Sessions Listing

An Integrative Approach to Studio Services – Managing QA, Support, Localization, and Community for Your Game

Lecturer: John Erskine, NCsoft

In today’s International Online Gaming environment, building a successful service organization is a key to long term success. This session will explore the integrative approach to managing important Studio Services throughout the lifecycle of a project. How should these processes fit together with each other, and how should each integrate with the overall development process? What is the right time to start each process? How should they even work? Please come with questions and share from your own experience.

Format: Lecture
Track: Community
Date/Time: Tuesday, 5:00 PM, Room: Salon F

No More Walled Gardens: Facilitating Real Community That Extends Beyond Game Play

Lecturer: Charles F. Manning, PLAYXPERT

Online gaming is an intensely social phenomenon, with millions of young adults around the globe interacting constantly, collaborating together, communicating with one another, and sharing information.

In an effort to create and maintain user communities, next generation online games and game services have to adapt to deliver integrated, mash-up experiences for players (both in and out of game).  Chat and matchmaking are no longer enough; modern users demand identities in place of anonymity, intelligent matchmaking, friendship development mechanisms, award points systems, and productivity tools to facilitate community which extends outside of the traditional gaming boundaries.

Format: Lecture
Track: Community
Date/Time: Tuesday, 9:00 AM, Room: Salon B

Manning - No More Walled Gardens.pdf

Successfully Managing a Community Emergency

Moderator: Craig Dalrymple, Sony Online Entertainment
Panelist: Victor Wachter, Cryptic Studios
Panelist: Katie Postma, FireSky
Panelist: Alan Crosby, Sony Online Entertainment
Panelist: Meghan Rodberg, Turbine, Inc.

This panel will explore the panellist’s thoughts on how best to respond to various and sundry crises that can arise within a community.

Format: Panel
Track: Community
Date/Time: Tuesday, 3:30 PM, Room: Harbor

Taking Your Community from Pre-Launch to Live

Moderator: Steve Danuser, 38 Studios
Panelist: Victor Wachter, Cryptic Studios
Panelist: Craig Dalrymple, Sony Online Entertainment
Panelist: Katie Postma, FireSky
Panelist: Meghan Rodberg, Turbine, Inc.

Communities form around MMOs long before the product launches. Harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of potential players is an intoxicating prospect for community managers, but must be handled properly to ensure the long-term health and growth of the community. This panel focuses on laying the groundwork for the right kind of environment before a game launches and how to build upon the established foundation to welcome a new audience after the game goes live.

Format: Panel
Track: Community
Date/Time: Thursday, 2:00 PM, Room: Salon B

You Can't Do That! Crossing Platforms and Genres with Shadowrun

Lecturer: Dana Hanna, Microsoft Game Studios

What happens when you take a cult-classic pen-and-paper RPG and turn it into the first ever cross-platform shooter for Vista and Xbox? Shadowrun caused an all-out torches and pitchforks battle among RPG purists, console gamers, and the PC shooter community. The game is also a great example of how traditional MMO community management practices are increasingly relevant to console gaming.

Format: Mini Lecture
Track: Community
Date/Time: Wednesday, 3:30 PM, Room: Salon F