2009 Programme 

09.00 - 09.45  Coffee and Registration

09.45 - 10.30 
OPENING KEYNOTE: Quality, Relevance, Innovation
The talk will provide a visionary insight into what Sony Computer Entertainment First Party studios are looking for now and in the future when commissioning Original IPs from Independent developers.
Speaker: Michael Denny, Senior Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Europe

10.30 - 11.00  Coffee Break

11.00 - 11.45
EVOLVE: Turning Browsers into Gamers for Fun and Profit
The biggest platform with the most potential isn't owned by a manufacturer or run out of Redmond. Web browsers and social networks host tens of millions of games a day, bring gameplay to new audiences, allow innovative new gameplay ideas, come with a diversity of business models, and are wide open to new entrants. But what can traditional games companies bring to the party, and where should you focus your efforts for maximum impact and reward?
Speaker: Dylan Collins, Jolt Online Gaming

CODING & PRODUCTION: PlayStation: Cutting Edge Techniques
The talk will provide an overview of the current state of the PlayStation® platforms and games from a technical perspective. There will be a coverage of several real-world examples of cutting techniques as used in recent and soon to be released PlayStation®3 and PSP^TM titles developed by Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide studios.
Speaker: Neil Brown, Senior Engineer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe 

ART & DESIGN: Blocking to Rocking! The art of LEGO Rock Band
Travellers' Tales has won endless plaudits for the distinctive and humorous characters in its LEGO games. But having mastered a plastic fantastic take on much-loved cinematic heroes, how would its artists tackle real life musical legends for LEGO Rock Band? Matt Palmer, Head of Animation at TT Fusion, gives us a unique insight into capturing the essence of Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and the game's other rock gods in LEGO guise while operating within the constraints of the Rock Band format.
Speaker: Matt Palmer, Head of Animation, TT Fusion

11.45 - 12.30
EVOLVE: Five App Stores Under the Microscope:
iPhone, Blackberry, Android, DSiWare, PSP Minis
There's plenty of excitement around digital distribution of mobile and handheld games, but it's early days - the various stores are finding their feet, while developers figure out how best to approach them. This session will look at five key digital stores: iPhone's App Store, BlackBerry App World and Android Market, as well as DSiWare and PSP Minis. What are the trends in terms of pricing and categorisation? Which games are doing well and why? And how are developers increasingly looking to release games across several or all of these stores?
Speaker: Stuart Dredge, Online Editor, Mobile Entertainment 

CODING & PRODUCTION: Role of the Production House in Game Development and Marketing
Created during the early development stages of a video game, concept movies can often lay the foundation in the creation of new games.  They can be used as an influential selling tool by developers to gain universal buy in from international publishers whilst also giving the development team a vision of what they're working towards, helping lock down important factors such as the overall look, style and feel of the game.  Some of these movies never see the light of day once the game is complete but others serve a multifaceted purpose and are used as a powerful internal and external marketing tool.   Tony Prosser, Managing Director of Lancashire based CG Production House RealtimeUK, will be speaking about the role of concept movies in games development. He will also discuss how they created some of their most well known concept movies and marketing trailers including Motorstorm for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Split/Second for Disney Interactive Studios and Napoleon: Total War for Sega.
Speaker: Tony Prosser, Managing Director, RealtimeUK


CODING & PRODUCTION:  How to Get More From your Music and Audio Team (panel)
Harry Potter, Project Gotham Racing, Heavenly Sword, The Getaway, and Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix series are just a few of the titles covered by the careers of an illustrious panel of leaders in their field.  Whilst managing hundreds of thousands of game audio production dollars, procuring music, dialogue and sound design services from both in-house and external game and movie sound resources, these senior players fully recognise the commercial imperative and inextricable link of what they do in audio provision with corporate goals, gameplay objectives and console technology.  Drawing on their years of experience seeing the good, bad and downright ugly of audio in games, they will distil critical insights for producers, programmers, artists and designers about how to get the most from their audio team and thereby realise the maximum potential for sound, music and dialogue to rock their game production.
Chair: John Broomhall, Independent Audio Director
Panellists: Dan Bardino, SCEE; Adele Cutting, EA; Nick Wiswell, Bizarre Creations 

