Conference Tracks
Game artists are now firmly in the 'uncanny valley', needing all their talent to lure gamers into the total suspension of disbelief that's finally being achieved by CGI movies like Avatar. Yet even as developers squeeze every ounce from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to deliver near movie-realism, the explosion of platforms and target demographics means artists must be more flexible than ever. How can artists produce graphics that deliver the fireworks console owners expect, while ensuring the look-and-feel can be extended across other platforms? Are new artistic disciplines needed in game studios, mirroring the specialism found in film-making? And is it time to start drooling (or trembling) ahead of the next generation of consoles?
Develop in Brighton's audio day is now established as the premier gig on the game audio and music calendar, with inspiring world-class speakers allied to a solid, practical programme that's guaranteed to improve your work and your reputation. While at its best game audio now matches movies from a technical standpoint, there's still plenty of progress to be made artistically. In addition, challenges ranging from cross-platform development and emerging formats such as social and mobile games to ever greater global competition means there's always more to learn.
Subscriptions, micro-transactions, in-game advertising and a plethora of digital marketplaces have already seen a new generation of entrepreneurial game developers reaching markets - and achieving valuations - undreamt of before. Yet for those developers dedicated to making triple-AAA titles for modern consoles, the established model is creaking as money leaks out of the industry and budgets plateau yet the expectations of gamers continue to rise. How can game studios best tap the global workforce to meet the appetite of a truly international market?
Game programmers are pushing PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii to their very limits as the established consoles hit maturity- but nothing stays familiar in game programming for long. From creating procedural systems that relieve the burden of content generation to the re-emergence of software rendering pipelines and dealing with the complexity of today's sandbox game worlds, games programmers are always operating in uncharted territory. Accordingly, our programme will mix practical coding tips and techniques with blue sky thinking to keep you ahead of the game.
There's room for a new generation of legendary games designers to come through and make the games that will define the next decade - and there could hardly be more opportunities to exploit. But while everyone agrees that connectivity, user-generated content and community are at the vanguard of modern gaming, where does that leave traditional challenge-based gameplay? Are control devices like Microsoft's Natal gimmicks, or another piece of the jigsaw? And what about telling a story?
Evolve is a day-long conference dedicated to emerging games platforms and business models, and the integration of Internet services and user-generated content with traditional gaming smarts to deliver the interactive entertainment of tomorrow. Whether you're a producer tasked with integrating connected features into your games, a designer exploring user-generated content and Facebook, or an entrepreneur exploiting the expanding crossover of TV, social networking, mobile devices and today's connected games consoles, Evolve is the must-attend event of the year.
The last decade saw many development dogmas consigned to the dustbin, as it became clear that only studios that embraced flexible yet tightly managed schedules and pipelines could handle higher-risk projects. Yet even while debates over milestones, outsourcing, middleware and agile methodologies become more pragmatic - and the growth in game size and scope moderates in the face of fiscal realities - entirely new headaches have emerged. From transitioning to games-as-a-service to handling projects spanning a dozen platforms, game production keeps sprouting fresh challenges for those charged with delivering games on-time and to budget.
The Develop Den offers a day-long exploration of games-as-culture, the art form's past and future, and off-the-wall sessions that don't fit the bill elsewhere but will inspire you for months. Specific sessions are varied and unpredictable (in a good way!) but will certainly include a reprise of last year's very successful game designer mash-ups (2009 featured development heroes David Braben and Dave Jones and Masaya Matsuura and Jenova Chen playing each others games). Stay a while - stay forever!
