CONFERENCE
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PRODUCTION
In recent years, game industry production challenges have been split between massive budgets for AAA console games, and significant new production challenges from social, online, smartphone and other emerging types of game. The goal of the Production Track is to provide developers with concrete tactics for managing game production, no matter what size or scope your game is.
2013 Sesssions Coming Soon!
2012 HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS
Seven Silver Bullets in Production and Operation of Free-2-Play Browser Games
Christopher Schmitz (Ubisoft Blue Byte)
Benedikt Grindel (Ubisoft Blue Byte)
Benedikt Grindel (Ubisoft Blue Byte)
Two years into the development of free-to-play browser games, Ubisoft Blue Byte has successfully launched The Settlers Online, recently announced Silent Hunter Online and has several unnamed titles in production. In this talk Christopher Schmitz and Benedikt Grindel will identify the key factors that are critical to the success of their game products. This talk will present both the theoretical foundation and war stories about how Ubisoft Blue Byte started this new business and will share their current "Silver Bullets" on how to develop and operate games successfully.
Postmortem: Mafia II
Jarek Kolar (2K Czech)
After the success of the original Mafia in 2002, the development team wanted to make a sequel of the game in a fast and efficient way. In the end, the development of the sequel was neither quick nor easy. This session is a postmortem on the eight years of Mafia II development - from inception to its release in 2010. Kolar will talk about the pitfalls of developing a sequel of a critically acclaimed hit and how the expectation and ambitions can damage a project. Also, learn how the local development team, Illusion Softworks, changed into the premium international development house 2K Czech.
Dead Island: How To Create a Mega Seller On a Moderate Budget
Guido Eickmeyer (Deep Silver)
This session will examine thought-provoking impulses and generic learnings from an unusual success story backed up with real and unpublicized user data. Dollinger will showcase the relative insignificance of metacritics, the importance of creating contrasts, the overwhelming value of a well-designed multiplayer co-op, the tiny scope needed for a satisfying open-world experience, and lastly, the influence of an award-winning trailer that exceeded expectations in several aspects. Learn how unconventional decisions served Dead Island well, resulting in atypical market results.
Implementing an In-House Playtesting Process
Graham McAllister (Player Research)
Making sure games resonate with players has never been more important. This talk will outline a complete playtesting process and recommend the best methods to help developers make better games. McAllister will explain how to playtest on a budget with the goal of increasing player experience for AAA and indie games. Player Research's playtest techniques are designed to remove biased opinion and provide evidence to support key design decisions. Hear how after years of playtesting AAA and indie titles, Player Research has never seen a game that could not be improved by this process.
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