GDC Europe 2011 Adds Playdom Talk, Unity Day

Author: by Staff

GDC Europe organizers have revealed new Main Conference talks in the show's Game Design, Visual Arts, and Programming tracks, featuring Playdom on the aesthetics of social games, and a full day of Unity lectures and tutorials. Taking place Monday through Wednesday, August 15-17, 2011 at the Cologne Congress-Centrum Ost, alongside the major gamescom trade show, GDC Europe will again provide the essential pan-European perspective of game development and business trends. Some of the new highlights from the Main Conference sessions, which encompass tracks on Business & Marketing, Game Design, Production, Programming and Visual Arts, include the following: - In "Gardens of Time: Art and Iteration," Playdom's Eric Todd will examine the company's hit hidden object Facebook game Gardens of Time, detailing the challenges of balancing aesthetic design, game design and technical constraints when creating a free-to-play social title. - Notable game engine creator Unity Technologies will present its very own sponsored "Unity Track Day" during the show, which will feature a series of lectures and tutorials focusing on the technical and business aspects of using the Unity toolkit. The company promises to help attendees understand the basics of developing with Unity, as well as how to make their game stand out in today's increasingly digital market. Dates and times for these sponsored Unity-focused sessions will be announced soon. In addition to the Main Conference, GDC Europe has added notable Summits on social games, smartphone & tablet games, indie games and community management to the existing line-up this year. Also new this week is a limited-time discount on GDC Europe passes -- for more information, check out the official GDC Europe Facebook page. GDC Europe organizers also recently announced a Main Conference keynote talk from Ultima creator Richard Garriott, who will discuss the influence and future of the social and casual game market. Other announcements for the show include the full lineup of sessions within the Independent Games Summit, and Main Conference talks from Harmonix, DICE and more. For more information on GDC Europe as the event takes shape, please visit the official GDC Europe website, or subscribe to updates from the new GDC Europe-specific news page in RSS form, official Twitter page, or official Facebook page. GDC Europe is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb, as is this website.