Japanese Conference Gets Miyamoto, Kojima, Iwatani

Organizers of the academic Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference in Kyoto, Japan have announced the line-up for the event at Risumeikan University. The university has had a history of notable game developer graduates, including Parappa creator Masaya Matsuura, and notably welcomed Nintendo and Super Nintendo console designer Masayuki Uemura onto its faculty in 2003. As a result, prominent speakers including Shigeru Miyamoto, Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani and Hideo Kojima are all scheduled to speak at the one-day conference. In addition to Miyamoto and Metal Gear Solid creator Kojima the list also includes Koichi Hosoi (professor at Ritsumeikan University and advisor for the DS Brain Training games) and Hirokazu Hamamura (president of Famitsu publisher Enterbrain). The list of speakers also includes prominent Western figures such as Nolan Bushnell and Valve’s Robin Walker. The event is due to take place at the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, and will take place on December 2nd this year. Further information can be found in Japanese language at the official Game Archive website - the conference will be open to the general public and entry will be free. A full schedule for the presentations is as follows: 10:00 - 10:45 Opening Remarks Koichi Hosoi (Professor, Ritsumeikan University) 10:45 - 11:45 "Design Prospects of Interactive Entertainment" Mitsuhiro Takemura (Chair, Ritsumeikan University) 12:50 - 15:15 "Origins of Game Design and Technology" Nolan Bushnell (Founder, Atari) Atsushi Oogaki (Chief Producer,NHK) Tooru Iwatani (Incubation Center Chief, Namco) Masayuki Uemura (Nintendo Advisor, Professor at Ritsumeikan University) 15:30 - 17:30 "Game Design and Technology: Now and the Future" Shigeru Miyamoto (Head of Development, Nintendo) Hideo Kojima (Head, Kojima Productions, Konami) Robin Walker (Design Lead, Valve Corporation) Hirokazu Hamamura (President, Enterbrain)