SGS GDC 2007 Announces Sessions, Speakers

Organizers of the Serious Games Summit at Game Developers Conference 2007, a gathering of professionals who use games for non-entertainment purposes, have announced the speakers and sessions currently scheduled for the event, to take place March 5-6, 2007 at the Moscone Convention Center North in San Francisco. One of the more intriguing sessions currently scheduled for the two day event include a lecture titled “Next-Gen Conversational Characters for Serious Games” from Facade creators Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern, which promises to offer insight into technical and design approaches for characters for serious games. Another, presented by Persuasive Games' Ian Bogost titled “Persuasive Games: Introduction to Procedural Rhetoric,” is expected to cover effective techniques for persuasion and expression in video games. Other notable sessions include 'Cool School: An Inside Look at a Federally Funded Conflict Resolution Game and Interactive Tool for Classrooms' by David Warhol, and 'Teaching Kids About Nutrition Through Edu-Gaming in Whyville.net' by James M. Bower. A full list of sessions can be found on the GDC website. The 2007 SGS GDC will have tracks devoted to serious games development in areas such as education, government, health, military, science, corporate training, and social change. In total, more than 40 sessions covering areas such as learning and instructional theory, game design, business models and deals will be presented. In addition, new this year will be a set of tutorials offered on best practices for low budget game development, workshops offering tactics for next-generation development of serious games, a dedicated advergaming track, and group meet-ups for key industries in the serious games space. Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend seminars on design, production, implementation, and assessment issues related to serious games, as well as case studies on game-based solutions and simulations used within non-entertainment industries. "The serious games industry is rapidly becoming an important and significant segment within the videogame development community," commented Jamil Moledina, executive director of the Game Developers Conference. "The GDC is proud to take a leading stance in this arena and provide our attendees with the most thorough conference program dedicated to serious game development." For more information concerning SGS GDC, including speaker and registration information, visit the official website.