EVENTS | MONDAY 31st July 2017
ALL DAY | MOTIF HOTEL | WORKSHOP LIVEOPS CONNECT
ALL DAY | MOTIF HOTEL | WORKSHOP 21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP & POWER IN DIVERSITY SYMPOSIUM
ALL DAY | THE TRIPLE DOOR | PARTNER EVENT DEVGAMM SUMMIT SEATTLE 2017
EMCEES | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
WELCOME | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WELCOME
WELCOME | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION MARKET NAVIGATION WELCOME
WELCOME | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO CASINO WELCOME
WELCOME | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION DESIGN INNOVATION WELCOME
WELCOME | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO AUDIO WELCOME
9:30AM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
10:00AM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
10:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Reflecting on 40 Years of Making and Loving Casual Games
Robert Glaser, Founder, Chairman & CEO, RealNetworks
Rob Glaser wrote his first game in 1978 – a presidential election simulation called Prez that ran on a DEC PDP 11. He then published his first computer games – Slinx and Viper for the IBM PC – in 1982. Since then, Rob has stayed involved in casual games – first at Microsoft for 10 years, then at RealNetworks for over 20. He reflects back on what he’s learned and what he sees as the greatest opportunities ahead.
10:30AM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
10:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Everyone Deserves to Have Fun: Recognizing the Individual in Games
Carey DiJulio, SVP Product & Marketing, Big Fish Games
The interactive nature of gameplay challenges us to use data in sophisticated ways to better understand the person playing and their preferences to make the interaction as fun and rewarding as possible. In this talk Carey will discuss player insights and game industry trends and why she believes understanding your players as individuals is an important next step as we all strive to bring fun to players wherever and however they want to play.
10:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION Analyzing Emerging Platforms for Mobile Games in the West: Messaging, Messenger, iMessage & More
Josh Burns, Founder, DigitalDevConnect
In a mature mobile gaming market, studios are always looking for emerging distribution channels for their content, especially smaller studios that cannot compete with the marketing capital & capabilities of the incumbents. The focus of this session will be to explore the current trends in emerging mobile game distribution channels, how to prioritize these distribution opportunities and the strengths/weaknesses of each in the West.
10:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Key Elements of Driving Sustainable Mobile Growth – World Series of Poker Case-Study
Jeet Niyogi, Marketing Director, Playtika
Achieving mobile growth is not easy but maintaining it, which often remains underestimated, is even harder given the ultra-crowded app landscape today. Join Jeet Niyogi to find out some of the key components, especially from the marketing and user acquisition side of things, that he experimented with and put in place, to maintain a steady growth of the user base for Playtika’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) app.
10:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Designing for Failure: An R&D Process for Prototyping Casual Games
Scott Jon Siegel, Indie Developer & Game Design Consultant
Games teach us that failure is the first step to mastery. So why does our industry fear failure? And why do so many developers risk stagnancy by adhering to best practices and fast-follows, rather than investing early in R&D -- where failure is fast, cheap and productive, rather than perilous? This talk proposes a methodology for prototyping casual games, and argues for the kind of success that only comes from designing for failure.
10:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Why Game Audio is Vital to the Success of your Game: And How to Get the Best Results from your Audio Partner
Mike Raznick, Composer & Audio Lead, Dreamcraft Music & Sound
The collaborative relationship between game developer and audio partner can hugely impact the quality of a game. The audio production life-cycle presents many opportunities for success. From sourcing an appropriate audio direction, to production and feedback, to revision iteration and more, this session will explore how to effectively work with your audio partner to build a memorable and effective audio treatment for your game.
11:00AM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
11:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS PANEL: Game On! Rising to the Challenge of Gender Diversity
Lyndsay Pearson, Executive Producer, Electronic Arts
Heather Hazen, Executive Producer / Games General Manager, Games Industry
Lina Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Nix Hydra
MODERATOR: Christina Dunbar, Head of Talent Strategy, Scopely
While the number of women in gaming companies is rising, key operational positions are still greatly underrepresented. This panel will discuss the continuing challenges of prioritizing gender diversity in the pursuit of top talent in the games industry as well as companies making this the cultural norm.
11:00 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION FIRESIDE CHAT: Vungle & Publisher Fanatee on the Pros and Cons of Being a First Mover in Ad Technology
Cesar Mufarej, Co-Founder, Fanatee
Martin Price, VP of Product, Vungle
When is the right time to start adopting new ad technology? Up-and-coming optimization tools often sound promising, but how can you be sure? Vungle’s Martin Price and Fanatee’s (a leading word game developer) Cesar Mufarej sit down to talk about the benefits and pitfalls of emerging ad technology. Get the scoop on how Fanatee vets their tech and how they’ve leveraged Vungle’s Placements to grow their revenue by 50% as a result of their latest ad mediation strategy.
11:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO State of the Social Casino Industry – Q2 2017
Adam Krejcik, Principal, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming
In this session you will learn about the latest trends and data as it relates to the social casino games industry including: market size, top publishers, revenue by platform, biggest titles, KPIs, marketing expenses, latest M&A activity and sector outlook. A must-attend session for anyone involved or wanting to learn more about the $4B+ social casino games market from one of the industry’s most respected analysts.
11:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION 30 Years of Making Games
11:00 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Audio Outsourcing: Contracts, Budgets & Concepts
Richard Ludlow, Audio Director, Hexany Audio
This highly practical session will explore the common practice of outsourcing music, sound, and voiceover for your game. It will review typical contract and agreement types such as work for hire, non-exclusive and exclusive license. It will also review typical audio budgeting strategies and cost estimates for music, sound, and dialogue. Lastly, it will review higher level concepts for great game audio, including interactivity, middleware, and optimization strategies.
11:30AM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
11:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS PANEL CONTINUES: Game On! Rising to the Challenge of Gender Diversity
Lyndsay Pearson, Executive Producer, Electronic Arts
Heather Hazen, Executive Producer / Games General Manager, Games Industry
Lina Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Nix Hydra
MODERATOR: Christina Dunbar, Head of Talent Strategy, Scopely
While the number of women in gaming companies is rising, key operational positions are still greatly underrepresented. This panel will discuss the continuing challenges of prioritizing gender diversity in the pursuit of top talent in the games industry as well as companies making this the cultural norm.
11:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION Building Sustainable Mobile Revenue: Insights from SEGA
Mike Evans, Chief Marketing Officer, SEGA
Anand Ramesh, Head of Publisher Partnerships, Americas,Twitter/MoPub
In this session, MoPub's Anand Ramesh sits down with SEGA CMO Mike Evans, who will share his expertise and unique perspective on sustainable mobile monetization for gaming apps. How do you balance user experience and ad revenue? How do you decide on the best placements, ad formats, and demand sources for your app? This is a can't-miss session for gaming publishers looking to take their monetization strategy to the next level by learning from a leader in the space.
11:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO The Power of Authentic Slot Games
11:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Incremental Innovations – Breaking the Rules of Idle Games in Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money
Dave Rohrl, Owner, Mobile Game Doctor
Jim Wagner, Producer, East Side Games
Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money has been an unexpected success. The game used a niche license and an unusual combination of traditional idle game mechanics and unique design innovations. In this nuts-and-bolts talk, we will go into detail on our design process on how we shaped the game's systems to fit the IP, how we interpreted the IP to fit the genre's conventions, and how we made this all work together in what reviewers have called the ultimate piece of fan service.
11:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Immersive Audio is Possible on an Indie Budget
12:00 NOON | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
12:00 | BENAROYA HALL | SPECIAL EVENTS LUNCH BREAK
Sponsored by Oath: A Verizon Company
12:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Using Mobile-First Data to Grow and Engage Your Audience
Grant Cohen, GM, Kochava
From app usage to web browsing to locations, there is more data being created and collected about consumers than ever before by developers, devices makers and TelCos. We'll unpack what that data looks like and the innovative ways that games can leverage these growing data sets to better understand, target and engage their customers.
1:00PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
13:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS How Mobile Advertising is Evolving
Natalie Portier, COO, Appodeal
Mobile advertising is constantly changing at a rapid pace. What is effective today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Come learn about the current state of mobile advertising and how some major changes will drastically alter the industry as we know it today. When that time comes, will you be ready?
13:00 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION Follow the Sun: Global Trends in Mobile Gaming External Development
Lauren Freeman, Senior Manager, Worldwide External Development, Electronic Arts
Jason Harris, Senior Director, Worldwide External Development & Business Development, Electronic Arts
Jason Harris, Sr. Director and Lauren Freeman, Sr. Manager from Electronic Art’s External Development Intelligence team (XDI), will share insights gained by conversing with 1,000s of game developers and service providers around the world. This joint presentation will cover mobile gaming industry trends as seen through the lens of external development, and emerging areas of opportunity.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Free to Play, Fun to Pay: Monetization Secrets
Dvir Ackerman, Head of New Product, Tangelo Games
The fun in social casino is everywhere. It is no longer limited to the slot gameplay, starting from innovative meta games to entertaining marketing ads. In this session we will reveal how at Tangelo Games we redefine our buying experience by turning our sale promotions into fun games.
13:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION What’s Your Game’s Day 2,000 Retention?
Chris Williams, VP & GM, SkyRocket Studios at Big Fish Games
Fairway Solitaire launched in the App Store in February 2012 and has been one of the platform’s greatest long term successes. The game continues to grow audience and revenue and the franchise has expanded to include Fairway Solitaire Blast. In this session you will find out some of the keys to this game’s long lasting success including insights into the game’s live operations, events, and the impact of new features.
13:00 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO The Future of Audio for Casual Games
Guy Whitmore, Composer/Audio Director/Founder, Foxface Rabbitfish, LLC
As casual games evolve in quality, gameplay, and from one platform to another including MR/VR, audio for these games must also evolve. This includes greater attention to detail, so that it directly supports gameplay and player motivations. Stock sounds and carpeted music will only detract from game experiences that are becoming more nuanced and intimate. As such, audio must become an integral part of these experiences.
1:30PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
13:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION FIRESIDE CHAT: The Keys to Monetization in Mobile Gaming
Chris Akhavan, Chief Revenue Officer, Glu Mobile
Interviewed by Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat at VentureBeat
Mobile gaming grew to $11.9B in revenue in Q1 of 2017 illustrating over 50% growth YoY. In a competitive and often crowded space, Chris Akhavan, Chief Revenue Officer of Glu Mobile has consistently been able to lead nimble and strategic monetization practices across Glu’s robust portfolio in a sometimes volatile industry. In this fireside chat, Chris will discuss best practices, trends, and predictions for UA, advertising and live operations in mobile gaming.
13:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Huuuge Playbook: Making It More Social
13:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION The Year in Mobile Games
Steve Meretzky, VP of Games, King
Dave Rohrl, Founder, Mobile Game Doctor
Juan Gril, Executive Producer, FlowPlay
Steve Meretzky, Dave Rohrl, and Juan Gril continue their long-running series recapping the highlights of the year in mobile gaming. They dive into the most interesting new games, updated games, and trends of the year, to paint a picture of where mobile gaming is today, and where it is going.
13:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Production Music Libraries for Game Developers (Pros & Cons)
Xiao'an Li, Founder & Partner, Li & Ortega
Game Developers frequently find the development of a supportive musical aesthetic to be difficult. The task gets fragmented and delayed, leading to a lack of focused direction, resulting in iterations that waste time and money. The guided use of Production Music Libraries makes it possible to create a musical blueprint to effectively guide the creative process. Know what you want, and how to get it.
2:00PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
14:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Why VR Mustn't Mimic Mobile
Tommy Palm, CEO, Resolution Games
VR game creators might be keen to look to mobile for learnings they can apply to their industry. As a similarly disruptive technology, it's almost a no brainer. But study closely and you'll find VR and mobile are different in ways that make such comparisons fatally flawed. Tommy Palm draws on his experiences creating mobile hits to discuss why presenting games to VR audiences needs to be different from mobile, and how flawless discoverability will determine VR's success.
14:00 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL: V for Video: Monetizing your App with Mobile’s Most Powerful Ad Format
Sameer Sondhi, VP & GM Business Development, InMobi
Andrew Gerhart, COO, Aerserv
Corentin Leydis, Programmatic Advertising, GAMELOFT
Josh Nilson, CEO, East Side Games
John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE
MODERATOR: Dan Laughlin, SVP & General Manager, HyprMX
In this session, leaders in the mobile advertising ecosystem will dive into mobile’s most powerful ad format: video. How can app developers unlock video’s true revenue potential? How can game publishers utilize the latest video formats like vertical, rewarded and playable video to grow and retain users? Join us as we discuss how top publishers are using video ads as part of their monetization strategies to increase revenue and influence user behavior and retention.
14:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Making Casinos the VIP Destination for Gamers
Blaine Graboyes, CEO, GameCo
Nathan Ting, Business Development Manager, Gamblit Gaming
Kingsley Edwards, CEO, Leet
Seth Schorr, Chairman, The Downtown Grand
Gamers are the largest underserved demographic. We’re stereotyped as teenagers in our parents’ basements. In reality, we’re adults who over-index for income and education. We’re looking for a place that treats us like VIPs. Casinos are experts at this and they’ve built their brands as the ultimate destination. This panel will explore how esports teams, leagues, developers, and publishers can work with casinos to deliver the ultimate VIP experience for gamers.
13:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION SESSION CONTINUES: The Year in Mobile Games
Steve Meretzky, VP of Games, King
Dave Rohrl, Founder, Mobile Game Doctor
Juan Gril, Executive Producer, FlowPlay
Steve Meretzky, Dave Rohrl, and Juan Gril continue their long-running series recapping the highlights of the year in mobile gaming. They dive into the most interesting new games, updated games, and trends of the year, to paint a picture of where mobile gaming is today, and where it is going.
14:00 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Killer Instinct – A Postmortem on Accessibility
2:30PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
14:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 10 Coders to 110: 16 Years of Bungie Engineering
Luke Timmins, Head of Engineering, Bungie
The vision and scope of Destiny have required growth in both the size and diversity of specializations in Bungie engineering. In this talk, Luke will share lessons learned from embracing and managing that growth while touching on culture- and development-defining events in Bungie’s history. Takeaways will include our people management best practices, organizational heuristics, and work/life balance principles that have taken us through Destiny 2 development and beyond.
14:00 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL CONTINUES: V for Video: Monetizing your App with Mobile’s Most Powerful Ad Format
Sameer Sondhi, VP & GM Business Development, InMobi
Andrew Gerhart, COO, Aerserv
Corentin Leydis, Programmatic Advertising, GAMELOFT
Josh Nilson, CEO, East Side Games
John Koetsier, Mobile Economist, TUNE
MODERATOR: Dan Laughlin, SVP & General Manager, HyprMX
In this session, leaders in the mobile advertising ecosystem will dive into mobile’s most powerful ad format: video. How can app developers unlock video’s true revenue potential? How can game publishers utilize the latest video formats like vertical, rewarded and playable video to grow and retain users? Join us as we discuss how top publishers are using video ads as part of their monetization strategies to increase revenue and influence user behavior and retention.
14:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Making Casinos the VIP Destination for Gamers
Blaine Graboyes, CEO, GameCo
Nathan Ting, Business Development Manager, Gamblit Gaming
Kingsley Edwards, CEO, Leet
Seth Schorr, Chairman, The Downtown Grand
Gamers are the largest underserved demographic. We’re stereotyped as teenagers in our parents’ basements. In reality, we’re adults who over-index for income and education. We’re looking for a place that treats us like VIPs. Casinos are experts at this and they’ve built their brands as the ultimate destination. This panel will explore how esports teams, leagues, developers, and publishers can work with casinos to deliver the ultimate VIP experience for gamers.
14:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION How F2P has Changed Games – And is Changing Game Design
Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
The F2P revenue model steadily and relentlessly changes the way games are consumed and are played; the popular genres and types of games; the game development process -- and even design itself. This talk highlights the key touchpoints and recent findings from behavioral science; so that game professionals can harness the feedback loop, and be actors rather than acted upon.
14:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO Drawing Inspiration from Nature – A Postmortem on the Audio Design Process for WORDLINGS
Eric Goetz, Director of Audio Content Production, Novel Effect
Want to give your game's characters more life and personality? One effective way is to draw inspiration from the natural world. In this talk, composer and sound designer Eric Goetz will delve deep into the audio design process for the iOS word game, WORDLINGS, and how the team drew inspiration from bird calls when designing the character sounds, in order to give each a distinct and memorable personality.
3:00PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
15:00 | BENAROYA HALL | SPECIAL EVENTS COFFEE BREAK
Sponsored by Oath: A Verizon Company
15:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FIRESIDE CHAT: The Long Game – Perspectives on Creating Mobile Experiences that Last for Years
Lawrence Koh, CEO, Nexon M
Markus Pasula, CEO, Grand Cru
Interviewed by Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat at VentureBeat
The mobile industry is catching on to what online game creators have been doing for the last decade: playing the long game and building experiences that last for years. During this fireside chat, industry experts in publishing and developing worlds will offer perspectives by reflecting on past projects and looking ahead at the keys to building games with lasting power – from live ops and community engagement to gameplay mechanics and the simple concept of having fun.
15:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Idle Clicker Games: Why are They So Popular and How Can I Get in on the Action?
David Chiu, Founder, DC Games Consulting LLC
Idle clicker games are a young genre that has seen explosive growth in the last few years thanks to the popularity of games such as Clicker Heroes and AdVenture Capitalist. This session will explore the evolution of the idle genre from simple indie projects to games with major licensed IPs and celebrities (Chuck Norris, WWE). We will also share best practices for improving retention and monetization (both IAP and ads).
