Industry Heavy Hitters Lined Up For Austin Game Conference

This year’s Austin Game Conference, scheduled for 6 to 8 September 2006 in Austin, Texas, has a line-up of keynote speakers that reads like a Who’s Who in the gaming industry. The Conference will officially open at 10 AM on Wednesday, 7th September, with an address by Blizzard Entertainment’s Rob Pardo, VP of Game Design. Pardo was the lead designer for World of Warcraft, possibly the most popular MMO game in the industry’s brief history.

Dell Computer founder and CEO Michael Dell will hold a “fireside chat” in the Austin Game Tech Pavilion the following day at 4:45 PM. This will be followed up the next morning at 9:30 with an address delivered by Hugo Award winner and sci-fi author Vernor Vinge entitled “Inside Out.” Other speakers scheduled include Raph Koster, John Smedley, Sanya Weathers and Sean Dalberg.

The program of the Conference will include seminars on Games in Asia, Multiplayer Business/Production, Multiplayer Design, Multiplayer Service and Support, Future of The Development Pipeline and Next Generation Game Development. Industry professionals can pre-register until 21 July at 40% off the $495 conference fee by  going to the Conference Website.

Christopher Sherman, director of The Game Initiative – the organization sponsoring the Conference – says, “We are extremely pleased to have so many visionaries and industry leaders join us at the fourth annual Austin Game Conference…with this year’s theme of ‘Brave New Worlds’ the Austin Game Conference hosts industry influencers, including game developers, technologists and business professionals from around the world.”

Sherman also pointed out that Austin, Texas is one of the top 5 cities in the United States for video game development.

This year’s Austin Game Conference, scheduled for 6 to 8 September 2006 in Austin, Texas, has a line-up of keynote speakers that reads like a Who’s Who in the gaming industry. The Conference will officially open at 10 AM on Wednesday, 7th September, with an address by Blizzard Entertainment’s Rob Pardo, VP of Game Design. Pardo was the lead designer for World of Warcraft, possibly the most popular MMO game in the industry’s brief history.

Dell Computer founder and CEO Michael Dell will hold a “fireside chat” in the Austin Game Tech Pavilion the following day at 4:45 PM. This will be followed up the next morning at 9:30 with an address delivered by Hugo Award winner and sci-fi author Vernor Vinge entitled “Inside Out.” Other speakers scheduled include Raph Koster, John Smedley, Sanya Weathers and Sean Dalberg.

The program of the Conference will include seminars on Games in Asia, Multiplayer Business/Production, Multiplayer Design, Multiplayer Service and Support, Future of The Development Pipeline and Next Generation Game Development. Industry professionals can pre-register until 21 July at 40% off the $495 conference fee by  going to the Conference Website.

Christopher Sherman, director of The Game Initiative – the organization sponsoring the Conference – says, “We are extremely pleased to have so many visionaries and industry leaders join us at the fourth annual Austin Game Conference…with this year’s theme of ‘Brave New Worlds’ the Austin Game Conference hosts industry influencers, including game developers, technologists and business professionals from around the world.”

Sherman also pointed out that Austin, Texas is one of the top 5 cities in the United States for video game development.