Los Angeles, CA – April 17, 2018 — Digital Media Wire today announced the agenda and speakers for the 12th annual LA Games Conference, a one-day event focused on the future of games and connected entertainment. The conference will bring together leaders and decision-makers in Hollywood and gaming at the W Hotel in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 8th.
The event will feature panels, keynotes, and roundtable discussions on topics including virtual and augmented reality, esports, influencer marketing, global markets and Hollywood and games, as well as opportunities specific to the City of Los Angeles as it further solidifies its status as a media-tech center and growth hub for game development.
The conference includes a keynote session as follows:
Keynote conversation with Bernard Kim, President of Publishing, Zynga; interviewed by Stephanie Chan, Reporter, VentureBeat
Confirmed speakers include:
Shiraz Akmal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SPACES Inc.
Sinjin Bain, SVP, Global Head of VR/AR, Method EXP
Lydia Bottegoni, Senior Vice President, Story and Franchise Development, Blizzard Entertainment
Dewey Hammond, Vice President, Games Research, Magid Advisors
Ann Hand, CEO and Chairman, Super League Gaming
Chris Heatherly, EVP Games and Digital Platforms, NBCUniversal
Chris Hewish, Executive Vice President, Interactive, Skydance Interactive
Arnold Hur, Chief Growth Officer, KSV eSports
Bernard Kim, President of Publishing, Zynga
Chang Kim, CEO and Founder, Tapas Media
Paul Kim, Managing Partner, ICO’s
John Linden, President, Seismic Games
Dave Madden, SVP, Global Brand Partnerships, EA
Yvette Martinez-Rea, COO, ESL
Morris May, CEO, Specular Theory, Inc.
Michael Metzger, Partner, Drake Star Partners
Jay Moore, Alchemist of Fun, Convergence 4D
Dan Murray, President, Skybound Interactive
Jonathan Pan, Esports Instructor, University of California, Irvine
Andrew Paradise, CEO, Skillz
Rick Phillips, President of Games Publishing & Licensing, FoxNext Games
Joanna Popper, Global Head of Virtual Reality for Location Based Entertainment, HP
Nanea Reeves, CEO and Co-Founder, TRIPP
Carter Rogers, Senior Analyst, SuperData Research
Michael Salmon, Game Consultant, Something Fishy Consulting
Ted Schilowitz, Futurist, Paramount Pictures
Ari Segal, President & COO, Immortals & LA Valiant
Tony Sheng, Product Lead, Decentraland
Ned Sherman, Counsel/Director, Manatt Digital
Julia Sourikoff, Executive Producer, AR/VR/360, Tool of North America
Louisa Spring, CEO, VARI
Andrew Stalbow, CEO & Co-Founder, Seriously
Mark van Ryswyk, SVP, Glu Mobile
Bruce Vaughn, CEO, Dreamscape Immersive
Margaret Wallace, CEO, KijiCo
Dan Winters, Head of Business Development, Amazon Digital Games, Amazon
Careen Yapp, Senior Vice President of Global Business, Mixed Dimensions
Michael Zhang, CEO, Firefly Games
Support for the 2018 LA Games Conference is provided by: Jam City, Glu Mobile, Venable, USC Games, Esports Ad Bureau, IGDA, Game Audio Network Guild, Digital LA, Innovation & Tech Today, SAG-AFTRA, Variety, Branded, M2 Research, eTech Rentals, Westside Digital Mix, VCI Events, Fusicology, Women in Games International, Parks Associates, EventBrowse, E4G, ProductionHUB
At the 2018 Silicon Valley Comic Con, comic book vendors and artists and creators owned a lion’s share of the expo space and the talks and panels too. Among those rows of sealed-and-taped volumes of ink and paper was at least one company showing off a new and more interactive kind of comic book on tablet.
Nanits Universe at SVCC 2018 (photo credit: E4G)
Nanits Universe is a former Kickstarter project turned San Francisco-based start-up working on creating a more interactive comic book experience for mobile, via the Nanits Reader 2.0, using their proprietary comic book rendering system, the NANITS ENGINE (capitalization theirs). The iOS version is ready, with the Android version nearing development finalization. The platform allows a comic book to be page-free with smooth scrolling between panels and text balloons, and parallax scrolling between layers to add visual depth.
