Game Connect is the premier conference, exhibition and networking event for the ASIA Pacific Game Industry. Game Connect 2007 will include an Investors Forum and Skills Forum. GCAP is proudly hosted by the Game Developer's Association of Australia (GDAA) with support from the Victorian State Government.

New International Speakers Announced:

Hermann Peterscheck, Producer, NetDevil
Hermann Peterscheck was originally a programmer when he started working at NetDevil back in 2002. Currently, Hermann is the Producer on Jumpgate Evolution, NetDevil's upcoming Space Combat MMO. He has been an avid gamer all his life (i.e. never wanted a "real" job); and has wanted to make games since his dad brought home a TI99-4A back in the early days of computing technology.

Scott Brown, President and CEO, NetDevil
Scott Brown is President of Colorado-based NetDevil, which he co-founded in 1997. Scott oversees all aspects of game development for NetDevil, including design, programming and art, as well as the operations side of the business. Scott’s goal for NetDevil is to constantly push the envelope in MMO gaming. The company has done just that, beginning with its first product, Jumpgate, to the recently released announced LEGO Universe and Jumpgate Evolution projects. Scott has been managing software development teams since 1993 for companies like Digital Creators, where he met NetDevil co-owners, Peter Grundy and Ryan Seabury.

Chris Wells, Character Artist from Epic Games
Chris Wells was one of the key artists for Gears of War, a tactical third-person shooter developed by Epic Games (the creators of the Unreal Tournament series) using Unreal Engine technology and published by Microsoft Game Studios.  Chris will look at the art asset pipeline used by Epic Games for games such as Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3, as well as techniques learned from Gears of War he will discuss the importance of more traditional art studies such as life drawing.
 
Dave Glenn, Art Director of Creative Environments, Flagship Studios
Dave Glenn's work on the Diablo franchise was instrumental in establishing the visual design and dark feel of that world. Dave was the chief Background Artist on both Diablo II and its expansion, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. His Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech serves a solid foundation upon which he creates fantastic, yet believable structures and settings that stage and unify the world in which the game is set. Before making his mark with the Diablo series, Dave created numerous 3D architectural assets for SimCity 3000 while working as a contractor for Maxis.

Full Game Connect Speaker list Available at>

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GDAA Awards 2007
Nominations close Wednesday 31 October 2007, 5pm AEST
These are the Australian and New Zealand awards for games developed by Australian or New Zealand developers. The Award Program is managed by the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA). Full details>>

FRIDAY, November 16, 2007

Turbocharge Your PS3 Development - Phil Davies, Sony Computer Entertainment

The Pitching Process TODAY - Careen Yap, Konami, Brian Christian, Konami

Playing the Spread - Jason Della Rocca, IGDA

Multicore Programming, Two Years Later - Pete Isensee, Microsoft

"War - it's not just a game" Applying large scale MilAero development best practice to computer game development - Davyd Norris, IBM

7 months, 7 people, 7 million units: Mobile production in the spotlight - Ronald Haupt, Firemint

Widening your Audience: Casual Games, Hardcore Appeal - Steve Fawkner, Infinite Interactive

Online options for PS3 games - Paul Holman, Sony Computer Entertainment

SATURDAY, November 17, 2007

State Government Initiatives for Startups and Existing Game Development Companies - Multimedia Victoria, Queensland Government and Film Victoria

Effective Game Programming for Windows Vista - Pete Isensee, Microsoft

More! Secret Alchemy For Creating Outstanding Next Gen Visuals - Adam Myhill, Pandemic and Kirk Gibbons, Pandemic

MMO Fever - The Next Gold Rush - Scott Brown and Hermann Peterscheck, NetDevil

Postmortem: Bioshock - Martin Slater, 2K Australia

One World: Developing Story and Gameplay Together - Matt Costello, Writer

Mobile Games: The new old-school? - Mark Angelli, Firemint

Performance Analysis Tools for PS3 - Neil Brown, Sony Computer Entertainment

Standing out from the Demo Crowd - Keith Steury, UsabilityOne

The Changing Role of the Lead Designer - Morgan Jaffit, Pandemic

A Baker’s Dozen: 13 Tools and Technologies for Your Next Game - Pete Isensee, Microsoft

Great Debate, Playstation 3 vs Wii vs Xbox 360



Social Functions

Thursday 15 November, 6-8pm - Welcome Reception
Venue: Exhibition Hall, Melbourne Convention Centre
This event is included in Conference ticket purchase but please nominate attendance when you purchase a ticket.

Friday 16 November, 5-8pm - Gathering of Developers Networking Night

Saturday 17 November, 7.00-11.30pm - Conference Dinner and GDAA Annual Awards
Venue: Grand Hyatt, Please note ticket purchase is in addition to a Conference Ticket.