My GDC talks and panels

Here’s my speaking schedule at GDC:

• Sharing Control
  [10:30am Friday, March 9, 2007 | Room: 41]
• MMOs, Past, Present and Future
  [4:00pm Wednesday, March 7, 2007 | Room: 37]
• Where Game Meets the Web
  [5:30pm Thursday, March 8, 2007 | Room: 35]

Descriptions:

Where Game Meets the Web
Speaker: Raph Koster (President, Areae, Inc.)
Date/Time: Thursday (March 8, 2007) 5:30pm — 6:30pm
Location (room): Room 3020 West Hall
Track: Business and Management
Format: 60-minute Lecture
Experience Level: All

Session Description
We’ve all heard it, and probably even said it: games are kind of like movies. We have the blockbusters, the opening days, the big budgets and interdisciplinary teams… There are many lessons we can learn from the well-established content industries.

But games are also software, and the software world is undergoing a revolution. The Web world is in ferment – some say a new bubble – and it’s dragging content industries kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The underlying technological assumptions of the Web regarding concepts such as IP, distribution, and user participation are very different from the Big Media way of doing things. Could “release early, release often” possibly apply to the world of gamemaking?

This session is about lessons we can learn from how the Web world works, applied to the game industry, and concrete takeaways on how to leverage the brave new Web world.

Sharing Control
Speaker: David Edery (Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner, Xbox Live Arcade), Raph Koster (President, Areae, Inc.), Kim Pallister (Microsoft), Ray Muzyka (Joint CEO, BioWare Corp.), Matt Brown (Technical Director / Design Director, Maxis/Electronic Arts)
Date/Time: Friday (March 9, 2007) 10:30am — 11:30am
Location (room): Room 3016, West Hall
Track: Game Design
Format: 60-minute Panel
Experience Level: All

Session Description
This year’s GDC theme is “Take Control”, but this next generation of gaming should be equally remarkable for its emphasis on broadband-enabled social systems, multiplayer games, and user-generated content. This panel will grapple with the benefits and challenges of *sharing control* with gamers. Issues include: how can developers involve consumers in the design process, how can user-generated content help and harm a game, what are the best ways to prevent “low quality” UGC from frustrating the community, and how can user-driven marketing be encouraged?

Idea Takeaway
Attendees will learn the benefits and disadvantages of “sharing control”, as well as concrete recommendations for sharing control more effectively.

Intended Audience
Anyone interested in the design and/or business justifications for “sharing control” with consumers will enjoy this panel. Prerequisite knowledge is not necessary.

MMOs, Past, Present and Future
Speaker: Gordon Walton (co-Studio Director, BioWare), Daniel James (CEO, Three Rings), Raph Koster (President, Areae, Inc.), Mark Jacobs (VP EA, Studio GM EA Mythic, EA Mythic), Mark Kern (President & CEO, Red 5 Studios)
Date/Time: Wednesday (March 7, 2007) 4:00pm — 5:00pm
Location (room): Room 3006, West Hall
Track: Business and Management
Format: 60-minute Panel
Experience Level: All

Session Description
While massively multiplayer online games have a history approaching the length of stand-alone computer games, they are suddenly one of the high growth areas of the electronic entertainment market. The panelists discuss the history that got us to today, where WoW is – the world-wide phenomenon in gaming. The majority of this panel session is reserved for the combination of audience questions and for the panelists to discuss how they see the future unfolding; specifically where is this medium going and how is it going to get there.

Idea Takeaway
The attendees learn how the MMO market has developed over the last 25+ years, but more importantly they understand where some of the most experienced MMO developers believe this medium is going, and how they see this evolution occurring.

Intended Audience
Anyone interested in massively multiplayer gaming, regardless of the client platforms used (PC, console, handheld or mobile).