS KEYNOTE: Managing the Mystery Laura Fryer, WB Games Seattle In this session VP and GM of Warner Bros. Games Seattle Laura Fryer will discuss the general creative process behind video games development, and talk about the best ways to support that creativity within business constraints, drawing on examples from her company’s projects both past and present.
EVOLVE KEYNOTE: Lessons Learned Building Moshi Monsters to 50m Users Michael Acton Smith, Mind Candy Mind Candy CEO Michael Acton Smith will talk about what the studio learned during its recent period of intense growth. An illuminating and entertaining session has been promised for anyone interested in online gaming, and discussions about expanding IP on new platforms.
PRODUCTION Being Agile in a Waterfall World Brynley Gibson, Zoë Mode Agile development is becoming an increasingly popular methodology, but the majority of projects are still signed up and scheduled along more traditional Waterfall lines. This session will examine both the benefits of, and the practical ways to bring Agile methods into this system based on practical experiences.
THE MONTH AHEAD A look at what June has in store for the industry and beyond…
JUNE 3RD:
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge is released. Testosterone levels in both genders skyrocket. World peace is abandonned. Humanity crumbles. A good time is had by all. JUNE 7TH:
E3 starts in Los Angeles, California. Expect big announcements of things. Most likely games. Big ones. With colourful logos. JUNE 10TH:
Duke Nukem Forever finally hits shelves. Maybe. Definitely. So they say.
16 | JUNE 2011
JUNE 10TH:
JUNE 17TH:
JUNE 21ST:
Red Faction: Armaggedon is also released, giving sci-fi fans an interesting choice. Do you like your stories funny or serious, eh?
Child of Eden. The follow-up to 2001’s trippy computerhacking, music/colour/sound mash-up Rez is set to offer even more synesthesia-based fun.
Digital Content Monetization West. The second Los Angelesbased event of the month will see worldwide experts discussing monetising rich media content.
Trooping the Colour takes place at Horse Guards Parade in London. Time to get all patriotic. Unless you aren’t a British royalist, in which case it is at least very colourful.
JUNE 19TH:
JUNE 24TH:
Father’s Day. Time to tell the old man how you really feel. Go on. Get good and emotional. Tears and everything. He’ll love it.
Grasshopper Manufacture’s Shadows of the Damned is released, causing Suda 51 geeks the world over to let out a unified squeak of excitement. It’ll sound awful, but quite oddly reassuring.
JUNE 16TH:
JUNE 21ST:
JUNE 28TH:
Bloomsday. In Dublin bibliophiles retrace the steps of Leopold Bloom, hero of James Joyce’s 1922 masterpiece Ulysses. Tell people this and look clever.
Summer Solstice. Enjoy it while you can everyone. It’s a long, long way back down again from here.
The two-day Gamehorizon Conference 2011 kicks off in Gateshead, UK, brining together the cream of the international industry.
JUNE 11TH: