With only a few day to go until the IGDA Leadership Forum 2009 is in full swing, we are please to post up the final schedule in PDF form for you to download.
The schedule is also available online, here.
Newly Added Keynote:
Chris Hecker of definition six, inc. has just been added to round out a stellar lineup of game development geniuses. Chris is an Indie Game enthusiast and entrepreneur whose inside knowledge and advocacy have helped to further the creative boundaries of interactive game design. Chris would like to help games get the recognition they deserve as the preeminent art and entertainment form of the 21st century.
Chris focuses on solving hard problems at the intersection of gameplay, aesthetics, and technology. He is an outspoken advocate for pushing the current boundaries of design and interactivity, in the hope that games will eventually achieve their full potential as a medium. To this end he helps organize the Indie Game Jam and the Experimental Gameplay Workshop, and his recent work has centered on using proceduralism and artificial intelligence to enhance player creativity and agency. Chris has been on the advisory board for the Game Developers Conference for many years and is a regular speaker at the GDC, Siggraph, and other conferences. A frequent contributor to Game Developer magazine, Chris was the technical columnist for the magazine for two years and the Editor-at-Large for three, and is currently on the editorial board of the computer graphics research publication, The Journal of Graphics Tools. He has worked at both ends of the development spectrum, as a one-man indie game developer with his company definition six, inc. and on a hundred-person team at Maxis/Electronic Arts. His professional goal is to help games become the preeminent art and entertainment form of the 21st century. His current project is SpyParty, an indie game about subtle human behavior and deception.
With the 2009 forum coming up very soon, it’s worth having a look back at the events for 2008 and 2007 which started it all. The picture galleries for both events have been released and if you wish to send some more pictures, please don’t hesitate.
From speakers to roundtables and talks, you will be able to get an idea of what the events is like. See the great speakers in action or the casual drinks by the bar afterward. With this in mind, we expect the 2009 event to be a blast!
We can confirm Samantha Ryan as Keynote Speaker. Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President of Development and Production for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE), oversees the development and production teams responsible for all of the company’s videogames, including those based on original properties, Studio franchises and outside licenses, from inception through release. Upcoming WBIE titles include Scribblenauts and Scooby-Doo First Frights. Recent games also include F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and Watchmen: The End Is Nigh.
Previously, Samantha held the position of President and CEO of WBIE’s wholly owned game developer Monolith, where she continues to serve as CEO. Monolith’s titles include, the critically and commercially successes F.E.A.R. and Condemned: Criminal Origins. Monolith is known for high quality games including No One Lives Forever I & II, Tron 2.0, Blood I & II and Alien vs. Predator 2.
Register by September 9 to receive the lowest possible rate.
