Author: by Staff

The CMP Game Group, which also produces Game Developers Conference and operates Gamasutra.com and Game Developer magazine, has announced new details on its GDC London event, which is part of the newly announced London Games Festival taking place this October in London, England. GDC London will focus exclusively on advanced techniques in game development, with a special focus on the UK. The event will build on the 2006 GDC theme of "What's Next" by narrowly focusing on key next generation console development issues. GDC London will take place October 2-4 at 195 Piccadilly, BAFTA's headquarters. Space is limited and prospective attendees are encouraged to register early. The event will include a two-day intensive single-track seminar with expert developers delivering cross-disciplinary sessions. These sessions will cover individual elements of next-generation games, looking at common challenges such as the creation of believable characters and rich, crowded environments, as well as compelling, innovative gameplay. The conference will also include postmortem format sessions. Each session will feature two speakers from different disciplines coming together to describe how they overcame a common challenge. This process reflects the cell-based staff management system employed by many modern developers. The speakers will draw examples from their own next-generation console games. The conference will also feature a full-day sponsored tutorial from IBM on 2 October. Jamil Moledina, executive director for the Game Developers Conference, noted, "The GDC is excited to join the major UK game organizations as part of the London Games Festival. We know this week of critical events will bring unity to the UK games community and underscore the importance of the UK in the worldwide games industry." GDC London joins with ELSPA (The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), TIGA (The Independent Games Developers Association) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), who have created a weeklong cultural and business celebration of video games in London. The London Games Festival will combine key events throughout the Capital from Monday 2nd October 2006. These events include the London Games Summit presented by ELSPA and TIGA and programmed by the CMP Game Group, the London Game Career Fair presented by Gamasutra.com, GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer.net, the London Content, Outsourcing and Middleware Market presented by TIGA, and BAFTA's British Academy Video Games Awards. Early rate pricing for GDC London expires 15 September - please visit the official GDC London website to register for attendance and review conference information.