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch

13.30 - 14.15
EVOLVE: What the Music Industry Can Tell Us about Digital Distribution
The last few years have been turbulent for the music industry as it grapples with the transition from physical goods to digital distribution. What can the games industry learn from the music industry as the sales and delivery of interactive entertainment increasingly move online? Simon Watt of Universal Music reprises his very popular Brighton talk with an updated explanation of what the music industry has got right - and wrong - and what it means for games. 
Speaker: Simon Watt, Vice President Technology, Universal Music Group 

ART & DESIGN: Resurrecting the Alien Breed franchise
If you're lucky enough to have a much-loved retro game to work with, how do you bring it up-to-date without damaging its DNA? Team 17's design manager John Dennis outlines some of the challenges and opportunities the studio has faced in bringing its classic Amiga game Alien Breed back to life in the form of Alien Breed Evolution, which it is set to self-publish for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Speaker: John Dennis, Team 17 

EVOLVE: Ding Dong the Pitch is Dead
Two biz dev heavyweights go head-to-head in an interactive session on the future business of games. What can you do in a recession to make sure you not only survive, but prosper? What hard choices need to be made, and how do you weigh up conflicting interests? And how will deals be made in the future? In the Red Corner is Eutechnyx's legendary dealmaker Darren Jobling, while flexing his muscles in the Blue Corner is David Colley, the super-heavyweight licensing agent who represents developers and some of the biggest licenses in the world. We expect some jabs and blocks from the audience, too!
Speakers: Darren Jobling, Eutechnyx; David Colley, Interactive Licensing

14.15 - 15.00
EVOLVE: Keeping Northern games development on the map (panel)
Game making has a long history in the North of England and much to be proud of, but there's no denying recent years have been tough, with key studios closing and others fading from prominence. What can be done to ensure the region remains a hub of game development excellence, and what help is already available? Could local studios do more to support each other, or is it better every studio fights for itself? A panel of leading insiders debates the issues.
Chair: Toby Barnes, MD, Pixel Lab

CODING & PRODUCTION: A Bizarre Way to do Real-Time Lighting
The talk focuses on the techniques used in the real-time lighting implementation for Blur, but with a particular bias for how things were done for the Playstation3. Beginning with a high-level discussion of the problems at hand the swiftly talk moves into how these were initially solved in a cross-platform way, but then later optimised for Playstation3. Along the way the speakers share their thoughts on light pre-pass rendering and SPU programming techniques, and offer a helpful ten-step guide to migrating your lighting to the SPUs.
Speakers: Stephen McAuley and Steven Tovey, Bizarre Creations

ART & DESIGN: Why is Playing Games Fun?
Recent research in neurobiology reveals multiple ways in which the "pleasure centre" of the brain can be tripped, and thus multiple ways that players enjoy games. This research also dovetails with the latest player satisfaction models, which show that different players enjoy very different aspects of play.This session explores seven different ways in which the brain responds to play, each corresponding to a different play style, and thus different kinds of videogame. By understanding the variety of ways that a game can provide enjoyment, developers can learn why their games are fun - and how to make them more fun for a greater number of players.
Speaker: Chris Bateman, MD, Hobo International

15.00 - 15.30 Break

15.30 - 16.15
EVOLVE: Digital Distribution: From Blue Sky to the Bottom Line (panel)
Signing a deal with Steam is no longer enough. From branding to social media marketing; from price discounts to community management, this panel will address what developers need to do to maximise revenue from their digital distribution strategy.
Chair: Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief
Panellists: Mark Morris, MD, Introversion Software; Tero Virtala, CEO, RedLynx; Oliver Birch, Account Director, PlayReplay

CODING & PRODUCTION: 6 Ways to Get More Bang for Your Buck
The bad news: budgets are tight and time is short, yet everyone still wants quality. The good news: there is no shortage of talent! Outsourcing, offshoring, contractors and freelancers - thousands of externals are ready to help you stay under budget and make better games, or, if handled badly, to wreck your project. From formal outsourcing to co-development and remote teams, Beriah's Kevin Hassall reveals six tricks to get the very best from this wide world of talent.
Speaker: Kevin Hassall, Beriah 

ART & DESIGN: Open Mic - Voice Control in SingStar the Method and the Madness
Applying cutting edge technology to casual games in a way that enriches the end user experience in a non disruptive way. Voice recognition technology is notoriously unreliable and most user experiences with existing technology have been poor. The voice recognition technology in SingStar was designed to allow users to select songs and navigate menu options. This presented its own set of unique challenges from both technological and usability standpoints. This presentation will cover the challenges and pitfalls of using voice recognition technology in SingStar.  
Speaker: Charlie Hasdell, Designer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

