Mark Healey and Alex Evans, co-founders of Media Molecule, will deliver a keynote speech titled, “Media Molecule, Little Team, Big Ideas,” at this year’s Paris Game Developers Conference (Paris GDC). Healey and Evans will address the breadth of ways in which game developers can incorporate creativity into their designs. From god-games and sim-games to full-on modding, they will discuss the past, present, and future of user-generated content as illustrated through the story of Media Molecule’s conception and its first title, LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation 3.

Paris GDC, the second French edition of the Game Developers Conference - the premier event for developers and publishers in the videogame industry - is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Coeur Défense Convention Centre in Paris.

A veteran of the games industry since 1988, Healey is currently the Creative Director at Media Molecule. He has coded, designed, and contributed to game audio for Bullfrog Productions and Lionhead Studios. Having contributed to acclaimed titles such as Fable, Theme Park, and the Black and White series, Healey then led the development of the cult hit title, Rag Doll Kung Fu, which became available through Valve’s digital distribution system Steam, in 2007.
After writing software renderers for Bullfrog Productions, Evans joined Lionhead Studios where he worked on the 3D engine of the milestone title Black & White. In 2006, Evans and Healey formed Media Molecule, where he is the Technical Director, in hopes of bringing creative gaming to life on PlayStation 3. The result was the world-renowned LittleBigPlanet.

“The first build of LittleBigPlanet was the most fun and exciting game I played in 2006, leading up to its iconic reveal in Phil Harrison’s GDC keynote in 2007,” said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director, Game Developers Conference Events. “Yet one of the most tantalizing and little-discussed elements of the game is the degree to which the toolset empowers the gamer to become the developer. This represents a turning point in the game industry, and we anticipate the Paris GDC attendees taking voluminous notes in this detailed examination of the building blocks of this highly coveted title.”

“We are thrilled to have renowned industry figures Mark Healey and Alex Evans kick-off Paris GDC with the opening keynote address,” said Pierre Carde, Executive Director, Paris GDC. “This visionary talk encapsulates the main issues and trends developers are interested in hearing about and sets the stage for two days of exceptional content.”

Paris GDC 08 offers more than 50 sessions presented by industry experts and designed for developers looking to expand their expertise, network, and learn from their peers. Visit the Paris GDC website for the complete list of confirmed sessions. Videogame professionals who wish to take advantage of the Super Early Bird Rate and save more than 50% on their pass have until April 23rd to register online at www.parisgdc.com.

Posted by at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Ben Cousins, Executive Producer of EA DICE’s Battlefield franchise, will deliver a keynote titled, “Scenes from the Battlefield: The Present and Future of Core and Casual,” at this year’s Paris Game Developers Conference (Paris GDC). Cousins will address the business and consumer trends that have led to the creation of the new Battlefield Heroes service and will share his thoughts on the future crossover of core and casual gamers and the supposed death of the PC as a gaming platform. Paris GDC, the second French edition of the Game Developers Conference, the premier event for developers and publishers in the videogame industry, is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Coeur Défense Convention Centre in Paris.

As Executive Producer for Battlefield titles at DICE in Stockholm, Sweden, Cousins most recently led the development of Battlefield Heroes, EA’s first “Play 4 Free” game. Cousins recent history involves work exclusively on digitally delivered entertainment – serving as Creative Director on PlayStation Home, Design Manager for the EyeToy group and Lead Designer for Beats at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

“The game industry is in a state of rapid and exciting change today, as developers grapple with adapting to free to play models and bringing gameplay to universal audiences,” said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director, GDC Events. “Ben has a successful history of coaxing our industry into the 21st Century, and we expect that his experiences fomenting evolution with Battlefield Heroes will prove highly illuminating to our audience.”

