Welcome

Have you ever thought it would be fun to not only play games, but be involved in the process of creating them? Did you ever think being a game tester would be a fun way to make a living? Do you aspire to create your own virtual worlds? Do you desire to bend the power of technology to your will? The Games Industry has a wide variety of jobs for incredibly diverse folks that like to be creative.

Careers in the Games Industry require not only creativity and enthusiasm, but qualifications and skills. Come meet people that provide the art, stories, game design, and code for the games on today’s store shelves. We have speakers that will share with you what they do, how they got there, and what they are looking for. In the Games Industry, you can have fun, be challenged, and reach out to millions of fans in the fastest growing segment of the entertainment market.

Registration

Door prizes and swag galore!

Your registration fee covers printed materials and lunch. Space is limited, so register early to guarantee your spot and save money. The included lunch will be all-you-can eat pizza. We will get a variety of different types of pizza to try to accomodate everyones tastes, but if you have special dietary needs, please consider bringing a lunch.

Pre-registration is easy, convenient, and saves you $15 off the on-site registration fee. In addition, everyone who pre-registers is eligible to win one of our great door prizes, including posters and games signed by the developers! Preregistration ends on March 22, so don't delay!

Pre-Registration fee: $35
On-site registration: $50

Venue

March 24, 2007: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Onsite registration from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Interlake Performing Arts Theater
16245 NE 24th St.
Bellevue, WA. 98008

Agenda

March 24, 2007
8:00 - 9:00	Registration and networking
9:00 - 9:15	Opening remarks Cynthia Freese, CEO of Evergreen Events, Inc.
9:15 - 10:15	Writing for Games Jess Lebow - Flying Lab Software Jess, will share with you his journey on how he got to where he is today. He will talk about becoming a professional writer and share some advice on breaking into the game industry.
10:15 - 10:30	Break; visit with speakers and sponsors
10:30 - 11:30	Art and Animation in the World of Handheld Development Kevin Chung and Nelson Brown - Amaze Entertainment Kevin and Nelson's presentation will focus on the process of creating art within the restrictions of handheld games.
11:30 - 11:45	Break; visit with speakers and sponsors
11:45 -12:45	Breaking into the Games Industry Stephen Webster - Vancouver Film School Stephen will discuss the education needed to break into the Games Industry. Particular attention will be paid to the field of Game Design, the game designer’s portfolio, and the positions available in the industry.
12:45 - 1:45	Lunch (included - all you can eat pizza) Door prizes!
1:45 - 2:45	The Reality of Working in Game Development Chris Erhardt (moderator) - DigiPen John Williamson - Zombie Robin Walker - Valve Chris Taylor - Gas Powered Games Honest realities of life as a producer, designer, programmer, tester and product manager from working professionals along with insights on the tools and knowledge needed to break into these exciting fields.
2:45 - 3:00	Break; visit with speakers and sponsors
3:00 - 4:00	The Magician's Primer Michael Austin - Hidden Path Entertainment A game programmer is a rennaisance man who balances art and engineering, logic and imagination. An industry veteran talks about what game programmers actually do from day to day, and why he would never do anything else.
4:00 - 5:00	Game Design Lessons from Around the World Mark Terrano - Hidden Path Entertainment “What do game designers actually do to make games fun? What tools do they use, how long does it take? What is it like to be a game designer? What might games be like in the future? How is play different in other parts of the world?“ – expect some thought-provoking answers and entertaining stories from this award winning game designer.

Speakers

Michael Austin, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Hidden Path Entertainment

Michael is one of the few experts in the world on the Xbox 360 CPU architecture and has 9 years of games and platform development experience, during which he's had the opportunity of working on nearly every major subsystem from graphics to animation to collision, with a focus on architecture and low-level optimization. Michael has worked on several successful console titles including Xbox Live and Amped: Snowboarding, as well as being an instrumental part of the Xbox 360 launch team.