Of course, in keeping with a mobile form factor, Ambient audio, in the form of sound effects and music, match the background visuals. Three comic series, Nanits Chronicles – Underground; Sherlock Holmes by Petr Kopl; and the Worm World Saga by Daniel Lieske, are in the content store for sale to demo what the platform offers.
The pre-loaded comic I tried, Nanits Underground Prolog, kept me engaged, as much for the novelty of the experience and story. The ambient sound added nicely to the experience, as well as the layers of scrolling between layers of the visuals. I admit I stayed to read more of it than I initially planned to, seeing how transitions were handled as the story arc played itself out. The audio cues seemed to serves as kinds of page-like demarcations, since the free-scrolling experience rolled fluidly from one panel to the next.
Nanits Universe is also encouraging independent comic content creators to whip up their own content and publish in store with a revenue sharing model that allows the creators to retain 70 percent of their profits.
Nanits Universe comic offerings should not be confused with a fully interactive gaming and comic book-style experience, like Sega’s classic game Comix Zone. But the comics do provide a layer of immersion that can pull a reader in — provided the storyline is strong enough to keep the reader engrossed. As more content comes out on the platform, it will be interesting to see if gamers are drawn to this kind of immersive storytelling compared to traditional comic books or games..
To read Nanit Universe’s press release in conjunction with their launch at 2018 Silicon Valley Comic Con, all the information can be found here on the company’s blog post.
14 April 2018 – Reykjavik, Iceland – Today at EVE Fanfest, CCP announced ‘Into the Abyss,’ the newest expansion for EVEOnline, their deep and uniquely player-driven spaceship MMO game. Launching in May 2018, EVEOnline: Into the Abyss will be delivered as a free update to all players, both for those with subscriptions and those playing for free.
EVEOnline: Into the Abyss injects ground-breaking, transformative gameplay into EVEOnline and presents a new adventure for players, inviting them to explore dangerous uncharted territory with strange new inhabitants and potentially vast rewards. This content will be just as unfamiliar to veteran EVEplayers as it is to novice players entering the game today.
‘Into the Abyss’ adds exciting exploration and survival gameplay in the form of Abyssal Deadspace, a brand new hostile environment filled with hazardous environmental effects and mysterious adversaries, the Triglavian Collective. Players can enter pockets of Abyssal Deadspace from almost anywhere in New Eden. On entry, players fight and explore their way through a series of unpredictable encounters, using their skills to take on growing risks in the hope of coming out the other side with high value cargo.
Players will be searching for the new mutaplasmids, only found in Abyssal Deadspace. Mutaplasmids can be combined with existing modules to transform them into Abyssal modules, potentially increasing their power vastly or breaking them beyond repair. However, the challenges that players confront become more difficult the deeper they venture into Abyssal Deadspace… and failure means death. Faced with increasing danger from perilous encounters; do you continue and risk your spaceship in the hope of finding greater riches, or return home to exploit your rewards?
Celebrating its 15th anniversary in May,EVEOnline is the world’s most renowned videogame sandbox, with a rich history of compelling stories, battles, triumph and defeat. Players have near limitless ability to create their own destiny in the context of hundreds of thousands of capsuleers worldwide, choosing their own unique way to live amongst the stars, wage war, broker deals, harvest resources, gain and lose territory and all the adventures in-between.
“At CCP, our mission is to build together with our players a true virtual world, with real relationships and real emotions and consequently, real stories,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CCP’s Chief Executive Officer. “With EVEOnline remaining strong and vibrant after 15 years, we have made great strides towards realizing that ambition. Nevertheless, I truly feel that our best work is ahead of us and that EVE‘s amazing single-shard sandbox design will continue to dazzle, amaze and eventually outlive us all.”
To celebrate 15 glorious years of player and community achievements in EVEOnline, CCP Games has released this video:
This is the most exciting time to join EVEOnline. New, unexplored space has just been discovered that all players can reach. What is beyond? And who are the Triglavians?
More details about EVEOnline‘s previous, current and future updates can be found via updates.eveonline.com. EVEOnline can be downloaded for free by visiting www.eveonline.com.
