Blizzard Senior VP Pardo To Keynote Paris GDC

Rob Pardo, Blizzard Entertainment's Senior Vice President of Game Design, is confirmed to keynote Paris Game Developers Conference (Paris GDC). In a Q&A style presentation titled “In the Eye of the Blizzard: a Keynote Q&A with Rob Pardo,” Jamil Moledina, Executive Director of GDC Events, will interview Pardo on his inspirations, challenges, and on the next steps at Blizzard Entertainment. Pardo will address Blizzard's lessons learned, the resources unlocked by its success, and the raw talent in evidence in its development team. Paris GDC, the second French edition of the Game Developers Conference - the premier event for developers and publishers in the videogame industry - is scheduled for June 23-24 at the Coeur Défense Convention Centre in Paris. Contributing to Blizzard Entertainment’s success since 1997, Pardo supervises the design and implementation of gameplay and story features for every Blizzard game. After being named lead designer on the Starcraft expansion set, Starcraft: Brood War, Pardo went on to serve as lead designer of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos; its expansion set, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne; and also Blizzard's largest undertaking to date, World of Warcraft. The latest Blizzard Entertainment title to reach players under his leadership was the first World of Warcraft expansion set, The Burning Crusade. In his current position, Rob continues to oversee all aspects of game design for World of Warcraft and its upcoming second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, as well as Blizzard Entertainment's other games in development, including the highly anticipated Starcraft II. Said GDC Events executive director Jamil Moledina: “Developers across the world know that game development is a challenging, hit-driven business -- regardless of genre, geography, or platform. Pardo and the developers at Blizzard Entertainment however have cracked the code, and our discussion will focus on the key components of the company’s hit-making process – with the goal of providing our attendees with better odds for winning.” Other confirmed Paris GDC lectures include a keynote from Mark Healey and Alex Evans, co-founders of Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), as well as major lectures from DICE's Ben Cousins (Battlefield Heroes), id's Matt Hooper, SCEE's Tamsin Lucas, and more. Visit the Paris GDC website for the complete list of confirmed sessions.