3:30PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
15:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS The Artificially Intelligent Game Designer
15:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL: Think Globally – How to Build Your Game and Acquire New Users for Worldwide Success
Lenette Yap, UA & Growth Marketing Manager, Wooga
Michael Ritter, CEO & Co-Founder, Maple Media
Eugenia Kovalenko, Director of Marketing, Smule
MODERATOR: Rafael Vivas, Vice President, Business Development, AppLovin
In this panel, we’ll discuss how to build your game to immediately resonate in regional markets as soon as you launch. Each panelist will touch on how their business directly benefits from acquiring internationally and how they channel ad revenues into user acquisition. Finally, we’ll review how to plan for the cost of installs changing over time and how to maintain your game’s growth across regions.
15:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Innovation in Social Casino
Mark Beck, VP, Strategy, Murka
Maturation of the social casino market has driven increased competition for a fixed wallet. Players are faced with an abundance of (FREE) choices and are refining their tastes - in both production quality and game complexity (slot content and meta-game). Find out how Murka has succeeded in this environment to become the 10th largest and fastest growing social casino company.
15:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION FIRESIDE CHAT: Jesse Rapczak – Co-Creator of ARK
15:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO PANEL: Audio Middleware - The Quantum Leap in Interactive Immersion
Michael Sweet, Artistic Director of Video Game Scoring, Berklee College of Music
Guy Whitmore, Composer/Audio Director/Founder, Foxface Rabbitfish, LLC
Brian Schmidt, Founder, Brian Schmidt Studios
MODERATOR: Dale Crowley, Creative Director, Somatone
Audio Middleware such as WWISE, FMOD and Elias has made great strides in recent years, and its adoption in casual and VR games is on the upswing. Leaders in the field join this all-star panel to discuss the benefits of using Audio Middleware. Games that use Middleware have distinct advantages over games that do not. The days of just delivering sound and music for a game are behind us, as the experts on this panel will explain with real world examples.
4:00PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
16:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FIRESIDE CHAT: Trusting Users to Guide the Creative Process for Mobile, Console and VR Games
David Baszucki, Founder & CEO, Roblox
Michael Metzger, SVP, Houlihan Lokey
This fireside chat with David Baszucki and Michael Metzger explores how Roblox provided its community the platform and tools and entrusted millions of developers to build highly engaging and monetizing mobile, console and VR games.
15:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL CONTINUES: Think Globally – How to Build Your Game and Acquire New Users for Worldwide Success
Lenette Yap, UA & Growth Marketing Manager, Wooga
Michael Ritter, CEO & Co-Founder, Maple Media
Eugenia Kovalenko, Director of Marketing, Smule
MODERATOR: Rafael Vivas, Vice President, Business Development, AppLovin
In this panel, we’ll discuss how to build your game to immediately resonate in regional markets as soon as you launch. Each panelist will touch on how their business directly benefits from acquiring internationally and how they channel ad revenues into user acquisition. Finally, we’ll review how to plan for the cost of installs changing over time and how to maintain your game’s growth across regions.
16:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Operators vs Suppliers and What It Means for Social Casino Indie Devs
Gabriel Cianchetto, President Market Development North America, Novomatic Greentube
Michael Carpenter, President & Co-Founder, Ruby Seven Studios
Luisa Woods, VP Online & Internet Marketing, Tropicana Entertainment
Kunal Mishra, President, Spin Games
MODERATOR: Adam Krejcik, Principal, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming
Operators and suppliers have been clashing over content usage when it comes to online and mobile social casino apps. This ongoing battle in the casino industry poses potential opportunities for independent social casino developers. In this panel, experts will discuss the current situation, where it might be heading, and whether or not social casino developers can capitalize on it – and, if so, how.
16:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Quick to Market – 1 Game Every 8 Weeks
Jesse Divnich, Vice President, QuickByte Games
How three AAA Developers Plan To Disrupt the F2P Mobile Market For Indie Devs: We aim to disrupt the mobile market by creating games that look and feel like they had a much longer development cycle than our self-imposed 8 weeks. To achieve these goals, we need to compact everything in a much shorter period. Discover our milestones, creative, monetization, QA and localization strategies, each necessary to achieve these results.
15:30 | SOUNDBRIDGE | AUDIO PANEL CONTINUES: Audio Middleware - The Quantum Leap in Interactive Immersion
Michael Sweet, Artistic Director of Video Game Scoring, Berklee College of Music
Guy Whitmore, Composer/Audio Director/Founder, Foxface Rabbitfish, LLC
Brian Schmidt, Founder, Brian Schmidt Studios
MODERATOR: Dale Crowley, Creative Director, Somatone
Audio Middleware such as WWISE, FMOD and Elias has made great strides in recent years, and its adoption in casual and VR games is on the upswing. Leaders in the field join this all-star panel to discuss the benefits of using Audio Middleware. Games that use Middleware have distinct advantages over games that do not. The days of just delivering sound and music for a game are behind us, as the experts on this panel will explain with real world examples.
4:30PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
16:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS FIRESIDE CHAT: How Microsoft’s Mixer Innovates Livestreaming Experiences
Matt Salsamendi, CEO, Mixer/Microsoft
Interviewed by Michael Metzger, SVP, Houlihan Lokey
In this fireside chat with Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Matt Salsamendi and Michael Metzger, discover how the Microsoft’s Mixer platform innovates livestreaming and provides unique new social experiences and real-time latency across PC, mobile and console.
16:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL: How Mobile is Democratizing Esports
Matt Fossati, CEO & Founder, Game Masons
Tim O'Neil, Co-Founder, Tether Studios
Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder, Skillz
MODERATOR: Matthew Handrahan, Editor-in-Chief, GamesIndustry.biz
With more than 2.6 billion gamers worldwide, mobile is the most popular gaming platform in history. The democratizing nature of mobile makes competition accessible to more players and developers than ever before, without any specialty hardware required. This session will address the current esports landscape, how game developers can benefit from getting involved, and the role that mobile will play in the future of the industry.
16:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Operators vs Suppliers and What It Means for Social Casino Indie Devs
Gabriel Cianchetto, President Market Development North America, Novomatic Greentube
Michael Carpenter, President & Co-Founder, Ruby Seven Studios
Luisa Woods, VP Online & Internet Marketing, Tropicana Entertainment
Kunal Mishra, President, Spin Games
MODERATOR: Adam Krejcik, Principal, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming
Operators and suppliers have been clashing over content usage when it comes to online and mobile social casino apps. This ongoing battle in the casino industry poses potential opportunities for independent social casino developers. In this panel, experts will discuss the current situation, where it might be heading, and whether or not social casino developers can capitalize on it – and, if so, how.
16:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION Tales From the UCG Trenches: Developing Standards and Guidelines for Gen Z
Liz Bloom Levatino, Player Experience Associate Lead, Pocket Gems
Episode Interactive is a storytelling network and platform that has built the world’s largest community of mobile content creators. Managing the quality and subject matter of a UGC platform has presented us with many challenges around content guidelines and processes. Learn about how we set and enforce content standards and manage community expectations. Hear how we’ve learned to deal with community blowback from guideline enforcement and creator suspensions.
5:00PM | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
17:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | INDUSTRY INSIGHTS The State of Mobile Gaming
Danielle Levitas, SVP, Research, App Annie
As the app economy continues to grow and mature, so does the world of mobile gaming. See how far mobile games have come — from the launch of app stores nearly a decade ago to current trends in the global mobile gaming market. App Annie's SVP, Research Danielle Levitas will highlight actionable insights and key metrics that are pertinent to today’s mobile gaming publishers.
16:30 | RECITAL HALL | MARKET NAVIGATION PANEL CONTINUES: How Mobile is Democratizing Esports
Matt Fossati, CEO & Founder, Game Masons
Tim O'Neil, Co-Founder, Tether Studios
Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder, Skillz
MODERATOR: Matthew Handrahan, Editor-in-Chief, GamesIndustry.biz
With more than 2.6 billion gamers worldwide, mobile is the most popular gaming platform in history. The democratizing nature of mobile makes competition accessible to more players and developers than ever before, without any specialty hardware required. This session will address the current esports landscape, how game developers can benefit from getting involved, and the role that mobile will play in the future of the industry.
17:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | DESIGN INNOVATION How In-Game Events Help to Engage Users
Diana Platonova, Business Development Manager, MyTona
In-game events are known to be essential for a successful game. Players get to enjoy special content and it enhances the fun factor of the core game itself. MyTona will share their experience on how they developed exciting in-game events for their top grossing flagship game - Seekers Notes:Hidden Mystery and explain how it helps to improve players stickiness to the game and why it’s an important part of the overall game success.