Paris GDC 08 offers more than 50 sessions presented by industry experts and designed for developers looking to expand their expertise, network, and learn from their peers. New session highlights include:

• Matt Hooper, "From DOOM to RAGE: Megatextures, Pushing Artistic Boundaries," id Software


• Jeremy Vickery, “Practical Light and Cold,” Pixar Animation Studios


• Nicolas Thibieroz, "Ultimate Graphics Performance for DirectX 10 Hardware," AMD


• Tamsin Lucas, “SingStar: The Game Factory,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe


• David McCarthy, “A Family Affair: Adapting EA SPORTS to the Wii,” EA Sports


• Josh Nash, “Training as a Productivity Multiplier,” Blitz Games Studios


• Ralph H. Baer, “How to Create an Industry: The Making of the Brown Box and Ping Pong”

“Previous consultations held with game companies have helped us put together a session lineup that meets the industry’s expectations,” explains Pierre Carde, Executive Director, Paris GDC. From megatextures to optimized production techniques to the first creator of videogames, the key topics covered are in line with the developers’ needs and interests and we are proud to offer them at our conference.”

Additional speakers and keynotes will be added in the coming weeks. Visit the Paris GDC website at www.parisgdc.com for the complete list of confirmed sessions.

Videogame professionals who wish to take advantage of the Super Early Bird Rate and save up to 50% on their pass have until April 23rd to register online at www.parisgdc.com.

Paris GDC welcomes its recent sponsor, DevCell Software, creator of StemCell Engine.

Posted by at 11:23 AM | Permalink

Paris Game Developers Conference 08 (Paris GDC) has published its roster of featured speakers and sessions. The second French edition of the Game Developers Conference, the premier event for developers and publishers in the videogame industry, is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Coeur Défense Convention Centre in Paris. More than 50 sessions designed for developers looking to expand their expertise, network, and learn from their peers will be presented by industry experts and thought leaders at Paris GDC 08.

Highlighted sessions from the call for papers include:

• The Right Tools for the Write Job, by Mac Walters, Bioware


• Your Music Is the Game: Designing PHASE, the Other Project at Harmonix, by Chris Foster, Harmonix Music Systems


• The Free to Play Revolution, by Howard Marks, Acclaim


• Tackling High Level, Scalable Physics for Next Generation Game Engines, by Adam Moravanszky, NVIDIA

“It’s a very exciting time right now in the game industry, as developers are creating blockbuster hits for both the core market and for those who don’t call themselves gamers,” said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director, Game Developers Conference Events. “This cross-section of the sessions we intend to field in Paris should provide a taste of the range of global breakthroughs that are driving European development today.”

Sessions were selected by the Paris GDC advisory board, composed of international experts of the game industry, as well as the event organizers Think Services and Connection Events.

The advisory board is composed of the following members:

- Viktor ANTONOV, Art Director and Founder, The Building Design Studio
- Paulina BOZEK, Game Director & Executive Producer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
- Risa COHEN, Independent Producer
- François COULON, Development Director, Pyro Studios
- Pierre DELTOUR, CTO, Widescreen Games
- Chris KINGSLEY, CTO, Rebellion
- Julien MERCERON, Worldwide CTO, Eidos
- Philippe PAQUET, Technical Director, Vivendi
- Renaud PERSON, Level Manager, Ubisoft
- Patrick PLIGERSDORFFER, CEO, Cyanide
- Eric VIENNOT, CEO, Lexis Numerique
- Avni YERLI, Managing Director, Crytek

"We are committed to presenting the most relevant content and to featuring the most cutting edge international developers for Paris GDC. Based on the quality of the sessions we have selected so far, we know this goal will be realized." says Pierre Carde, Executive Director, Paris GDC

Additional speakers and keynotes will be added in the coming weeks. Visit the Paris GDC website at www.parisgdc.com to see the complete list of confirmed sessions.

The event is supported by the key French agencies promoting industry competitiveness: cap digital and Imaginove, whose main objective is to facilitate collaboration between research labs and the industry. Paris GDC is also happy to welcome its newest sponsor, Enzyme Testing Labs™.

Videogame professionals who wish to take advantage of the Super Early Bird Rate and save 50% on their pass have until April 23rd to register online at www.parisgdc.com.

Posted by at 11:17 AM | Permalink