Cutting the Apron Strings: Developer Freedom Through Free Agency
Speaker: Michael John (President, Method Games)
Friday 4-5pm
Room 3007, West Hall
Business and Management Track
60-minute Lecture

In a timely manifesto for talent, Michael John will talk about how to move beyond working as an employee, and embrace life as a free agent game developer. The talk will discuss the substantial challenges facing both individuals and industry, and the potential benefits for both. A follow-on to his controversial speech at the 2007 DICE conference, John will describe steps both great and small for talent to embrace the opportunity to guide their own creative destinies, and will address directly the hot-button issue of industry unionization.

Ample time for a spirited Q&A session will be allotted at the end.

https://www.cmpevents.com/GD07/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=5119

Continue reading "Michael John Thinks You're Better Off as a Free Agent" »

Posted by Meggan at 04:13 PM | Permalink

New Session by Raph Koster!

We've all heard it, and probably even said it: games are kind of like movies. We have the blockbusters, the opening days, the big budgets and interdisciplinary teams... There are many lessons we can learn from the well-established content industries.

But games are also software, and the software world is undergoing a revolution. The Web world is in ferment - some say a new bubble - and it's dragging content industries kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The underlying technological assumptions of the Web regarding concepts such as IP, distribution, and user participation are very different from the Big Media way of doing things. Could "release early, release often" possibly apply to the world of gamemaking?

This session is about lessons we can learn from how the Web world works, applied to the game industry, and concrete takeaways on how to leverage the brave new Web world.

Continue reading "Where Game Meets the Web" »

Posted by Meggan at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Did you know that GDC has a Business and Management track? Even if you are a creative type, it's still valuable to know your way around the business side of things. Not only will the knowledge make you more aware of how your bosses make their decisions, but perhaps someday you will want to be your own boss. Dealmaking for Developers 2007: Challenges for Growing an Independent Studio is a full-day tutorial run by an interesting mix of speakers.

Here's what our advisory board says:
Great stuff for the new biz owners out there.
They need this talk.
Repeat of last year's very successful tutorial.

Continue reading "Dealmaking for Developers 2007: Challenges for Growing an Independent Studio" »

Posted by jane at 10:05 AM | Permalink

The highlighted session this week is from the Business & Management track. "How Casual Games Will Kill the Console (And Why That?s a Good Thing)" will be given by John Welch, President & CEO of PlayFirst. Welch will make the argument that casual games and non-game media companies will be the catalyst reshaping the industry and the game play experience.

Continue reading "Session of the Week" »

Posted by admin at 01:42 PM | Permalink