EVENTS | TUESDAY 1st August 2017
EMCEES | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
WELCOME | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT WELCOME
WELCOME | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES BUSINESS OF GAMES WELCOME
WELCOME | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO CASINO WELCOME
WELCOME | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN NEXT-GEN WELCOME
9:30AM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
9:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: Raising VC Money – CEO Stories
Chris Brownridge, CEO, Gawkbox
James Gwertzman, CEO, PlayFab
Jonathan Zweig, Founding CEO, AppOnboard Inc.
MODERATOR: Paul Heydon, Partner, LVP
Raising money from Venture Capital firms is one of the toughest things for a startup in the game sector. Many companies fail at it. This panel will have a mix of CEO's from the game sector who have raised VC money before. The goal is for the Panelists to share their stories both good and bad on their journey to successfully raising a funding round led by a VC.
9:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL: Beyond Headsets: Disruptive VR Technologies in Gaming
Ryan Payton, Founder, Camouflaj
Todd Hooper, CEO, VREAL
Joe Michaels, Chief Revenue Officer, AxonVR
Kathie Flood, Managing Director & CEO, Cascade Game Foundry
MODERATOR: Joleen Hughes, CEO, Hughes Media Law Group
VR is more than just headsets. Join industry veteran Joleen Hughes and a panel of experts who have developed some of the most innovative VR platforms around as they discuss the vision of the gaming industry using streaming, haptic technology and integrated branding.
10:00AM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
10:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT How to Build a Sequel: Best Practices for Mobile Games
Mike Inglehart, Creative Director, Hothead Games
How do you follow up a hit game? Build a sequel, of course! But creating a sequel presents myriad challenges related to branding, game design, functionality, character development, analytics, marketing, and more. In this session, Hothead Games’ Mike Inglehart offers helpful advice for mobile gaming studios looking to launch a follow-up to their original titles.
9:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: Raising VC Money – CEO Stories
Chris Brownridge, CEO, Gawkbox
James Gwertzman, CEO, PlayFab
Jonathan Zweig, Founding CEO, AppOnboard Inc.
MODERATOR: Paul Heydon, Partner, LVP
Raising money from Venture Capital firms is one of the toughest things for a startup in the game sector. Many companies fail at it. This panel will have a mix of CEO's from the game sector who have raised VC money before. The goal is for the Panelists to share their stories both good and bad on their journey to successfully raising a funding round led by a VC.
10:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO How to Use Machine Learning to Improve Your Game Without Understanding Machine Learning
Sam Du Rose, Head of Data Science SF, Product Madness
Machine learning isn’t just about self-driving cars and advanced image recognition; with only the most rudimentary grasp of the basics it can be used to predict player churn, calculate lifetime value, clarify android device fragmentation and even classify your support tickets. Hear how, from someone who’s done all of this armed with no more than a rudimentary grasp of the basics and the Dunning-Kruger effect.
9:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL CONTINUES: Beyond Headsets: Disruptive VR Technologies in Gaming
Ryan Payton, Founder, Camouflaj
Todd Hooper, CEO, VREAL
Joe Michaels, Chief Revenue Officer, AxonVR
Kathie Flood, Managing Director & CEO, Cascade Game Foundry
MODERATOR: Joleen Hughes, CEO, Hughes Media Law Group
VR is more than just headsets. Join industry veteran Joleen Hughes and a panel of experts who have developed some of the most innovative VR platforms around as they discuss the vision of the gaming industry using streaming, haptic technology and integrated branding.
10:30AM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
10:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Sell Your Game Forever: How We Survived 5 Years Without a Hit
Brandon Sheffield, Creative Director, Necrosoft Games
Developers often give up if their game doesn't sell, thinking they missed their one shot. We think that’s quitter talk! We feel if you've got a game that's portable to modern platforms, you've got a revenue stream. If not from consumers, it will come from platforms. Using examples from several companies, we’ll share how we continue to sell versions of current or older games to new platforms in order to fund new projects.
10:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: Game Finance Models – Pros & Cons of Different Prevailing Structures
Jay Powell, CEO, The Powell Group
Drew Boortz, Managing Vice President, Western Business Development, Nexon
Louis Rene Auclair, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Hibernum
Jason Park, Sr. Director, Business Development, Perfect World
MODERATOR: Jeff Hilbert, CEO and Founder, Starting Point Games
In today’s dynamic market, there are multiple ways to finance game producton. The panelists have been involved with the production and financing of nearly 1,000 games in their careers. They will discuss the traditional publisher-centric advance/recoup model, its risks and flaws, and the new models that evolved from it, including break-even structures, studio burn-rate deals, angel, Series A investment, crowdfunding, as well as creative hybrids of all structures.
10:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Dream Team! Lessons Learned From 5 Years in Social Casino
Monty Kerr, SVP of Games, Zynga
Mark Beck, VP, Strategy, Murka
Owen O'Donoghue, Fantasy Sports & Real Money Gaming Lead, Facebook
Jon Gagnon, Head of Business Development, Bidalgo
MODERATOR: Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital
In this panel, experts from across the casino industry will discuss the last five years of ups, downs, innovations, and failures. Come find out what has and hasn't worked so you can avoid the same missteps when venturing into the wide world of casino gaming.
10:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Making Billions from Augmented Reality Gaming: The Market to Come
11:00AM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
11:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT The Future of Cross-Platform Development: Post-Mortem on Transitioning from Flash to Haxe
Doug Pearson, Co-Founder & CTO, FlowPlay
The demise of Flash has left many desktop game devs with aging codebases, games unsupported by browsers, and no way forward to make the leap to mobile. Join FlowPlay for a technical discussion on how and why the company tackled all three challenges by transitioning its flagship MMO, Vegas World, from a Flash codebase to Haxe – including the cost/benefits of making the move, lessons learned, and future cross-platform strategy.
10:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: Game Finance Models – Pros & Cons of Different Prevailing Structures
Jay Powell, CEO, The Powell Group
Drew Boortz, Managing Vice President, Western Business Development, Nexon
Louis Rene Auclair, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Hibernum
Jason Park, Sr. Director, Business Development, Perfect World
MODERATOR: Jeff Hilbert, CEO and Founder, Starting Point Games
In today’s dynamic market, there are multiple ways to finance game producton. The panelists have been involved with the production and financing of nearly 1,000 games in their careers. They will discuss the traditional publisher-centric advance/recoup model, its risks and flaws, and the new models that evolved from it, including break-even structures, studio burn-rate deals, angel, Series A investment, crowdfunding, as well as creative hybrids of all structures.
10:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Dream Team! Lessons Learned From 5 Years in Social Casino
Monty Kerr, SVP of Games, Zynga
Mark Beck, VP, Strategy, Murka
Owen O'Donoghue, Fantasy Sports & Real Money Gaming Lead, Facebook
Jon Gagnon, Head of Business Development, Bidalgo
MODERATOR: Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital
In this panel, experts from across the casino industry will discuss the last five years of ups, downs, innovations, and failures. Come find out what has and hasn't worked so you can avoid the same missteps when venturing into the wide world of casino gaming.
11:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Top 10 Lessons Learned from Raw Data: Development and Marketing Insights for VR Game Developers
Robert Nashak, COO, Survios
When Survios' Raw Data entered Steam Early Access on July 14, 2016, it soon made VR history by becoming the first VR-exclusive game to reach #1 on Steam's Global Top Sellers list. A year later, Survios COO Robert Nashak reflects on the experience to present ten notable lessons gleaned from the development and marketing of Raw Data. Expect insights into the technical and artistic challenges of multi-platform VR development, Raw Data's marketing hits and misses, and more.
11:30AM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
11:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT The Importance of Company Culture: How Psyonix Keeps the Indie Feeling Alive
Asa Dang, UI Programmer, Psyonix
Psyonix began as a small indie developer working with big publishers and developers on contract jobs. Now they have one of the biggest games on the market with Rocket League, a high-powered hybrid of arcade soccer and driving. One of the largest factors in the company's continued success is keeping the workplace environment structured like an indie while expanding. Come hear about what makes the Psyonix offices tick and helps lead to the company's stability and success.
11:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: "Selling Out" or Buying In? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Working with Third Party Licenses and IP
David Rosenbaum, Partner, Interactive Entertainment Law Group
Brad Young, Founder & CEO, Flashman Studios
Rob Zakari, EVP of Corporate Development & General Counsel, Jam City
MODERATOR: Barry O'Neill, CEO, Touch Press
This panel of IP weary execs will discuss both the obvious and the awkward questions around licensing and working with licensed IP. You’ll hear about the dos, don’ts and OMG-DO-NOT-EVEN-THINK-ABOUT-ITs of the licensed IP business, whether music, films, TV or celeb licensing, this panel has been there, done that, and got the autograph.
11:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO FIRESIDE CHAT: Getting Funding and Determining Valuation in a Maturing Market
Daniel Kajouie, CEO & President, WGames, Inc.