Every now and again, Events for Gamers runs into a product or service that perfectly intersects both events and games. At NVIDIA’s GTC 2018, that product was from a United Kingdom-based company best known for servers. The Boston Limited Roamer MU-VR (multi-user virtual reality) is a rather cleverly named turnkey virtual reality server set-up for up to four VR users running off the server. For example, say, at a games showcase, a VR developer might want to show off a multiplayer VR game at their table, and conceivably, with the MU-VR set-up, run a multiplayer demo of their game from one server to four screens. Or, the MU-VR could be the hardware core of a VR arcade set-up. The potential uses for the MU-VR are many and intriguing, so it caught my attention from the start.
I didn’t get a hands-on with the MU-VR at GTC 2018, but I did find out a lot about the device, where it began and where the device development is headed.
The system comes packed in a ruggedized 10U shipping crate, so it can withstand the rigors of mobility. Inside the portable server, dual Xeon E5-2667 processors run the MU-VR. Four NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPUs, 128GB DDR, with an allocation of up to 32GB per user, are designed to ensure there are enough resources to go around. Unsurprisingly, plenty of juice is needed to run this VR powerhouse, with a requirement of 3200 watts. So, for some applications, this might be more power than might be needed, in more ways than one. Helpfully, to ensure a fully turnkey setup, four HTC Vive (not Pro, at least not yet) VR headsets are included with the default MU-VR package.
Roamer MU-VR (photo credit: Boston Limited)
The MU-VR began it’s recent life as a collaborative idea between Boston Limited and NVIDIA, at GTC Europe 2017 in October in Munich. The idea floated was about building a “production-ready multi-user VR system based on their concept,” explained Dan Johns, Head of Technical Services at Boston Limited in an email QA.
From that point, the company quickly built a prototype, then streamlined it for easier deployment and operation. HTC became a partner, whose head-mounted displays are featured as part of the MU-VR package.
Giving a sense how quickly the MU-VR went from idea to prototype to event-ready, Johns added: “The latest iteration of the MU-VR was recently showcased on the HTC stand at MWC in Barcelona, along with the game Arizona Sunshine,” utilizing (and teasing) the early version of the wireless version of the HTC Vive. Boston Limited has been further working with HTC since then to integrate wireless 5G technology, enabling wireless headsets for the freedom to roam in virtual reality.
For a device that is very likely on the spendy side (pricing is quoted by request), it will likely get compared to other devices that are less expensive while portable and VR ready, such as backpack VR computers or compact PCs. Johns explains the value proposition for the MU-VR: “Firstly, the system is easy to move from location to location in its ruggedized rack, and fast to set up. It can be done in under 30 minutes and you can have 4 users online and working in that time, with minimum complexity. The virtualized platform, too, means that managing users, software images and applications are simple using templates and clones. Patches and security updates can be rolled out quickly and easily, essential with new malware and CVE’s (common vulnerabilities and exposures) coming every day. Backpack PC’s are a nice way to get wire-free, but with the new HTC wireless headsets, we’ll be able to take away the weight, go wire-free and still give the benefits of centralized management.”
The MU-VR stands a good chance to attract some specialized attention, like event planners, VR arcade owners, party planners, venue owners, and so forth, because of the advertised ease-of-setup and creative and custom applications potential. But the device might benefit from more configurations, for developers and meeting planners with different needs.
With that in mind, Dan Johns mapped out where the development of the Roamer MU-VR is heading in the near future. They’re looking to create a solution that can host six virtual reality users, which allows for more versatility in the kinds of applications and venues where the MU-VR can be deployed. Some Boston Limited clients have requested for a non-virtualized platform on a lower-cost 1U rack appliance, for customers with smaller requirements. The wireless head-mounted VR is also on the way toward being a part of the MU-VR package.
To learn more about Boston Limited’s Roamer MU-VR kit, more info can be found at their official site.
ATLANTA – March 29, 2018 – The fourth annual MomoCon Indie Game Awards Showcase will honor its top 20 finalists at MomoCon 2018, taking placeThursday – Sunday, May 24 – 27, 2018 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. More than 35,000 unique attendees are expected at the show, where the developers will exhibit their games on the largest gaming exhibition floor in the southeast United States.
Zap Blastum, Shiny Dolphin Games LLC (Windows, Android, iOS)
“The creativity and dedication we see in these submissions every year continues to amaze me,” says Chris Stuckey, CEO, MomoCon. “All of our finalists are titles to watch, and our judges, industry luminaries including Rami Ismail and editors from distinguished publications like IGN, Destructoid and Kotaku, will be hard-pressed to narrow this list down to five.”
