On Monday, October 10 from 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., GameSpy Technology will return to the Game Developers Conference Online in Austin, TX to host a full-day tutorial on using online features to “Build Iconic Online Games.” Attendance is open to all who have registered for GDC Online (except for the Games Career Seminar). We had a phenomenal turnout for last year’s event, and we invite you to join us again this year!
Our full agenda for the event is below. Speakers for the keynote and the panels to be announced soon. Stay tuned!
9:30 – 10:00 – Opening Remarks from GameSpy Technology
GameSpy Technology will provide its perspective on the state of online gaming, deliver information on the wildly successful growth of its indie developer focused “GameSpy Open” initiative, and preview several prominent indie titles – from Warm Gun by Emotional Robots to Dungeon Defenders: Second Wave by Trendy Entertainment – that use GameSpy’s Technology to push rich online features to new audiences in the mobile space. Particular focus will be given to Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja — a hit casual game that used GameSpy Technology’s multiplayer services to connect its players on Android devices. GameSpy Technology will discuss the studio’s achievements while asserting that rich online features have become essential for indie developers to reach “icon” status.
10:00 – 10:30 – Keynote: Ernest Cline, Author: Ready Player One
Ernest Cline’s new novel, Ready Player One, is a set within a global MMO of epic proportions, filled with references to and appearances by video games both classic and current, and explores the nature of life both in and out of a game world that has essentially replaced the internet. Mr. Cline will join GameSpy Technology’ Tutorial Day to provide insight into his rationale for setting the novel in an online world, providing a argument for why game-based entertainment at every level should embrace rich online as a key element in “finding the fun.”
11:00 – 12:00 – Session #1: The Database Is the Next Game Engine
Tracking LOTS of game data is critical for all game developers in the era of online ubiquity. From leaderboards to stats-rich user-profiles to telemetry, games on every platform lean on big data to make games more fun. But tracking data at scale can intimidate even the largest developer. At this session, GameSpy Technology will discuss how it scaled its stats-tracking services so that any studio can leverage “big data” to produce big fun. We will discuss our move from a “SQL for everything” approach to a heterogeneous, partially NoSQL environment built for the data needs of game developers big and small. {Presenter: Mike Ruangutai, Technical Director, GameSpy Technology}
12:00 – 1:30 – Networking Lunch
Eat a meal on our dime and connect directly with fellow online game pioneers, alongside GameSpy Tech engineers, account managers and product staff (we promise to chew with our mouths closed).
1:30 – 2:30 — Panel #1: Beyond the Couch – State of Online Games in 2011
Before we know where online games should go, it’s important to take stock of where we’re at. This panel will convene players from various online-enabled spaces within gaming (mobile, console, social, and free-to-play) to provide a cohesive vision of where online gaming stands – and point to its future at the dawn of the mobile / html5 revolution. {Kris Graft, Editor-in-Chief, Gamasutra; Panelists: Bernie Yee – Bungie Aerospace; Tom DuBois – OnLive; Dallas Dickerson – BioWare / The Old Republic; Brian Cho – Booyah; Lorin Jameson – SOE / DC Universe Online}
2:30 – 2:45 – Live Demo: Dungeon Defenders – Cross-Platform Co-Op Multiplayer
Trendy Entertainment’s Philip Asher presents a live demo of the studio’s innovative tower defense / RPG, which uses GameSpy Technology’s multiplayer services to deliver cross-platform co-op play across iOS, Android, PC and PS3. The game’s Xbox, PC and PSN versions release on October 19.
3:00 – 4:00 – Session #3: Tutorial – Building Limitless Leaderboards – and More – on iOS, Android, and Beyond
You can argue about genres, gameplay mechanics and story all day long, but the great uniter among gamers is a love of stats. From high scores to leaderboards to stats rich user profiles, everyone loves to measure their performance. In this tutorial, GameSpy Technology will show you, step-by-step, how to use its freely available, cross-platform Player Metrics & Rankings services in the Unity engine to create the stats-driven features that gamers love and demand from games on every platform – from iOS to Android and beyond. {Presenter: Dan Maas, Technical Product Manager, GameSpy Technology}
4:00 – 4:15 – Live Demo: Super Comboman & IGN Indie Open House
Todd Northcutt, VP of GameSpy Technology present an overview of GameSpy Technology and IGN’s Indie Open House residency program, which provides free office space, technology, and consultation to independent game developers. Justin Woodward of Interabang — on of the studios participating in the program — will deliver his studio’s game, Super Comboman, currently in development at IOH.
4:30 – 5:30 – Panel #2: Don’t Look Back – Why I Went Indie
Some game developers became indies by circumstance; others were just born that way. This panel will bring together developers who chose the independent route from the start, those who found independence thrust upon them, and others who chose indie development because of its appeal relative to their experiences with big studio development. They will discuss their path to indie-dom, explore its advantages and disadvantages over AAA studio life, and share their secrets (or just tightly gripped hopes) for achieving success with only themselves to call “boss.” {Moderator: Ben Kuchera – Ars Technica | Panelists: Philip Asher – Trendy Entertainment / Dungeon Defenders; Justin Woodward – Interabang / Super ComboMan; Richard Wykoff – Reverge Games / SkullGirls; Max Hoberman – Certain Affinity / Age of Booty & Crimson Alliance}
5:30 – 6:30 – Multiplatform Cocktails
Have one on us and toast the launch of your next successful online game!