Interviewed by Al Thomas, Product Consultant & Advisor, Real Money & Social Casino
In a growing and maturing market, both new and established studios are seeking ways of securing funding, attracting investors and improving valuation. Industry veteran Daniel Kajouie offers his unique perspective, having played roles in all aspects of social casino, from establishing new ventures, to taking companies public, to building value and making strategic acquisitions. This session provides the tough questions and straight answers studios need for today’s market.
11:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Designing for Innovation: Shipping Your First VR Game
Laralyn McWilliams, Chief Creative Officer, Skydance Interactive
Designing and building a VR game is challenging. Whatever you think you know about design from shipping traditional games: Be prepared for that knowledge to be tipped onto its head. At Skydance Interactive, we invested many hours into designing and shipping a state-of-the-art cinematic arcade shooter for multiple VR platforms. This talk goes through the design lessons we learned, from planning to prototyping to production to shipping.
12:00 NOON | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
12:00 | BENAROYA HALL | SPECIAL EVENTS LUNCH BREAK
Sponsored by Oath: A Verizon Company
12:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Designing a Studio For Game Designers
Luna Javier, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Altitude Games
Finding good game designers is hard enough – once we find them, they usually come with a slew of bad habits (from experience) or impossible ideals (from being fresh graduates) that are incompatible with working in a free-to-play mobile game studio. Altitude Games' Creative Director shares real stories on how to screen, train, and develop game designers in your company. The tips in this talk are useful for non-game designers, too!
11:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: "Selling Out" or Buying In? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Working with Third Party Licenses and IP
David Rosenbaum, Partner, Interactive Entertainment Law Group
Brad Young, Founder & CEO, Flashman Studios
Rob Zakari, EVP of Corporate Development & General Counsel, Jam City
MODERATOR: Barry O'Neill, CEO, Touch Press
This panel of IP weary execs will discuss both the obvious and the awkward questions around licensing and working with licensed IP. You’ll hear about the dos, don’ts and OMG-DO-NOT-EVEN-THINK-ABOUT-ITs of the licensed IP business, whether music, films, TV or celeb licensing, this panel has been there, done that, and got the autograph.
1:00PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
13:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL: The Autumn of Indie Games
Daniel Cook, Chief Creative Officer, Spry Fox
Nels Anderson, Founder, Caledonia
Robin Hunicke, Co-Founder, Funomena
MODERATOR: Ed Fries, Former Vice President, Microsoft Game Studio
As the Indie market continues to mature it becomes more difficult, even for seasoned developers. Our panel of experts will discuss the state of the current market and explore strategies developers could pursue to find success in the future.
13:00 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES Top Mistakes Developers Make BEFORE Entering into a Publishing Agreement
David Rosenbaum, Partner, Interactive Entertainment Law Group
As developers focus on bringing their visions to life, they often overlook key aspects of their burgeoning business for the sake of the production. The speaker will share their experiences from the 500+ publishing agreements they have negotiated to provide sample contract provisions that can easily be modified to avoid pitfalls prior to the start of your publishing partnerships.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Maximizing Your User Acquisition & User Retention
Margarita Vasilevskaya, Head of UA, Doubledown Interactive
Jeet Niyogi, Marketing Director, Playtika
Monty Kerr, SVP of Games, Zynga
Ori Meiry, Head of Social Media, yellowHEAD
MODERATOR: Al Thomas, Product Consultant & Advisor, Real Money & Social Casino
Learn how to maximize your UA and UR strategies from experts on the developer and services side of user acquisition and retention in order to get the most out of your userbase and acquisition campaigns.
13:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Coming Trends in AR/VR
Vinay Narayan, Executive Director of VR, HTC Vive
Join a session covering the latest trends in PC, portable and mobile AR/VR, with insight into how this medium will shift the way we consume games, information and other content away from traditional screens. The session will also look at how the current marketplace includes experiences that extend beyond games and entertainment, using the power of VR to inform, educate, train, and drive productivity and connectivity like no other media before it.
1:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
13:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL CONTINUES: The Autumn of Indie Games
Daniel Cook, Chief Creative Officer, Spry Fox
Nels Anderson, Founder, Caledonia
Robin Hunicke, Co-Founder, Funomena
MODERATOR: Ed Fries, Former Vice President, Microsoft Game Studio
As the Indie market continues to mature it becomes more difficult, even for seasoned developers. Our panel of experts will discuss the state of the current market and explore strategies developers could pursue to find success in the future.
13:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: Strategics – Triple Threats & the Leading Financial Actors
Michael Chang, SVP Corporate Development, NCSoft West
Shanti Bergel, Investor, Games Industry
Drew Boortz, Managing Vice President, Western Business Development, Nexon
MODERATOR: Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
Game strategics, the dominant acquirers and funding sources, play across three dimensions: equity investment; M&A; and delivery of business value (such as top game IP). This panel of billion-dollar global game publisher-investors will describe: investment criteria; routes to M&A; and value delivered in greater revenues & profits; together with market trends, such as a lag in investment.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Maximizing Your User Acquisition & User Retention
Margarita Vasilevskaya, Head of UA, Doubledown Interactive
Jeet Niyogi, Marketing Director, Playtika
Monty Kerr, SVP of Games, Zynga
Ori Meiry, Head of Social Media, yellowHEAD
MODERATOR: Al Thomas, Product Consultant & Advisor, Real Money & Social Casino
Learn how to maximize your UA and UR strategies from experts on the developer and services side of user acquisition and retention in order to get the most out of your userbase and acquisition campaigns.
13:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL: Gaming in a New Reality – Opportunities and Challenges of Building Games in VR/AR/MR
Gabe Brown, CTO, BigBoxVR
Cameron Brown, CCO, Against Gravity
Laura Lantz, Design Engineer, Virtual Therapeutics
Evie Powell, CEO and Creative Director, Verge of Brilliance LLC
MODERATOR: Martina Welkhoff, CEO, ConveneVR
Join a group of entrepreneurs and technologists who are building games in virtual, augmented and mixed reality. We'll discuss how to tackle the challenges of transitioning from other gaming environments and the unique opportunities that the VR/AR/MR industry provides.
2:00PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
14:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Bridging the Worlds of Console, Mobile and Reality
Baiyon, Creative Producer, Q-Games
Our everyday life is composed of small, beautiful moments that change us more than we can imagine. Q-Games' new mobile game Eden Obscura seeks to remind us of that. Fusing the real and the digital is Baiyon’s goal, and his philosophy is that you shouldn’t so much play games as live them. Baiyon will be discussing his decision to take the console classic PixelJunk Eden in a bold new direction.
13:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: Strategics – Triple Threats & the Leading Financial Actors
Michael Chang, SVP Corporate Development, NCSoft West
Shanti Bergel, Investor, Games Industry
Drew Boortz, Managing Vice President, Western Business Development, Nexon
MODERATOR: Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
Game strategics, the dominant acquirers and funding sources, play across three dimensions: equity investment; M&A; and delivery of business value (such as top game IP). This panel of billion-dollar global game publisher-investors will describe: investment criteria; routes to M&A; and value delivered in greater revenues & profits; together with market trends, such as a lag in investment.
14:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Inserting Skill Into Slots
Daniel Sahl, Associate Director, UNLV Center for Gaming Innovation
Slots revenue in North America has been on a steady decline for years in most regions – including Las Vegas. To attract new players, the casino industry is bringing radical changes to slot gaming like introducing significant skill elements, multiplayer gaming, and fundamentally changing their products. This session will discuss the demand for new casino game design, the fundamentals of casino game development, and the pathways available to successfully enter the market.
13:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL CONTINUES: Gaming in a New Reality – Opportunities and Challenges of Building Games in VR/AR/MR
Gabe Brown, CTO, BigBoxVR
Cameron Brown, CCO, Against Gravity
Laura Lantz, Design Engineer, Virtual Therapeutics
Evie Powell, CEO and Creative Director, Verge of Brilliance LLC
MODERATOR: Martina Welkhoff, CEO, ConveneVR
Join a group of entrepreneurs and technologists who are building games in virtual, augmented and mixed reality. We'll discuss how to tackle the challenges of transitioning from other gaming environments and the unique opportunities that the VR/AR/MR industry provides.
2:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
14:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT The Cross-Platform Effect: Making Games for Both Mobile and Console – and Why Not To
Daniel Walters, Director, Calvino Noir Ltd
One of the biggest challenges that developers have faced over the last few years is reaching audiences and being visible. One solution is targeting multiple audiences. This talk discusses designing and developing a game for both mobile and console users, and how this effects visibility. The examples used and lessons learned to focus on making premium indie game Calvino Noir for five different stores and three different formats.
14:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES Think Holistically with the 21st Century Gamer in Mind
Brian Boland, VP of Publisher Solutions, Facebook
To be successful in this new era of mobile gameplay, developers strive for player insights and success stories on new messaging platforms. With 800 million people playing a FB connected game, we are with players every step of their gaming journey. Please join Brian Boland, VP of Publisher Solutions, to discuss all facets of your gaming business including how to build your game, grow your audiences and engage communities.
14:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Power of Asia - What We Learned From 2,600,000 Players in the Macau & Asian Markets
Raymond Chan, Co-Founder & CEO, Takara Gaming Group
Asian gaming content has flooded casino gaming floors in recent years, from 50-Lions that has been a hit in Macau casinos to the latest Duo Fu Duo Cai series that makes millions a day for casinos worldwide! In this session, we will discuss trends and design secrets behind Asian content, plus take a peek at how Japan is going to impact the gaming world with the casino bills it is currently passing through parliament.
14:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN State of VR Content in 2017
Jason Holtman, Head of Publishing, Oculus
Developers have had VR dev kits for a couple years now and we’re seeing lessons being shared, standards being explored, and experimentation taking place across the industry. In this talk, we’ll look at the current state of VR content across PC and mobile devices, discussing what we’ve seen succeed, as well as what we think needs to happen next in VR software development.
3:00PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
15:00 | BENAROYA HALL | SPECIAL EVENTS COFFEE BREAK
Sponsored by Oath: A Verizon Company
15:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL: Built to Last – Rethinking Mobile Strategy for Maximum LTV
Keith Pichelman, CEO, Concrete Software
Kenneth Wong, Senior Monetization Manager, Hothead Games
Jeff Gurian, VP, Marketing & Ad Monetization, Kongregate
Joy Taylor, Senior Director of Ad Strategy, Product & Development, Electronic Arts
MODERATOR: Shannon Jessup, CRO, Tapjoy
It's never been more challenging to successfully launch a new mobile title. As a result, publishers are shifting the way they're tackling their mobile strategy to double down on successful titles or franchises. Our panel of mobile leaders will discuss the approaches their companies are taking to maximize the LTV of their winning titles. We'll cover the key things every developer should consider to maximize revenue and engagement at each stage of the player lifecycle.
15:00 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES “Did That Publisher Just Ghost Me?” Publisher & Developer Relationships in the Modern Age
Mel Montano, Senior Business Development Manager, Kongregate
This session is a humorous look at the current state of publishers and developer relationships. It will cover everything from publisher/developer speed-dating (it exists!), ghosting, breakups good and bad, and more. Attendees will gain actionable insights into better networking, creating and maintaining relationships, and what to look for in a potential publishing partner.
15:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL: VR Storytelling – Evolution or Revolution?
Chet Faliszek, Game and VR Developer
Laralyn McWilliams, Chief Creative Officer, Skydance Interactive
Chandana Ekanayake, Art Director & Designer, Uber Entertainment
Robin Hunicke, Co-Founder, Funomena
MODERATOR: Richard Rouse III, Director/Designer/Writer, Paranoid Productions LLC
Almost everyone who experiences virtual reality knows it has great potential for narrative. But is the sort of storytelling possible in VR utterly unlike anything we've seen before, or is it more of an evolution of narrative techniques that games and other mediums have been using for years? Join our lineup of experienced VR developers who will share their own experiences learning what makes the brave new world of VR storytelling tick.
3:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
15:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL CONTINUES: Built to Last – Rethinking Mobile Strategy for Maximum LTV
Keith Pichelman, CEO, Concrete Software
Kenneth Wong, Senior Monetization Manager, Hothead Games
Jeff Gurian, VP, Marketing & Ad Monetization, Kongregate
Joy Taylor, Senior Director of Ad Strategy, Product & Development, Electronic Arts
MODERATOR: Shannon Jessup, CRO, Tapjoy
It's never been more challenging to successfully launch a new mobile title. As a result, publishers are shifting the way they're tackling their mobile strategy to double down on successful titles or franchises. Our panel of mobile leaders will discuss the approaches their companies are taking to maximize the LTV of their winning titles. We'll cover the key things every developer should consider to maximize revenue and engagement at each stage of the player lifecycle.
15:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: Pitching Publishers – Scoring the Best Partner For Your Indie Game
Alex Nichiporchik, CEO, tinyBuild
Justin Burnham, Producer, Gambitious
Steve Escalante, General Manager, Versus Evil
Jesse Divnich, Vice President, QuickByte Games
MODERATOR: Justin Berenbaum, Consultant, President, Theseus Games, Inc.
Publishers play an invaluable role in the commercial success of indie games. While simply posting your game to Steam or app stores is doable, publishers make sure your game gets the exposure needed to succeed. Further, they ensure you are doing all the smart things leading up to launch. This panel will explore how to approach and pitch publishers, in addition to discussion of typical deal structures and expectations.
15:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Launching Video Games In Casinos: Gold Rush Or Bust?
Darion Lowenstein, CMO, Gamblit Gaming
Casinos all over the USA have seen steady declines in slot revenue. Revolutionizing the casino, companies like Gamblit Gaming have launched new interactive touch screen hardware on casino floors that bring skill video games and gambling together. In this metrics focused talk, 20+ year industry veteran and Gamblit Gaming CMO Darion Lowenstein will talk about what it takes to gamblify games like Into The Dead, Catapult King, Jetpack Joyride and launch it on a casino floor.
15:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL CONTINUES: VR Storytelling – Evolution or Revolution?
Chet Faliszek, Game and VR Developer
Laralyn McWilliams, Chief Creative Officer, Skydance Interactive
Chandana Ekanayake, Art Director & Designer, Uber Entertainment
Robin Hunicke, Co-Founder, Funomena
MODERATOR: Richard Rouse III, Director/Designer/Writer, Paranoid Productions LLC
Almost everyone who experiences virtual reality knows it has great potential for narrative. But is the sort of storytelling possible in VR utterly unlike anything we've seen before, or is it more of an evolution of narrative techniques that games and other mediums have been using for years? Join our lineup of experienced VR developers who will share their own experiences learning what makes the brave new world of VR storytelling tick.
4:00PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
16:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT How Healthy is Your Metagame? Testing Metagame Bounds on Products With Complex Strategy Selection
Sean Levatino, Principal Game Designer, NCSOFT
Although commonly associated with the MOBA and fighting genres, a healthy and vibrant metagame is crucial to the long-term success of any product with an elder game focused on competitive PvP interactions. This talk explains the concept of "Metagame Bounds", a formal technique originally developed for measuring the balance of fighting games, and explores how to adapt it for use on games with complex player strategies.
15:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: Pitching Publishers – Scoring the Best Partner For Your Indie Game
Alex Nichiporchik, CEO, tinyBuild
Justin Burnham, Producer, Gambitious
Steve Escalante, General Manager, Versus Evil
Jesse Divnich, Vice President, QuickByte Games
MODERATOR: Justin Berenbaum, Consultant, President, Theseus Games, Inc.
Publishers play an invaluable role in the commercial success of indie games. While simply posting your game to Steam or app stores is doable, publishers make sure your game gets the exposure needed to succeed. Further, they ensure you are doing all the smart things leading up to launch. This panel will explore how to approach and pitch publishers, in addition to discussion of typical deal structures and expectations.
16:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Social Casino – Reigniting the Innovation Engine
Pawan Sivaraman, Co-Founder, Cleebo Games Inc.
Social casino publishers face challenges standing out from the crowd and sustaining the excitement around their product. What strategies should the industry adopt to attract new audiences to the space and solidify player retention? Integrating the missing human component and rediscovering an appetite for innovation will empower our industry in building true social relationships worthy of the social casino genre.
16:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Social VR, Learnings from Rec Room
Cameron Brown, CCO, Against Gravity
Against Gravity CCO Cameron Brown shares experiments, surprises, mistakes and insights from the first year of Rec Room, the VR social club where you play with friends all over the world. Social presence in VR is very real and creates opportunities for powerful new interactions – positive and negative. Whether creating positive social affordances or systems to manage trolling and harassment, Rec Room is a real world lab for exploring and defining this new reality.
4:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
16:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Freemium FTUE Best Practices, Tried and Tested with 100+ Clients
Adrian Crook, Freemium Mobile Game Design & Development Consultant, Adrian Crook & Associates
Peter Knudson, Senior Product Manager, Adrian Crook & Associates
Adrian Crook & Associates has worked with over 100 mobile freemium game clients over the past 10 years. Using our tests and observations over that time, we've put together this detailed breakdown of First Time User Experience best practices. This is what we've seen work repeatedly and what you should consider implementing in your next mobile game.
16:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL: The Hero’s Journey – Building a Successful Game
Igor Karev, CEO, Tatem Games
Andres Baksai, Co-Founder, Leo De Sol Apps
Daniel Stammler, Founder, Fluffy Fairy Games
Carina Kom, Co-Founder, Crash Wave Games
MODERATOR: Mike Hines, Developer Advocate, Amazon
Join us as industry experts share their experiences and lessons learned on planning games for success, from pre-launch, to development, to post-launch. We’ll be talking about topics like creative and gameplay mechanics, testing and monetization best practices, pre-marketing and generating buzz, and must-have tools and plugins for retention and engagement. Learn from game dev vets what works, what doesn’t, and what they just can’t wait to do next.
16:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO REMARKS & MINGLE: Social Games Regulation – Protecting Players, Protecting the Industry
Luc Delany, CEO, ISGA
Social Casino is under constant scrutiny from regulators, anti-gambling lobbyists and researchers. The International Social Games Association (ISGA) has been defending the industry from global regulatory threats for over four years. In this session, ISGA’s CEO, Luc Delany, will share insights into the current and future regulatory landscape and how they keep the industry and players safe.
16:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL: Monetizing Options and Strategies for Your VR/AR Content as the Market Evolves
5:00PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
17:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Steam Business Update
16:30 | RECITAL HALL | BUSINESS OF GAMES PANEL CONTINUES: The Hero’s Journey – Building a Successful Game
Igor Karev, CEO, Tatem Games
Andres Baksai, Co-Founder, Leo De Sol Apps
Daniel Stammler, Founder, Fluffy Fairy Games
Carina Kom, Co-Founder, Crash Wave Games
MODERATOR: Mike Hines, Developer Advocate, Amazon
Join us as industry experts share their experiences and lessons learned on planning games for success, from pre-launch, to development, to post-launch. We’ll be talking about topics like creative and gameplay mechanics, testing and monetization best practices, pre-marketing and generating buzz, and must-have tools and plugins for retention and engagement. Learn from game dev vets what works, what doesn’t, and what they just can’t wait to do next.
16:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO REMARKS & MINGLE CONTINUE: Social Games Regulation – Protecting Players, Protecting the Industry
Luc Delany, CEO, ISGA
Social Casino is under constant scrutiny from regulators, anti-gambling lobbyists and researchers. The International Social Games Association (ISGA) has been defending the industry from global regulatory threats for over four years. In this session, ISGA’s CEO, Luc Delany, will share insights into the current and future regulatory landscape and how they keep the industry and players safe.
16:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL CONTINUES: Monetizing Options and Strategies for Your VR/AR Content as the Market Evolves
5:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
16:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO REMARKS & MINGLE CONTINUE: Social Games Regulation – Protecting Players, Protecting the Industry
Luc Delany, CEO, ISGA
Social Casino is under constant scrutiny from regulators, anti-gambling lobbyists and researchers. The International Social Games Association (ISGA) has been defending the industry from global regulatory threats for over four years. In this session, ISGA’s CEO, Luc Delany, will share insights into the current and future regulatory landscape and how they keep the industry and players safe.
EVENTS | WEDNESDAY 2nd August 2017
EMCEES | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
WELCOME | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT WELCOME
WELCOME | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION WELCOME
WELCOME | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO CASINO WELCOME
WELCOME | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN NEXT-GEN WELCOME
10:00AM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
10:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL: How to Design Games for Optimal IAP
Josh Campbell, Product Director, Backflip Studios
Paul Brownlow, VP of Product, Blastworks
Jeferson Valadares, GM/VP of Product Development, Bandai Namco Entertainment America
MODERATOR: Ted Verani, Business Development, Scientific Revenue
While the vast majority of mobile game revenue is earned through in-app purchases, designing games for optimal IAP remains a major challenge, requiring deep knowledge of UX design, virtual economy tuning, pricing economics, and many other disciplines. Featuring experts across these fields, this panel will give attendees concrete and proven advice for designing free-to-play, IAP-driven mobile games which consistently drive IAPs without alienating the player base.
10:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION PANEL: Maximizing Your Global Reach in a Mature Mobile Market
Vlad Ceraldi, Director of Development, Hothead Games
Shintaro Kanaoya, CEO, Chorus Worldwide Games Limited
Miikka Luotio, Director of Developer Outreach, Tilting Point
MODERATOR: Josh Burns, Founder, DigitalDevConnect
With mobile game studios focusing on fewer, bigger games, maximizing revenue globally has become more essential. Come learn from the successes & stumbles of top global mobile gaming companies. Which markets should you focus on and which should you skip? What international markets are less competitive but have strong growth potential? How much effort should you put into Asia or emerging markets like India or Southeast Asia?
10:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Mobile Earns More but is PC Social Casino Dead?
Carter Rogers, Lead Social Casino Analyst, SuperData Research
While social casino audience behavior has clearly shifted towards the mobile platform, reports from SuperData Research shows opportunities still exist within the PC audience. In this presentation, SuperData Research Lead Social Casino Analyst Carter Rogers will go beyond just looking at the numbers, focusing on the future of social casino and key takeaways for attendees to consider as they develop and improve their social casino products and move the social casino market forward.
10:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN The Future of VR and Mobile Games
Scott Flynn, Director of Development, VR&AR, Unity Technologies
This session will focus on the continuing rise of VR, and discuss where it's heading over the next few years - with some attention to mobile. What are the end goals? What innovative technology is on the horizon? What kind of future is in store for mobile VR adopters? What will the content be like?
10:30AM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
10:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL CONTINUES: How to Design Games for Optimal IAP
Josh Campbell, Product Director, Backflip Studios
Paul Brownlow, VP of Product, Blastworks
Jeferson Valadares, GM/VP of Product Development, Bandai Namco Entertainment America
MODERATOR: Ted Verani, Business Development, Scientific Revenue
While the vast majority of mobile game revenue is earned through in-app purchases, designing games for optimal IAP remains a major challenge, requiring deep knowledge of UX design, virtual economy tuning, pricing economics, and many other disciplines. Featuring experts across these fields, this panel will give attendees concrete and proven advice for designing free-to-play, IAP-driven mobile games which consistently drive IAPs without alienating the player base.
10:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION PANEL CONTINUES: Maximizing Your Global Reach in a Mature Mobile Market
Vlad Ceraldi, Director of Development, Hothead Games
Shintaro Kanaoya, CEO, Chorus Worldwide Games Limited
Miikka Luotio, Director of Developer Outreach, Tilting Point
MODERATOR: Josh Burns, Founder, DigitalDevConnect
With mobile game studios focusing on fewer, bigger games, maximizing revenue globally has become more essential. Come learn from the successes & stumbles of top global mobile gaming companies. Which markets should you focus on and which should you skip? What international markets are less competitive but have strong growth potential? How much effort should you put into Asia or emerging markets like India or Southeast Asia?
10:30 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO Going Real-Money: Legal, Regulatory and Commercial Issues Involved in Turning Social Games into Real Money Casinos
Ron Segev, Technology & iGaming Lawyer, Segev LLP
Social games are similar in many respects to real money casino games. Having the technical ability to turn your social games catalogue into a real-money catalogue is only one piece of the puzzle. This seminar takes you through some of the key legal, regulatory and commercial issues involved in going real money. If you haven’t considered going real-money in the past, this session will have you looking at your social games catalogue in a different light.
10:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN The Future of VR Gaming is Social
Todd Hooper, CEO, VREAL
What does the next generation of VR Games and entertainment look like? The immersive & interactive nature of VR means that online worlds of the future will be extremely social spaces. Join VREAL Founder & CEO Todd Hooper for a talk about what is resonating with the VR audience today and how game developers can prepare for a future where social spaces define VR entertainment.
11:00AM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
11:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Eating Well as an Indie Developer
Chetan Surpur, Founder, HIGHKEY Games
Eric Rahman, Technical Founder, Titan Mobile LLC
When Chetan quit his job as an AI researcher to become a full-time indie game developer, he didn’t really know what he was doing. Eric joined him to handle the business side of things, and then their first physics/puzzle game, Orbit – originally just Chetan’s side project – charted on the Play Store and grew to over 5M installs. But was that enough to put food on the table? And with a new music game around the corner, how do they plan to create a sustainable business?
11:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION The Gamification of Mobile Advertising
Bryan Buskas, Chief Customer Officer, AdColony
What’s working for today’s top app install marketers, and how is the future of user acquisition evolving? Join us as we dive into the insights behind our latest app install marketing survey and examine how advertisers are driving engagement with interactive creatives that put the game into the ad.
11:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Show me the Content – New Content Needed for Social Gaming and Real Money Platforms
Blaine Graboyes, CEO, GameCo
Brett Calapp, Chief Social Gaming Officer, Pala Interactive, LLC
Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital
MODERATOR: Frank Pracukowski, Director, iGaming Capital
While social casino gaming revenue continues to grow, how will social games, in particular those offered by casino operators, remain relevant? With continuous new content for all skill levels! This session provides attendees the opportunity to hear industry leaders articulate what they want in new content for both social and real money gaming platforms – with Q&A that can help inspire developers as they create the next round of amazing content.
11:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL: Investment Opportunity for VR Gaming Studios
11:30AM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
11:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL: How to Build Amazing Studio Culture
Lidi Giroux, Team and Culture Manager, East Side Games
Antti Ikalainen, Operations Manager, Traplight Games
Jillian Mood, CEO, Jillian Mood & Partners
Lisa Weeks, Chief Marketing Officer, Hashbang Games
Erin O’Brien, Culture Developer, Gram Games
MODERATOR: Josh Nilson, Co-Founder & CEO, East Side Games
How is culture defined and why does it matter? Come listen to industry veterans talk about how crucial a healthy vibe is for an organization, and secrets on how they have achieved it.