Passes for MomoCon 2018 are on sale now, with four-day and single-day options available.
Retrogames, or classic games, are a big part of convention life, whether in small classic gaming-focused showcases to massive pop culture extravaganzas. Why should the 2018 Silicon Valley Comic Con be any different? It isn’t different, thanks to a classic gaming and arcade showcase at the show — and the presence of one SKG Retrogaming on the show floor.
The table for the Las Vegas-based SKG Retrogaming was sandwiched in-between several other bigger, splashier booths, but it didn’t keep a steady stream of interested foot traffic from checking out the set-up. On the surface were two demo stations for the two main products the small company offers. the Retro Box – Basic and the Retro Box – Loaded. Two LED monitors were attached to two different palm-sized boxes, both of which were quietly running some classic games — in the original 4:3 standard-definition display format, which by my informal accounting, it seems most classic games purists prefer.
SKG Retrogaming’s founder Patrick Ferre, aka “The Skeptical Geek” meeting attendees at SVCC 2018 (photo credit: E4G)
As SKG Retrogames’ owner and long-time classic gaming enthusiast, Patrick Ferre, also known as “The Skeptical Geek,” was quick to inform me that emulation is still considered a touchy subject, or even a taboo, for some gamers and maybe even some intellectual property owners. But the screen aspect is not something to trifle with.
SKG Retrogaming Retro Box — Basic in hand (photo credit: E4G)
The basic model is a simple $199 palm-sized computer optimized for classic gaming. Reflective of the hardware inside it, the Raspberry Pi logo is etched through the small, lightweight black metal box. While it fits into the palm of my hand, it’s got space enough for the ports for the HDMI cables, the power supply and the USB Super Nintendo-style controllers. The device comes with 2700 emulated games from the most recognizable systems from the 8- and 16-bit gaming era: Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis.
Holding the SKG Retrogames Retro Box – Loaded model (photo credit: E4G)
The “loaded” model seems to accurately describe the Nintendo Entertainment System-styled mini console, loaded up with about 7,000 emulated games from 16 platforms. It’s hard to imagine how long it might take to play that many games if one was so inclined.
Both Retro Box models are powered by the emulation-friendly combo of a Raspberry Pi 3 computer and RetroPi, a software layer built upon other emulation programs that enable players to play games with a minimum of blood, sweat, and tears. The main functional difference between the models is the storage, with 32GB SD allocated for storage for the basic model and 128 GB for the larger model
As one of (if not the only) games-focused booth at Silicon Valley Comic Con, SKG Retrogaming stands out. For the company’s two devices, the company stands out for the hat-tip to technophiles, nostalgia buffs, and old-school game geeks.
Events for Gamers has been looking at Bandai-Namco a fair amount in the last few months, but as it happens, the company has had lots of new and updated mobile game titles to talk about. The Japanese-headquartered developer and publisher also brought several more new games and related content to GDC 2018, through a quality event and presentation focused mostly on the anime-to-game franchises. Let’s take a closer look at the event and games!
The Event:
Temple Nightclub venue, where the Bandai-Namco event was held (photo credit: E4G)
Held at the Temple Nightclub, (a quick hustle through the rain from San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center,) where many a GDC party has been held before, this time it was the daytime venue for a showcase, demo areas, and networking space. Here, dozens of journalists from different publications, as well as staff, partners and various VIPs from brands associated with Bandai-Namco. Off to each side was seated demo areas, roped off during the presentation then opened thereafter.Mounted prominently behind everyone a camera that was live streaming the event. Coffee, water, and lunch were served, at least during the duration in which I was present for the presentation and showcase.
Dragonball VIPs on stage, as a highlight of the Bandai-Namco event (photo credit: E4G)
The presentation was MCed by BandaI-Namco’s PR Director Denny Chiu, showing off mobile versions of Sword Art Online, Naruto X Boruto, One Piece, and Dragonball. Among the demos, was the notable highlight of jumping out of games long enough to tease the new Dragonball movie coming up, with Dragonball Unit Director SHUEISHA and Dragonball Super movie producer, Norihiro Hayashida. The movie is a reimagining of Goku’s — and the familiar characters around him — origin story, with the design of the characters being redone after two decades of building off the classic look. As a bonus, a fresh trailer for the Dragonball Super movie was also shown. The movie will see a global release on December 14th, and it will tie in with the upcoming game too.
