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The Develop Conference sessions are being added all the time. Please check back for new sessions and speaker information.
The tracks are built around threads of relevant sessions, covering all the main development professions, to ensure every delegate's time is well spent. Click here to see a list of sessions for each track: Coding, Design, Production, Business, Audio,The Next Wave and Art.
Animating Emotion
Ken Perlin, New York University · Track: Coding
Lecture, 60 minutes
Will computer games ever be able to convey the sense of psychological buy-in that we expect from movies and novels? In the future, will games ever be able to evoke emotional depth, psychological complexity and empathy for characters? To achieve these goals, at least two capabilities will be required: a) true psychologically engaging non-linear narrative and b) interactive virtual actors that can really act.
This talk will focus on the second of these two problems. We will explore ways that virtual actors can modulate their facial expression and body language to convey happiness, despair, interest or disinterest, as well as emotional conflict. How can an interactive character make you care? There will be lots of cool de
Audio Programming, Tools & Techniques For NexGen AAA Games
Andy Mucho, RockStar, Nick Wiswell, Bizarre Creations, Nick Laviers, Electronic Arts UK
Track: Audio · Panel, 60 minutes
The extra power of the new consoles offers an opportunity to turn games into a true dramatic medium which, arguably, is the biggest step forward that next-generation consoles offers us. But how can we take every nuance and subtlety an actor can deliver and turn it into a believable performance in real-time within the constraints of a game? This is a goal that many have attempted but no one has successfully achieved so far.
With the help of an actor involved extensively in CG performance and a premier film post-production house, Ninja Theory has been attempting to solve this problem. With demonstrative materials, the talk will cover in detail the path taken from on-set mocap performance to real-time execution. It is directed mainly at artists but should be of interest to anyone in development who is tackling the thorny issue of real-time acting.
Creating Real Drama in Real-time
Hugues Giboire, Ninja Theory · Track: Art
Lecture, 60 minutes
The extra power of the new consoles offers an opportunity to turn games into a true dramatic medium which, arguably, is the biggest step forward that next-generation consoles offers us. But how can we take every nuance and subtlety an actor can deliver and turn it into a believable performance in real-time within the constraints of a game? This is a goal that many have attempted but no one has successfully achieved so far.
With the help of an actor involved extensively in CG performance and a premier film post-production house, Ninja Theory has been attempting to solve this problem. With demonstrative materials, the talk will cover in detail the path taken from on-set mocap performance to real-time execution. It is directed mainly at artists but should be of interest to anyone in development who is tackling the thorny issue of real-time acting.
Design by democracy: How to keep your vision - while taking on board everyone else's
Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios · Track: Design
Lecture, 60 minutes
After years of fighting omnipotent programmers and recalcitrant artists, games designers have finally carved out a solid role for their profession at the heart of the development team. But equally, games design has come of age at a time of unparalleled pressures. Not only must designers balance marketing's views on trends on the high street with their CEOs desperate desire for original IP, there's also a million hardcore voices on the Internet scouring every press release, and commenting on your every design decision. How does a games designer cherry pick the best input from these disparate sources and reject the rest - whilst keeping the team and the community on board?
Design DNA: 10 new game designs ideas from the past 12 months worth stealing
Margaret Robertson, Edge magazine · Track: Design
Lecture, 60 minutes
What if, instead of having to spend days resolving some particular design problem you could be ‘inspired’ instead by a solution another game has already found? What if that game wasn’t a triple AAA, 98% classic which everyone else has already stripped bare of ideas? What if it was something odd, or overlooked, or otherwise actually pretty rotten that meant those ideas were still fresh? And what if you didn’t even need to go to the effort of playing them yourself, but could rely on Margaret Robertson, deputy editor of Edge, to fill you in on some of the neatest design shortcuts of the last year.