As part of Xbox's Advanced Technology Group, Michael has worked with dozens of game studios across ten different countries and consulted on numerous top selling games including many of the Xbox 360 launch titles such as Call of Duty 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and Project Gotham Racing along with Xbox titles such as Prince of Persia, Counterstrike, and Spiderman 2. Michael also has a strong technical innovation background, and has invented many new algorithms and approaches for content generation, computer vision, audio processing, and text analysis.

Nelson Brown, Animator, Amaze Entertainment

Nelson Brown has worked in the game industry for two years as an animator for Amaze Entertainment. He currently works in their Griptonite Studio making games for the Nintendo DS and the Game Boy Advance. Titles he has worked on include Shrek Super Slam, Eragon, Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts, and Lego Star Wars 2: the Original Trilogy.

Kevin Chung, Art Lead, Amaze Entertainment

Kevin Chung has been in the videogame industry as an artist since 2001 and has worked for Lobotomy Software Inc., Cavedog Entertainment, Humongous Entertainment, Ancient Corp. Tokyo and is currently at Amaze Entertainment. He is an Art Lead in the Griptonite Studio which specializes on handheld game development.

Christopher Erhardt, DigiPen

Christopher Erhardt currently holds the positions of Vice President of Production, DigiPen (USA) Corp. along with Associate Dean-CED. and Professor in the Game Software Design and Production Department of the DigiPen Institute of Technology. He has successfully produced and designed over 20 titles for PC and console platforms since 1987 including BattleTech, Spider Man vs. The Kingpin and Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Erhardt holds a Bachelors and Masters degree and is currently completing his PhD.

Jess Lebow, Content Director, Flying Lab Software

Jess Lebow is a best-selling novelist and an award-winning game designer. He has also written short stories, magazine articles, restaurant reviews, a television pilot, and the list goes on. He has even published poetry, although he tries not to these days. Jess was the original World Designer for Guild Wars and Guild Wars Factions and is now the Content Director for Pirates of the Burning Seas.

Chris Taylor, CEO and Creative Director, Gas Powered Games

For the past 18 years, Chris Taylor has been one of the game industry’s most imaginative and dynamic visionaries. The creator of the first true next-generation RTS game, Total Annihilation, Taylor enjoys an industry-wide reputation as an innovator who is able to push both technology and game-play to their limits.

Taylor founded Gas Powered Games in 1998, where he currently serves as the CEO and Creative Director. To date, GPG has released Dungeon Siege, Dungeon Siege II, Dungeon Siege II: Broken World and oversaw the development of Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony for the PSP. The company’s newest release is the highly anticipated RTS game, Supreme Commander. GPG is currently developing a number of unannounced projects.

Mark Terrano, Founder and Design Director, Hidden Path Entertainment

Mark Terrano was a lead designer, designer, and programmer on titles in the Age of Empires franchise and held the lead designer position on the best-selling strategy game of all-time: Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings. The titles Mark contributed to have sold over 17 million copies worldwide. Mark has lent his expertise towards aiding other game developers working on Xbox through his role as a Technical Game Manager for the Xbox organization and supporting game developers around the world.

Mark has written papers on multiplayer networking, game design, usability, and has given dozens of insightful and critically acclaimed presentations at universities, conferences, and events on five continents (he says he is just waiting for South America and Antarctica to call). Mark has been a panel leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Academy Awards Nomination group, has served on the Austin Games Conference advisory board, and worked with International Game Developer Association special interest groups.

Before his career as a game designer, Mark has been associated with large and small companies – having started and sold five profitable entrepreneurial companies and worked as a programmer/analyst on some of the largest critical transactions systems in the world for Mobil Oil Pipeline, The Toronto Stock Exchange, A.G. Edwards, GTE, and others.

Robin Walker, Programmer/Designer, Valve Software

Robin Walker co-wrote the hugely popular Quake mod Team Fortress, before being assimilated when Valve acquired Team Fortress Software. Since that time, he has been responsible for design, code, and management on various Valve products.