The Games:
When all is said and done, it’s all about the games. Here’s our hot take on the mobile games that were the underpinnings of this event.
Sword Art Online: Integral Factor: Derived from the Sword Art Online (SAO) anime core premise (a character playing a game online where players die in real life if they die online) and lore, this game also features stories never before seen in the original series. But the player’s choices affect the overall story arc in the canonical version of the storyline. The gameplay can be conducted in multiplayer and around the world. Selecting the facial features and clothing to help define your character when starting out and adjusting the skills and weapons characteristics, like most RPGs, are part of this version of SAO. The backgrounds are a blend of the familiar and new, which should please fans who are sticklers for those kinds of details.
Sword Art Online “celebration avatars” with special costuming, represented in the demos, will be available for all upon release.
Naruto X Boruto Ninja Voltage: This cross-over ninja-world anime has crossed over to the realm of mobile games, released in early November last year. Since launch, it’s earned over 10 million downloads, with a blend of action, strategy, and story-driven role-playing. Raid battles are now available as a new special feature of the game, which was formerly a test-run feature. The Boruto character, Mitsuki will shortly join the game as a playable character, joining up with Sarada Uchiha, a character addition from last month.
Just before a Raid Battle in Naruto x Boruto (photo credit: Isaac Inglis)
Hands-on: Naruto X Baruto: Ninja Voltage plays surprisingly like a 3rd person view dungeon-crawler with user-made “Bases” to break into. At first play, the action is snappy and easy to understand. While most of the Bases I encountered were pretty basic to take on, the potential combos that a high-level player could put together show a lot of potential to be exciting. In addition, they have added a Raid Battle mode that pits you and your friends against a massive boss foe. It’s an interesting change-up from the Base gameplay, but it still fits the look and feel of the game well.
One Piece: Bounty Rush: The newest of One Piece mobile titles, this game is an action-focused team battle type of game, the first of its kind. Gameplay is carried out in real-time PvP multiplayer. The game style is about collecting as many coins as possible, and the one who captures the most wins. Simple? Not quite — Aside from fighting the other time, there are NPCs and boss characters trying to get in your way. Players can pick from five different character types: the speedy Fighter; buffing and healing Supporter; the long-range attacking Shooter; the attack vs. speed-balanced Swordsman; and the tank-like Warrior.
Checking out the stats in One Piece: Bounty Rush (photo credit: Isaac Inglis)
Hands-on: One Piece: Bounty Rush controls similarly to Naruto X Baruto: Ninja Voltage, but feels smoother to control and has a simple and engaging gameplay loop. You start by finding stat-boosting items to build your level and strength, then begin hunting down mobs in the area to collect Berries (the One Piece universe’s currency), occasionally encounter a boss character to show up and defeat, which gives you a large boost in Berries. However, if you’re feeling daring, you can rush the opponents base to smash up their treasure chest to steal Berries from them.
The only downside was when playing 1v1, should you die while defending your chest, you spawn in at a lower level with no invulnerability period and it makes it very difficult to prevent the theft of all your Berries.
Yoshinobu Takabayashi, Chief of the Overseas Marketing Team of One Piece: Bounty Rush (photo credit: Isaac Inglis)
I spoke with Yoshinobu Takabayashi, Chief of the Overseas Marketing Team of One Piece: Bounty Rush, and he explained that, currently, the multiplayer is limited to online multiplayer and there are no current plans to enable local multiplayer via any other connection mechanism.
Dragonball Legends: Based on the well-known anime and manga series, this iteration of the franchise in game form features card combat game-style, and here’s some of the players to choose from: Nappa, Pan, Piccolo, Frieza in his first form, Vegeta, Super Saiyan Goku, with many more to come. Look for another Saiyan character from a different timeline than Goku’s in the game as well. Expect 3D animations and fully-voiced characters throughout the duels, with one-touch combos fighting moves to make it easier for anyone with any finger dexterity to play. One of the main features Bandai-Namco stressed about the game was worldwide PvP play.