Designing new kinds of games for the masses
David Amour, Relentless Software, Paulina Bozek, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Track: Design · Panel, 60 minutes
With eight million PlayStation 2s sold in the UK alone – not to mention all the PCs, mobile phones, PSPs and others out there – it’s fair to say that games platforms are fast becoming ubiquitious. Why so many new titles still target the same old hobbyist-gamer demographic remains a fierce topic of debate. But this panel will focus on one critical aspect: the design challenges of making games that appeal to - and can be controlled by and enjoyed by - people who don’t actually play many games.
The Future Of Game Audio: Halo & Beyond
Marty O'Donnell· Track: Audio · Keynote, 60 minutes
One of the industry's finest reflects on his career, his approach to interactive audio, and his vision for the future of game sound and music.
Games design room 101: Four designers each consign a game design horror to the dustbin
Speaker TBD · Track: Design · Lecture, 60 minutes
New game design ideas can spread like avian bird flu: unchecked and even unwanted, they can nevertheless infect every upcoming title before they've even proven their worth. Equally, new generations of games often push on carrying old features from a bygone age, like redundant DNA. For instance, should end of-level-bosses be given the shove, and do sandbox games need missions anymore? but what features or design ideas do our four expert game designers think past are their sell-by date?
I’m with the brand: Developers as the stars
Alison Beasley, Lincoln Beasley PR, Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive, Mark Ward, Bastion, Chris Lee, Freestyle Games
Track: Business · Panel, 60 minutes
Bill Gates has said that if he was down to his last dollar he’d spend it on PR. Like Bill, an increasing number of developers are recognising the need for PR. It can be a valuable tool in winning contracts and attracting the attention of publishers, IP owners, potential investors and end users. The key to great PR is in its management but how do you select an agency? How do you place a value on the coverage? Is there really no such thing as bad publicity? Where do you draw the line between vapourware and a tantalising glimpse of something cool? The panel, including Miles Jacobson (Sports Interactive), Chris Lee (FreeStyleGames), Mark Ward of Bastion discuss the value and effective management of PR for development studios.
Leveling the Playing Field
William Latham, Games Audit · Track: Business
Lecture, 60 minutes
Again and again we hear the phrase “the games development business model is broken but few alternatives are ever put forward. With a third of all console and PC games being “canned” in Development and only one in ten games making any profit for publishers and the other nine making losses. With multi billion dollar publishers relying on a small handfull of products to make profits, it does appear that the current system is flawed and high risk.. William Latham (Develop Magazine columnist, Developer CEO of the award winning PlayStation2 game THING, CEO of Games Audit) explores new business development models to replace the old and put the creative geniuses back in the driving seat again.
Themes include “company restructuring around game IPs”, “the Grand National with snipers”, “keep your IP or quit”, “mistrust and more mistrust”, “the five takeaways and the coffin shop”, “how to look glamorous to investors”, “the adoption of the film world process” and “games development middleware”.
Lost in translation: The coder’s guide to team communication
Simon Carter & Louise Copley, Lionhead Studios · Track: Coding
Lecture, 60 minutes
With development teams getting ever bigger and working on even more complex games, good lines of clear communication between the different game development disciplines is vital. Programmers have a reputation (undeservedly so!) for not communicating well or communicating in such a technical way that no one can understand what they are tried to say! Simon Carter of Lionhead Studios (who incidentally has programming background) will demonstrate the reasons why regular and clear communication is essential to a trouble free development process. Studio Head Louise Copley (who does not have a technical background) will highlight common mistakes made by team members and explain how systems have been put in place to ensure that their team communicates as well as possible Louise and Simon will use anecdotal examples of good and bad communication and also detail techniques and systems that have now been put into practice at Lionhead.
The perfect pitch: three development studios present to a handpicked publisher board
Speaker(s) TBD · Track: Business · Panel, 60 minutes
Everyone can do a better job at selling themselves, their studios, and their services. But with pitching to publishers a behind-closed-doors procedure, how are you supposed to know how to improve? Well, we're bringing together a few experienced publishing representatives, to whom three development studios will pitch their wares. Expect candid feedback from the publishers and from the audience. And from the developers themselves - it's not as if publishers have nothing to learn, either.
Money for Non-Suits
Jonathan Smith, Traveler's Tales & Nicholas Lovell, Lodestar Partners
Track: Business · Lecture, 60 minutes
So you always wanted to “make games” – and now you’ve got responsibility for multi-million pound projects. You’re outsourcing, budgeting, dealing with contracts and looking at share prices... but how much do you really know about money and how it works? Not the common-sense money of paychecks and overdrafts, but the alternate universe of finance, tax and corporate funding?
From VAT to valuations; from cashflow to capital gains, Nicholas Lovell, (Managing Director, Media Corporate Finance at Lodestar Partners) and Jonathan Smith (Development Director at TT Games) give a rapid-fire introduction to financial concepts and issues affecting games development. Stuff you need to know, or that you’ll need to know before long. Stuff that’s just too important to leave to the suits…
Production Master Class
Chris Keegan, Climax Handheld · Track: Production
Lecture, Two hours
This two-hour session will cover all elements of development techniques and project management required to run a modern (large-scale) game development. We'll be presenting some challenging ideas including novel usages for venerable (and largely maligned) planning tools as well as covering more familiar territory like scheduling best practices and processes. We aim to cover the entire lifecycle of a typical project discussing initial planning and budgeting, development phases (including activities to carry out during different phases) and a discussion about agile development techniques.
PS3 Audio: Meet The Team
Jason Page , Sony Computer Entertainment Europe· Track: Audio
Panel, 60 minutes
A unique chance to hear the story of how four UK audio techs landed the most important gig of their career, how they are harnessing the power of PS3 and are defining nexgen audio. (When they're not in the pub)
Recreating Reality
Kenny Young, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe · Track: Audio
Lecture, 60 minutes
Many a bad design decision has been made under the banner of "what would happen in reality". This presentation will examine why the use of implausible sound is one of the most effective tools available to you when trying to create an immersive gaming experience.
Software engineering: Games programming for large scale projects
Jeremy Chatelaine, Electronic Arts · Track: Coding
Lecture, 60 minutes
Programming video games for large scale projects can be daunting at first - there is so much going on that you may feel like you are a small cog in a big machine. Some may be willing to slow down the pace of the machine to cope with it, but if you follow a few simple rules, you may actually enjoy the fast progress made by a large team and still feel like you are in control.
In a large team, some people rely on management to assist them and others rely on communication. Without a doubt, these are important parts of large scale projects but what can a programmer do in his/her daily work to support a project like this? Optimising your workflow and pipeline may be a good start, simple and clear code design would certainly help too, but these may just be the tip of the iceberg.
This talk will provide you more than coffee and pizza usually do to support your productivity in an extended crunch period. It will give you guidelines and rules of thumb along with real examples that will make your project run more smoothly and will hopefully help you reduce that crunch time period at the end of every project.
The Opinion Jam: Twelve speakers. Three minutes each. One winner.
Ste Curran · Track: Next Wave
Lecture, 60 minutes
We've all had it: conference fatigue. Sitting and watching people fill up their allotted timeslots can't always be interesting forever; some speakers are amazing, some are less than amazing, and after a while sessions start to feel like playing Russian roulette with a gun loaded with tedium. What if this one turns out to be another guy with grand designs that can be summed up in a single sentence, padded out with a pointless powerpoint presentation, degenerating into a dreary Q&A session?
It won't. This is the antidote to all of that, a quickfire battle of wit and wisdom, a conference condensed. Twelve speakers will rise to the challenge of punctual presentation, delivering radical ideas on the state and future of the games industry. They'll speed through their points with punchy passion and abbreviated eloquence, say everything they need to within a three-minute timeslot, then sit down to a chorus of boos or cheers. Whoever gets the best reaction from the unlikeliest proposition wins.
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