Stephen Webster, BA, MBA, Director, Vancouver Film School

Stephen Webster is one of the Directors at Vancouver Film School, where his expertise in design, team-building, and progressive business strategy have made him an essential figure in the successful expansion of the school to meet the creative and professional demands of the entertainment industry. Stephen created the school’s first Digital Design program and built the infrastructure for the school’s industry-acclaimed Game Design program. Before joining VFS Stephen co-founded the software solutions company Epionet where he designed high-end narratives to explain computer and business systems, directed the user-experience department, and designed crisis-response systems for clients such as BMW, Siemens, and Bertelsmann. He is a graduate of Dublin’s National College of Art & Design and received his MBA from Queens University, Canada.

John E. Williamson, President, Zombie Inc.

John has been making games professionally for over a decade, which is the equivalent of 120 years at a "real" job. He has worked as a designer/producer on many of the best selling, contemporary, military, 1st person shooter franchises: including America's Army, Rainbow Six, Delta Force, and Spec Ops. He has shipped titles on a wide range of platforms: GBA, PS1, PS2, Xbox, PC. Zombie is currently working on the Unreal 3 powered, Dick Marcinko: Rogue Warrior for the PC, PS3 and 360 as well as several "serious games" for the US Defense Department.

Gold Sponsor

Founded in 1988, DigiPen Institute of Technology has been a pioneer in interactive entertainment education. Offering degrees in computer science, computer engineering and production animation, DigiPen is ideal for those seeking a serious career in the gaming industry and beyond. For students in high school, DigiPen teaches a series of 2-week summer workshops that are fun introductions to the world of game programming and animation. For more information about DigiPen and the ProjectFUN Summer Workshop program, please visit www.digipen.edu.

AAA Scholarship Sponsor

Vancouver Film School offers a proven education for everything in the entertainment industry. There are over a dozen one-year programs at VFS, including in Film Production, Classical Animation, 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Entertainment Business Management, Digital Character Animation, Game Design, Digital Design, Sound Design, Makeup Design, Acting and Writing for Film & Television, Foundation Visual Art & Design, as well as a 16-week certification program in Houdini. The studio curriculum introduces students to the people, materials, and ideas shaping their disciplines, and the completion of an original demo reel or portfolio is the ultimate preparation for a career after only one year.

Partners

Formed in 2006, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit membership organization established to serve the evolving needs of individuals who play computer and video games by giving their passion a voice. The ECA serves as an advocacy organization for the interactive entertainment consumers who represent nearly fifty percent of the population, have an average age of 33, and spend $10 billion a year on gaming. The ECA mission is to give gamers a voice and ensure that state and local politicians hear their concerns and appreciate their demographic power. The Connecticut-based organization focuses its advocacy efforts on consumer rights, anti-games legislation, and other public policy concerns as well as providing substantial community, educational, and affinity benefits to its members—from discounts on subscriptions and game rentals and purchases to education, employment assistance, and insider access to industry partners.

Gas Powered Games was founded in May 1998 by Chris Taylor, creator of the award-winning Total Annihilation. Located in the Pacific Northwest, GPG is a short distance from Seattle, Washington and is devoted to creating immersive AAA games that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment. The company's first project, Dungeon Siege, was released in April 2002 and its sequel, Dungeon Siege II was released in August 2005. Both games were critical and commercial successes. GPG's recent releases include Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony for the PSP (developed cooperatively with SuperVillian Studios), Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition and the award-winning and genre-defining Supreme Commander. GPG currently employs over 90 of the world's best designers, programmers and artists and is in full development on three titles.

Flying Lab Software, a Seattle, Washington based game development company established in 1997, is the maker of the critically acclaimed Rails Across America®. Flying Lab Software’s current project is Pirates of the Burning Sea® for the PC, an innovative massively multiplayer online role-playing game of adventure and naval combat set in the 1720s in the Caribbean. Pirates of the Burning Sea is set to release in June of 2007.