MELBOURNE – Thursday 15 October, 2009 – The Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) today unveiled the preliminary program for Game Connect: Asia Pacific (GCAP) the region’s premier game development conference.
GDAA President, Tom Crago has called the program the strongest yet, in the history of the conference. “The Australian industry has been running this event for ten years now and I have been fortunate to have attended every show. Looking at this year’s program, I can’t recall a better lineup of Australian and international speakers,” he commented.
“The whole point of GCAP is to provide an educational and professional development service to the industry in this region, and to build on the collegial atmosphere we share as an industry here. We also use it as an opportunity to host international publishers, and to introduce them to our many, talented development studios. I am very confident that the 2009 GCAP will be a great success on both these criteria.”
Key Note Speakers for this year’s GCAP are Vicarious Visions Design Director Tim Stellmach, and Eat, Sleep Play Founder David Jaffe.
David will appear by video link, in a session to be hosted by the presenters of ABC Television’s Good Game.
A final Key Note Speaker will be announced in the weeks leading up to the conference.
Other program highlights include international speakers from Sony, Microsoft, Autodesk and Havoc, as well as presentations from local studios including Team Bondi, Torus Games, 2K Australia and Big World.
Two presentations will cover recent release Heroes Over Europe from Transmission Games.
This year’s GCAP will also have a focus on Audio, with sessions run by Stephan Shutze and Alex Ringus, culminating in a presentation by Blue Tongue Senior Audio Designer John Guscott on the interactive soundscapes of deBlob.
A double-session panel discussion on serious games will be another highlight, as will Firemint CEO Rob Murray’s presentation on his company’s success with iPhone titles Flight Control and Real Racing.
Local Indie developer Farbs will share his experiences on life as an independent, and the conference will culminate in a panel discussion featuring games media luminaries including Yahtzee and Jason Hill.
The panel will be chaired by Tantalus Creative Director David Hewitt, and will be entitled. ‘What I hate about Video Games: A Critic’s Perspective’.
To view the program in full, visit www.gameconnectap.com
Registrations for GCAP are now open, and delegates are encouraged to register early to take advantage of reduced rates.
For further information about the conference or to register interest as a conference speaker visit www.gameconnectap.com