In each PvP match, players bring six potential Dragonball characters in your “portfolio”, but as a player, you bring three characters to the fight. Color-coded cards are available as an option to enable different types of actions for each character, and the character cards feature energy charge and drain, which is essential to the outcome of the game. Because of the PvP aspect of the game, there will be multiple tournaments around the world to determine the best fighters in the Dragonball Legends game, after the summer release of the game.
Hands on (literally) with Dragonball Legends (photo credit: Isaac Inglis)
Hands-on: Dragonball Legends plays like an interesting take on a mobile fighting game. Like many mobile fighting games, it uses a screen-swipe in exchange for any joystick-style control. The cards that periodically appear the bottom of the screen guide the attack options, and definitely the timing, in addition to the power meter governing what can be spent on attacks. Don’t expect to block like you can in a traditional fighter, but instead dodge to avoid incoming attacks. If the opponent connects with an attack, it can be turned into a multi-hit combo that can do some devastating damage, and there’s not much a player can do about it. Quickly using a defensive card is really the only way to escape the combo. Because of the focus on one-handed or even one-fingered control, it’s important to note the game currently favors right-handers, but the game design team is working on a way to flip the controls and stat display so a left-handed player can be equally comfortable playing the game.
Visually, what can be said? this game is faithfully, recognizably Dragonball, compressed into mobile form. It’s what most fans would probably want from the game, the environments, and the characters in combat.
If you want to get a sense of what it was like to be at the event, you can check out the archived feed of Bandai-Namco’s event at GDC, with even more info you can use to plug into their games and respective communities.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 30, 2018 – Steve Wozniak’s pop culture, tech and science expo, Silicon Valley Comic Con is set to blow fans’ minds the weekend of April 6-8 in San Jose. Its programming schedule is now available, featuring sessions across several tracks: What does it mean to be human?, space exploration, future of science & technology, keynotes, fan celebrations, celebrity spotlights and more.
Celebrity, artist and author guests will also grace the stages of SVCC, including Stan Lee, David Tennant (Dr. Who, Jessica Jones, Broadchurch), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal, ROGUE ONE), Sean Astin (Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings trilogy), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, RIDDICK), Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter), Christina Ricci (Addams Family, Casper), Jewel Staite (Firefly, Stargate Atlantis), Judy Greer (FXX’s ARCHER, 13 Going on 30), Martha Higareda (Altered Carbon), Chris Kattan (SNL), Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars Eps 1-3), Ray Park (Star Wars: Episode 1, X-Men), the casts of Emmy® Award-nominated series, ARCHER, Leave to Beaver and Ghost Finders and more. Top authors and artists appearing on stage at SVCC include Michael Moorecock, Melinda Snodgrass, Jim Shooter, Andy Weir, Evan Narcisse, Gary Whitta, David Gerrold, Lary Dixon and Mercedes Lackey.
Featured keynote speakers include astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, renowned physicist and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku, world-changing mathematical physicist Sir Richard Penrose (who shares the Wolf Prize for Physics with Stephen Hawking for their work on black holes), prolific author and creator of TED and TEDMed Richard Wurman, and musician and television personality Kevin Eubanks. Plus representatives from NASA, Anki, ICON, TreeHouse, Google, 343 Industries, BioWare, Typhoon Studios, Legion M, Boosted and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo will join panels over the course of the weekend.
Pursuing the Extraordinary: A Keynote Conversation with Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, Introduced by Nichelle Nichols Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to go into space, has shifted her trailblazing focus to paving the way for human interstellar travel. Her talk “Pursuing the Extraordinary” will share her personal experience as a space voyager, and her plans for her new Endeavour, the 100 Year Starship, a global initiative seed funded by DARPA to ensure the capabilities for human travel to another star within the next 100 years.
The Future of Humanity: A Keynote Conversation with Dr. Michio Kaku, World-Renowned Physicist, Futurist and Author The #1 bestselling author of THE FUTURE OF THE MIND, futurist, world-renowned physicist and author Dr. Michio Kaku traverses the frontiers of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and technology in his new book THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY to offer a stunning vision of man’s future in space, from settling Mars to traveling to distant galaxies. With irrepressible enthusiasm and wonder, Dr. Kaku will take us on a fascinating journey to a future in which humanity may finally fulfill its long-awaited destiny among the stars.
What Does It Mean to be Human? A Keynote Conversation with Richard Wurman, Prolific Author & Creator of TED, and Kevin Eubanks, Musician & Entertainer
MARQUEE FAN EVENTS
Everybody’s Wookie’n for the Weekend: A STAR WARS Special Event A Star Wars panel event featuring Mads Mikkelsen (Galen Erso), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Ray Park (Darth Maul), Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett) and moderated by Gary Whitta (co-author, ROGUE ONE: A Star Wars Story). Immediately following the panel, there will be nonstop surprise Star Wars fan celebrations: cosplay, trivia, music, prizes, special performances and more!
SVCC’S Third Annual Cosplay Contest Silicon Valley Comic Con will proudly host its third annual Cosplay Contest! The contest is a craftsmanship award show and a catwalk exhibition. Come cheer your favorites!
Geek Fashion Show The Geek Fashion Show will feature beautiful models from the comic and sci-fi community of fans, cosplayers and celebrities showing off the collections of the most talented young designers from around the country.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?
Being Human in Space: The Science of Earth Life Off the Planet
SUPER Human: What If I Told You We Might Soon Edit Your Genes to Have Superpowers?
SPACE EXPLORATION
NASA’s Journey to Mars: One Small Step and One Giant Leap
The Truth is Out There: NASA’s Search for Life Beyond Earth
Black Holes: the Science and Science Fiction * featuring Sir Richard Penrose
Pack Your Bags: We’re Moving to Mars! (Eventually)
FUTURE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Age of the Jetsons is Here! Drones, Flying Cars and How NASA’s Research is Making It Happen
Robots: Helpful, Automated Friends or Future Overlords?
Future of the Home
Cities of Tomorrow
POP CULTURE
ARCHER: Cast and Producers of FXX’s Hot Original Animated Comedy Series
Worlds Re/Defined: Wakanda, Halo, Star Wars… How Do You Create a Universe or Character that People Love?
Leveling Up: Upgrading from AAA to Indie Game Development
Rise of the Black Panther: Author Evan Narcisse Talks About Writing the King of Wakanda
The third annual Silicon Valley Comic Con will take place in downtown San Jose the weekend of April 6-8, 2018. To be the first to hear more details as they are released, follow SVCC on Twitter (@SVComicCon), Instagram (@SVComicCon) or Facebook (@SVComicCon). Tickets to Silicon Valley Comic Con can be purchased from www.svcomiccon.com.
The new year is nearly upon us! To help you discover upcoming game industry conferences, conventions, festivals and other events, we post a consolidated list of events for each month. View the complete April event list below.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC), already established as one of the world’s most influential game conferences, continues its overall steady trajectory of growth. Today, the conference organizers announced they surpassed 28,000 attendees in the business and scholarship of games business and development. This record follows GDC 2017’s 26,000 attendees and 2016’s 27,000 attendees.
This year, besides their peak number of attendees so far, the conference attracted 750 sessions, 550 exhibitors, the first year of the GDC Film Festival, and a number of awards celebrations.
For more information about GDC and VRDC@GDC, visit the official site at www.gdconf.com. The GDC Vault website, www.gdcvault.com, will soon offer access to hundreds of the of GDC and VRDC@GDC 2018 lectures and sessions in the coming days and weeks, including the presentation slides, synchronized video and presentations for some of the sponsor lectures as well. Other conference videos are included too.This content is available for GDC All Access Pass holders and subscribers to the Vault’s content.
Looking ahead, the Game Developer Conference and the VR Developer Conference will return to San Francisco and the Moscone Convention Center in 2019 on Monday, the 18th to Friday, the 22nd, March 2019. Keep an eye out for GDC 2019’s first call for speakers opening up this summer!
Join 1800 games industry professionals at the deal making event where creativity meets business in the city that is the gateway to Europe: London, May 29-31st
Casual Connect Europe 2018 Location: The Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London, UK Date: 29 – 31 May 2018 Attendees: 1,800 gaming professionals Speakers: 150 executives and experts Indie Prize Showcase: 100 games Website: http://europe.casualconnect.org/
At Casual Connect Europe 2018, you’ll have unlimited access to the Pitch and Match meeting system to network with games industry professionals like yourself. All attendees get access to three days of lectures, official networking parties, and 100 of the world’s best indie games with developers. The venue will also feature a large expo area where you can talk one-on-one with industry-leading companies like Appodeal, Product Madness, Vungle, Mopub, Game Insight, Aarki, Applovin,Phunware, G5, App Samurai, GamePoint, KamaGames, IronSource, Unity and other industry leaders.