16.15 - 17.00
PRODUCTION: Selling Your Game From Within
Finishing your game is only the beginning. Through a selection of case studies take a look into the wider process of game trailer production and how collectively you can help show the best of your game. By effectively managing relationships between Developers, Publishers, Marketing groups and External Agencies you can massively aid in the creation of innovative, cost-effective and high-impact trailers for your next title. Looking at the process from briefing through production to final delivery, gain an insight to the suite of tools, techniques and processes Sony's World Wide Studios | Europe's Creative Services Group use to create trailer material for some of the biggest AAA franchises on PlayStation®3.
Speakers: Dan Bardino and Arran Green, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

EVOLVE: We're All Indies in This Together
Digital distribution, downloadable content, and casual and social games are fast re-writing our ideas about what a game can be. Leading this charge are a new wave of small, innovative and entrepreneurial developers with very different business models - and often different aspirations - to the conventional games industry. Enter indievision, a new trade body for a new breed of studio. For the first time in public, founder Robert Swan outlines why the new indie sector needs to work together, and what joining indievision can do for you.
Speaker: Robert Swan, Co-founder, indievision

17.30 - 18.00
CLOSING ADDRESS: The Ups and Downs of Backing 60 Start-Ups
Richard Farleigh, High Tech Entrepreneur and Dragon (from Dragon's Den)

18.00 Networking Party!
After the conference, you will have the opportunity to network with delegates from an event running alongside Develop - Software City - designed to showcase the region's dynamic technology sector. Now running in its third year Software City attracts an international audience and is an opportunity for businesses and investors to make valuable connections, share ideas and hear from world-class entrepreneurs.

Develop in Liverpool and Software City have teamed up to host a joint post-conference networking party for all their delegates. The party will be held in PanAm  on the Albert Dock.

Your Develop pass will allow you free access to the party where you will have the chance to meet attendees and speakers from both events, including Software City's star speakers Richard Farleigh of Dragon's Den fame and Julie Meyer co-founder of First Tuesday, CEO of Ariadne Capital and one of the recently announced 'online dragons'.

 
The conference has three tracks:

Evolve

The Evolve track will help game developers tackle emerging platforms and digital marketplaces, connected gaming, user-generated content, and the crossover between games and Internet services like YouTube and Facebook. This is must-attend for producers tasked with integrating connected features into their games, for designers exploring how to create compelling games with user-generated and social networking content, and for managers and entrepreneurs set on exploiting the expanding crossover potential of casual games, social networking, mobile phones and today's connected games consoles.

Coding & Production

With the current generation of consoles approaching maturity, the programming challenge has shifted from grappling with PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii to squeezing out the last ounce of performance. Ever more specialised programmers must work together as a team to get a game's AI, physics and graphical engine firing in concert, while enhancing and integrating middleware components has become a discipline in its own right. And bridging the 'uncanny valley' with improved facial animation and real-world graphics might be billed as an artists' challenge, but as ever it's coders who will do the heavy lifting.

Modern production challenges run far deeper than getting a game finished to time and budget. Extensive outsourcing and remote working is increasing complexity, with teams scaling up and down to manage costs and changing demands over a project's development. Savvy studios are also increasingly looking to seamlessly integrate music, movie and other non-games talent into their production cycle. Meanwhile, increasingly ubiquitous online functions are extending the lifespan of more games far beyond their notional release date, raising long-term challengers for producers that must be considered on day one.

Art & Design

We're at last seeing signs of diversity emerging in game graphics. As Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 approach their peak, the photo-realistic aim of yesterday has given way to movie-realism, where facial animation and the movement of wind through the trees can be as crucial as the lines of a car or the cut of a heroine's crop top. Yet in parallel to this, Wii, DS and the increasing encroachment of casual gaming seen in games like Buzz and Rock Band are also showcasing a more stylized artistic approach. Our sessions will inspire artists working across the whole spectrum to refresh their palettes.

Faced with vast game worlds and a seen-it-all-before audience, who'd be a designer nowadays? Well, everyone. As games like LittleBigPlanet and Spore devolve decisions to the player, we're all designers now. Professionals at the top of their game are looking to reinvent every genre from racing to flight sims to reflect this user-generated, socially connected reality - but without losing the essence of finely-balanced gameplay that made us all pick up a joypad (and not put it down again) in the first place.