LOGIN Conference Debates Announced

The organizer of the 2009 LOGIN Conference aren’t afraid of controversy — in fact an announcement made this morning says it will embrace it with a series of debates. The event dedicated to all things related to the online game development business will explore new territory for conference attendees. Among the dozens of sessions, panels, and roundtables is a series of three formal debates covering issues of secondary markets, ownership of virtual property, and the thorny issue of scripting by game designers.

These debate are 60 minutes long and uses an abbreviated version of the National Forensics League’s policy debate format (how very fancy and official). This gives speakers the freedom to define the direction and rules of the debate. The debate is framed by a resolution: a formal statement of intent that one speaker will affirm and the other will negate. The resolution is intended to be divisive, insuring a lively discussion - but hopefully without any physical violence. I’m kidding, of course - who doesn’t love violence?

The first debate on Secondary Markets (a discussion about the sale of virtual goods), will take place Tuesday afternoon between Geoffrey Zatkin, President and COO of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, and Martin Herdina, CEO of fatfoogoo. The second debate (Wednesday) on Designers and Scripting Systems will feature Marty Poulin, CEO of Shady Logic Studios versus Isaac Barry, Creative Director of GameHouse. The final debate on Thursday afternoon, Virtual Property Ownership, will see Erik Bethke, CEO of GoPets Ltd. go head-to-head with Jon Grande, EVP and GM Online Services of Exponential Entertainment.

Read the rest of this entry »

BioWare Founders Keynote GDC Canada

BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk will deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference Canada (GDC Canada), organizer Think Services announced. The keynote, “Emotionally Engaging Narrative: Gaming’s New Frontier,” will take place on the morning of May 13, 2009. GDC Canada will take at the place Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre May 12-13, 2009.

Having the good doctors keynote the event makes sense, given that they run one of the most influential studios in the country. The company is currently working on Dragon Age: Origins, a fantasy RPG set for release on the PC and consoles.

You can learn more about this two day event by visiting www.gdc-canada.com.

The Final Countdown: Tabula Rasa

Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa will be closed by weekend’s end but NCSoft wants to give subscribers one final monumental battle to take part in before it pulls the plug. The event will kick off tomorrow at around 8 PM CST (translate that to whatever time zone you are in).

The final battle to end all battles will see a massive Bane full frontal assault on all AFS bases, which players will have to fend off. Full details from the final Tabulas Rasa Feedback Friday Transmission after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

StarCraft II Playable at CeBit

According to the decidedly fan-tastic StarCraftWire, StarCraft II will be playable at CeBit in Hanover, Germany March 3 - 8. The news is based on a highlights press release from Intel, which pegs StarCraft II as playable in Intel Hall 22. Intel will also be hosting the

On a side note, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Intel Chairman Craig R. Barrett and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will open this year’s CeBit. I bet you’re excited now!

Intel will also host the finals of the Intel Extreme Masters a worldwide gaming competition - sponsored by Dell and Alienware (with prizes totaling USD $750,000).

Wrath of the Lich King Midnight Madness Planned

Blizzard Entertainment will have special midnight signing events at retail locations around the country to commemorate the launch of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King on November 13. Each location will open its doors at 12:00 a.m. local time, allowing addicts.. I mean WOW players to be among the first to get their copies of the World of Warcraft expansion. Blizzard Entertainment developers and executives will be in attendance to meet players and sign copies of the game, and increased quantities of the Collector’s Edition will be on hand for purchase. Official launch events will be held in the following locations - after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »

GDC 2009 Registration Opens

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) will return to the Moscone Center in San Francisco March 23-27, 2009. I bet you’re excited. This year’s conference produced by the Think Services Game Group features five days of keynotes, sessions, panel discussions, and roundtables aimed at game developers and business professionals. The entire GDC Summit Lineup for 2009 includes summits on AI, casual games, game outsourcing, IGDA education, and localization. GDC will also feature its popular Serious Games, Independent Games and Worlds in Motion Summits.

The conference takes place from March 23-27, 2009. Registration and conference information is available online at the official GDC website, www.gdconf.com.

PAX 2008 Reminder

The organizers of the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) today sent a reminder that this year’s gaming festival will begin later this week. PAX 2008 is being held August 29-31 and the group expects to draw over 45,000 gamers, industry professionals and media to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle for the 3-day event.

Attendee badges may be purchased at the door at $30 for a one-day badge or $60 for all three days of the show. Is it any wonder that they expect so many to attend this event, given that most of our industry’s biggest shows are a shut-out for regular gamers? Highlights after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »