Game Design Expo 2009 a Hit!
Keynote speaker Clint Hocking (Ubisoft) gave the packed house an exhilarating start to Saturday’s Industry Speaker Day. His ambitious and provocative presentation, The Next Generation of Player, set the tone for the rest of the day’s exciting lineup: “Today I’m not going to talk about the formal aspects of game design. Today I’m going to talk about the future of game design.”
He led the audience through a rapid-fire rundown of console history, leading us to an impending “massive demographic shift” and the question that should be on every game designer’s mind: who is Generation Y?
Hocking’s keynote gave way to a day that ran the gamut from far-reaching explorations of how games are designed and played to behind-the-scenes looks at hit titles like Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2, from abandoned concepts to audition footage.
On the event’s second day, VFS’s Game Design campus opened its doors to more than 400 registrants in a free, day-long Open House. Aspiring game designers and their families were treated to a hands-on slate of sample classes, interactive gameplay, and exclusive industry presentations, which featured a special Women in Games Panel and scholarship announcement.
Thanks to all of our event sponsors for helping to make this event such a success: G4techTV, EA, Ubisoft, Annex Pro, Big Fish Games, Obsidian Entertainment, Radical Entertainment, The Georgia Straight, Biz Books, Vancouver Siggraph, Women in Games International, Vancouver, and TechVibes.
Stay tuned for photo highlights from this incredible weekend!
