GDC Austin 2009 Adds Final Online, Summit-Centric Lectures

The Game Developers Conference Austin (GDC Austin) features lectures, panels and roundtables for developers looking to release successful titles in the burgeoning connected gaming space, and this year's conference has added final sessions from notable game developers at Nexon, Bioware Austin, 2D Boy, Zynga, CCP Games and many others.
Presented by Think Services, GDC Austin returns with three days of main conference content focused on connected games, online games, virtual worlds, and social networking game play and four two-day summits -- the Game Writers, Game Audio, iPhone Games and Independent Games Summits. The event takes place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas September 15-18, 2009. Conference goers wanting to take advantage of pre-registration discounts should register online by September 11.
This year's GDC Austin features three visionary keynotes from industry pioneers at Sony Online Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment, and successful newcomer Playfish that address the technical knowledge and business advice necessary to create successful virtual worlds, massively multiplayer online (MMO) titles, and social networking games.
Four days of deep-dive sessions cover topics including designing games for non-traditional gamers, developing secure and profitable monetization systems, and leveraging the strengths of social networking platforms to make innovative games. Featured new sessions include:
- The Cat and Mouse Game of Fraud - Speaker: Arthur Chu (Fraud Manager, Nexon), Einar Hreidarsson (Team Lead-Customer Support, CCP Games)
- Twist, Touch & Travel: Harnessing the iPhone's Unique Features - Speaker: Glenda Adams (President & Lead Programmer, Maverick Software)
- Beyond the Finish Line of Shipping an Indie Game - Speaker: Ron Carmel (Co-Founder, 2D Boy)
- Wizard101 - Lions and Tigers and Ninja Pigs, Oh My! - Speaker: J. Todd Coleman (Creative Director, KingsIsle Entertainment)
- Going from Free to Pay in Free-to-Play - Speaker: Min Kim (Vice President, Nexon America Inc.)
- The Loner - Speaker: Damion Schubert (Lead Combat Designer, Bioware Austin)
- The Social Gaming Tipping Point - Speaker: Brian Reynolds (Chief Designer, Zynga)
- Facebook: Is the Cake a Lie? - Speaker: Blake Commagere (Independent Game Developer)
"With the number of connected game developers, titles, and players continuing to grow, attending GDC Austin is more important than ever," says Izora de Lillard, event director at Think Services Game Group. "The sessions will provide key insights into current and future business opportunities in games ranging from free-to-play casual games, viral Facebook apps, epic MMO adventures and those we haven't imagined yet in this evolving category of games."