You will be able to learn from panels and presentations – featuring experts from Zynga, Sports Interactive Netmarble, Small Giant Games, Space Ape Games, Epic Games, London Venture Partners, Oculus, Playtika, Murka, Disruptor Beam, Unity Technologies, Flaregames, NaturalMotion, FGL, Creative Mobile – that is just a short list of featured speakers, stay tuned for further announcements!
Sign up for a Publishers Pitch and review 40 of the world’s best indie games during three hours pitch on May 29. Get more exposure at the expo area with a booth or meeting table with 50% off Gold, Silver or Bronze sponsorship packages http://www.casualconnect.org/cga/sponsorships/2018_ccsponsor_europe.pdf
NEW!Delegation Package
CGA has recently launched a new program that will make it simpler for government and non-profit organizations or just a group of up to 10 developers to join Casual Connect with a special Delegation package rate. More details here: http://casualconnect.org/cga/sponsorships/2018_ccsponsor_delegations.pdf.
SAN FRANCISCO – March 21, 2018 – Nintendo’s groundbreaking open-world role-playing game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was honored with the prize for Game of the Year at tonight’s 18th annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) ceremony during the 2018 Game Developers Conference (GDC) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The game’s expansive sound and deep, open-ended gameplay also earned The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the awards for Best Audio and Best Design. An archive of the award ceremony, as well as the full presentation of the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF Awards), can be viewed at http://twitch.tv/gdc
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (photo credit: Nintendo)
Developer Jason Roberts’ visually inventive and contemplative puzzle game, Gorogoa, earned two awards tonight, for Best Mobile Game and the Innovation Award. The game seamlessly blends a unique visual design with engrossing storytelling elements, bending space and reality in the process. Developer Studio MDHR also earned two awards, Best Debut and Best Visual Art, for its work on the retro shooter Cuphead. The game faithfully reproduces the charming cartoon aesthetics and toe-tapping jazz of the 1930s, and adds the tight gameplay mechanics of a sidescrolling shooter to create an experience that is at once playful and familiar, yet fiendishly challenging and novel.
The full slate of winners at the 2018 GDCAs also includes Best Narrative award winner, What Remains of Edith Finch by Giant Sparrow, a title that artfully portrays the sad and joyful stories of multiple generations of the Finch family; Horizon Zero Dawn by Guerilla Games, which earned the award for Best Technology for its visually stunning portrayal of a far-flung sci-fi world filled with lush environments and deadly robotic monsters; and the sharply stylistic VR shooter, SUPERHOT VR by the SUPERHOT Team, which won the award for Best VR/AR Game. In addition, the Audience Award, chosen among the entire selection of GDCA finalists via a public online voting process, was presented to developer PlatinumGames for NieR:Automata, the charmingly offbeat open-world RPG.
The Game Developers Choice Awards honor the very best games of the year, and was created for and voted on by developers. Winners are selected by the Game Developers Choice Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN), which is an invitation-only group comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the industry.
In addition to the best games of the last year, the GDCAs also honor the dedicated individuals who have helped further the art, science and craft of video games with special awards. This year’s Ambassador Award, which recognizes those whose actions have helped video games to “advance to a better place,” went to independent developer and Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail. The award recognizes Ismail’s work helping incubators, local events, universities, community efforts, and games industry policy around the world.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient was Double Fine and LucasArts developer Tim Schafer, whose career spans almost three decades of creating iconic adventure games across platforms and generations. Schafer has inspired countless developers around the world with his work on standout titles like Day Of The Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango & Brutal Legend, helped advocate for independent game development, and pioneered independent crowdfunding for games like Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 and Broken Age.
“Every year sees countless amazing games worthy of recognition, but this year in particular has seen some of the strongest titles to arrive this generation. The GDCAs give us an opportunity to reflect on and honor the games that provided us with endless joy,” said Katie Stern, General Manager of the Game Developers Conference. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild helped us rediscover a childlike sense of adventure and discovery. Titles like Gorogoa and What Remains of Edith Finch offered us distinct creative visions that can only be experienced in games, and games like Cuphead and Horizon Zero Dawn crafted worlds we could lose ourselves in. Congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees and winners and thank you for your creativity and dedication.”