11:30 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION Successfully Publishing your PC Games in China: The Good, the Bad, and the Extremely Frustrating…
Matthew Leopold, Director of Global Business Development and Marketing, Yodo1
Premium PC Games have been picking up steam in China, but the government is cracking down. Join Matthew Leopold to find out how to successfully navigate the China PC gaming scene not only from a regulations standpoint but also in terms of ‘culturalization’ and distribution.
11:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Show me the Content – New Content Needed for Social Gaming and Real Money Platforms
Blaine Graboyes, CEO, GameCo
Brett Calapp, Chief Social Gaming Officer, Pala Interactive, LLC
Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital
MODERATOR: Frank Pracukowski, Director, iGaming Capital
While social casino gaming revenue continues to grow, how will social games, in particular those offered by casino operators, remain relevant? With continuous new content for all skill levels! This session provides attendees the opportunity to hear industry leaders articulate what they want in new content for both social and real money gaming platforms – with Q&A that can help inspire developers as they create the next round of amazing content.
11:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN PANEL CONTINUES: Investment Opportunity for VR Gaming Studios
12:00 NOON | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
12:00 | BENAROYA HALL | SPECIAL EVENTS LUNCH BREAK
Sponsored by Oath: A Verizon Company
11:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PANEL CONTINUES: How to Build Amazing Studio Culture
Lidi Giroux, Team and Culture Manager, East Side Games
Antti Ikalainen, Operations Manager, Traplight Games
Jillian Mood, CEO, Jillian Mood & Partners
Lisa Weeks, Chief Marketing Officer, Hashbang Games
Erin O’Brien, Culture Developer, Gram Games
MODERATOR: Josh Nilson, Co-Founder & CEO, East Side Games
How is culture defined and why does it matter? Come listen to industry veterans talk about how crucial a healthy vibe is for an organization, and secrets on how they have achieved it.
1:00PM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
13:00 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Five Ways to Make Your Game Great on Twitch
Jon Pulsipher, Integration Success Engineer, Twitch
Success on Twitch can mean success with your game. How can you tilt the odds in favor of your game resonating with Twitch creators and viewers? Join Jon Pulsipher, Integration Success Engineer at Twitch, for a fast-paced look at some of the best ways to make your game broadcast-worthy, provide a fun experience for viewers, and turn viewers into paying players who keep coming back.
13:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION 5 Reasons to Bring Your Game to Russia: Market Opportunities for Global Publishers
Irina Tripapina, Head of International Development, Mail.Ru Group (myTarget)
Get market insights from the largest Russian publisher - Mail.Ru Group. The owner of domestic social networks VK.com (Vkontakte) and OK.ru (Odnoklassniki) will share market opportunities for global publishers, localization insights and Russian users’ behaviour in games. You will learn which game categories are driving the app economy and which global publishers already have succeeded here.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL: Talking Esports
Charles Harper, Senior Consultant, Partis Solutions
Rich Roberts, President, RSD Partners
Ron Segev, Technology & iGaming Lawyer, Segev LLP
Dan Zucker, President, Zucker Media Group
In this participatory, town-hall, panel discussion on esports, we will discuss monetization, verticals, opportunities and prophesies. How did skill gaming become esports? Will esports affect legalization of sports betting in America or visa-versa? Find out the answers to these and all your esports questions.
13:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Developing Success in Mobile with Unreal Engine 4
1:30PM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
13:30 | TAPER AUDITORIUM | DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT Getting Back In The Zone: How I Remade Battlezone with a Little Help from my Friends
Mike Arkin, CEO, Big Boat Interactive
In 1997, Mike was part of the team at Activision that developed the game Battlezone. Last year his team shipped Battlezone 98: Redux on Steam, GOG, and Mac/iOS app stores. During the development of Battlezone 98: Redux they found themselves uniquely engaged with the community, not just to help promote, but also to help make the game. In this talk Mike discusses the development, and how they worked with the community to get the game made.
13:30 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION From Mass Adoption to Mass Adaptation
Bao Dong, Apps Partnerships Manager, Google Marketing Solutions
We are moving beyond the first business models that rewarded the early movers in mobile to a more diverse set of options for app discovery and monetization. Join Google, to hear a view of the monetization, targeting and discovery tools for building games businesses in 2017. We will detail how games teams are using acquisition and monetization data at the very earliest stage of game design to build communities.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO PANEL CONTINUES: Talking Esports
Charles Harper, Senior Consultant, Partis Solutions
Rich Roberts, President, RSD Partners
Ron Segev, Technology & iGaming Lawyer, Segev LLP
Dan Zucker, President, Zucker Media Group
In this participatory, town-hall, panel discussion on esports, we will discuss monetization, verticals, opportunities and prophesies. How did skill gaming become esports? Will esports affect legalization of sports betting in America or visa-versa? Find out the answers to these and all your esports questions.
13:30 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN Social Validation as Creator Motivation in Traplight's User-Generated Content-Based Games
Sami Kalliokoski, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Traplight
In this session, Sami speaks about how fundamental human motivations promote self-expression and social validation, and how Traplight creates value for their players through core loops built around dynamics of player creativity, empathy, and competence.
2:00PM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
14:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION PANEL: The Journey East: Finding Success in Asia
Josh Burns, Founder, DigitalDevConnect
Montgomery Singman, VP of International Business Development, Shenzhen iDreamSky Technology Co., Ltd (“iDreamSky”)
Ringo Zhu, Director Business Development North America, China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group (CMGE)
Mario Wynands, Managing Director, PikPok
Won Cho, EVP of Global Business, 4:33
MODERATOR: Gabby Dizon, CEO, Altitude Games
How can Western developers adapt their games to be successful in Asia? What countries, languages, platforms, game genres, and cultural norms do developers have to keep in mind when trying to build a sustainable Asian revenue base? Do I need an Asian publisher or can I self publish? We explore successful cases of Western IP finding a profitable Asian audience.
13:00 | FOUNDERS ROOM | CASINO When Art Meets Science: The Creative Evolution of Social Casinos from Launch to Maturity
Jon Gagnon, Head of Business Development, Bidalgo
When scaling user acquisition for social casino, creative is both an opportunity and a challenge when balancing creative thinking with data-driven decisions. In this presentation, we will show how one of the top grossing social casino companies, HUUUGE Games, scaled their UA using both sides of the brain – art and science.
14:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN INDIE ROUNDTABLE: Hacking Growth
Josh Nilson, CEO & Co-Founder, East Side Games
Eiso Kawamoto, Head of Product, Metamoki
David Edery, CEO & Co-Founder, Spry Fox
Patrick Goncalves, CEO, Roll Tower Studios
MODERATOR: Joseph Santos, Business Development Consutlant, Ice Station Alpha
Are Indie Devs crazy to launch their title without a publisher? Is it possible to grow a userbase without a big budget? Come join and *participate* in our interactive roundtable as we assemble a panel of experts who are not afraid to share data, tools, failures, and the lessons learned as we all try and conquer the app stores.
2:30PM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017
14:00 | RECITAL HALL | GROWTH: EXPANSION, RESEARCH, GLOBALIZATION PANEL CONTINUES: The Journey East: Finding Success in Asia
Josh Burns, Founder, DigitalDevConnect
Montgomery Singman, VP of International Business Development, Shenzhen iDreamSky Technology Co., Ltd (“iDreamSky”)
Ringo Zhu, Director Business Development North America, China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group (CMGE)
Mario Wynands, Managing Director, PikPok
Won Cho, EVP of Global Business, 4:33
MODERATOR: Gabby Dizon, CEO, Altitude Games
How can Western developers adapt their games to be successful in Asia? What countries, languages, platforms, game genres, and cultural norms do developers have to keep in mind when trying to build a sustainable Asian revenue base? Do I need an Asian publisher or can I self publish? We explore successful cases of Western IP finding a profitable Asian audience.
14:00 | TRIPLE DOOR | NEXT-GEN INDIE ROUNDTABLE CONTINUES: Hacking Growth
Josh Nilson, CEO & Co-Founder, East Side Games
Eiso Kawamoto, Head of Product, Metamoki
David Edery, CEO & Co-Founder, Spry Fox
Patrick Goncalves, CEO, Roll Tower Studios
MODERATOR: Joseph Santos, Business Development Consutlant, Ice Station Alpha
Are Indie Devs crazy to launch their title without a publisher? Is it possible to grow a userbase without a big budget? Come join and *participate* in our interactive roundtable as we assemble a panel of experts who are not afraid to share data, tools, failures, and the lessons learned as we all try and conquer the app stores.
3:00 PM | THURSDAY 3rd August 2017