In its 4th year, the Austin Game Conference continues to grow in both content and industry participation. The conference expanded from two to three days to incorporate more speakers and sessions into the conference program. A new addition this year, the Dell ArtZONE offered game designers advanced training with top training representatives from Autodesk and Softimage using Dell Precision(TM) Workstations.
The AGC this year brought together the sharpest minds from a variety of backgrounds to speak about the future of the game industry. The conference keynotes each enlightened the crowd with their respective expertise: Blizzard's Vice President of Design outlined World of Warcraft's secrets to success; Jon Landau, Producer and COO of Lightstorm Entertainment, explained the connections between creating games and films; Dell Inc. Chairman, Michael Dell addressed his company's future in the game arena; and Science-Fiction author Vernor Vinge proposed that we're living in an age of connectivity and the future holds the possibility of "ubiquitous computing."
"AGC has become the premier source of technical information for developers creating the next generation of leading online games," said Christopher V. Sherman, Austin Game Conference Executive Director. "I am extremely pleased to see that our focus on the technology, art, design, production and business of games continues to attract attendees from across the country and even across world."
In addition to an extra day of sessions, the conference added over 12,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space to the Technology Pavilion for a total of 45,000 sq. ft. of floor space. Over 80 companies exhibited in the pavilion, including Microsoft Casual Games, Online Game Services, Inc., IBM, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Critical Mass Interactive, BioWare Corp., K2 Network, Emergent Game Technologies, Ageia Technologies, Audiokinetic, Autodesk, Vivendi Games, Aria Systems, Softimage, and Simutronics-Hero Engine.
Another highlight of the conference was the 4th annual LivePitch, sponsored by WildTangent Inc. More than 40 game developers presented their projects to leading publishers such as Capcom Entertainment, Game Trust, Inc., Comcast, Stardock Entertainment, NCsoft, GoPets Inc., PlayFirst, Majesco Entertainment, Atari, Inc., Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc, MTV Networks, iWin, WildTangent, and Codemasters.
The 2007 Austin Game Conference will take place September 5th, 6th and 7th at the Austin Convention Center.