GDC Online Debuts Zynga, CCP, Threat Modeling Talks

Author: by Staff

GDC Online has revealed a new batch of lectures for the October show in Austin, featuring speakers from Zynga on "how metrics are ruining your game," veteran Stephen Beeman on online security threats, and CCP on crisis management. Taking place Monday, October 10 through Thursday, October 13, 2011 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, GDC Online continues as the leading worldwide event dedicated solely to discussing the development and business trends surrounding connected games -- including casual titles, MMOs, virtual worlds, and social networking games. This year's Main Conference will include tracks on Business & Marketing, Customer Experience, Design, Production, and Programming, as well as a sponsored track on Monetization. As seen in the event's Schedule Builder, the following lectures are early highlights from this year's Main Conference: - Over in the Design track is a lecture dubbed, "How Metrics Are Ruining Your Game; Common Pitfalls and Uncommon Solutions," in which Zynga product manager Ian Wang will explain the pros and cons of using metrics to influence game design. "This talk takes a practical look at how metrics are being used, how they should be used, and how to avoid having well-intentioned data lead to wrong decisions," says Wang. - In a Customer Experience track lecture, "Threat Modeling for Game Developers," veteran MMO and social game consultant and expert Stephen Beeman will outline security risks that threaten users' personal information, and what developers can do to avoid them. Beeman, an alumnus of Origin, Electronic Arts and Gazillion Entertainment, says, "Using real-world examples, this lecture will teach you the threat modeling process and how to use it to make your apps more secure." - Finally, in another Customer Experience track lecture, CCP Games' senior director of PR and communication, Valerie Massey, will host a talk titled, "DEFCON: A Basic Guide to Crisis Management." Massey's talk will focus on the numerous and often inevitable crises that arise during game development, and will provide attendees with "the tips and tools you'll need to calmly weather the storm and get things back on track." In addition to the Main Conference, GDC Online will also feature the ever popular Game Narrative Summit, as well as Summits on Smartphone & Tablet Games and Virtual Items, all of which will host specialized sessions on some of the most vital emerging areas in games. GDC Online organizers also recently unveiled the show's GDC Play Pavilion, which will allow select exhibitors to showcase their games to the distributors, publishers, press, and investors attending the show. Other recent announcements include new lectures within the Game Narrative Summit, and Main Conference talks from Zynga, Nexon, and more. The longrunning Austin-based show, which continues to expand a robust Expo floor and offer in-depth takeaway from sessions alongside networking opportunities, also has a number of other announcements planned for the upcoming weeks and months. For more information on GDC Online as the event takes shape, please visit the official GDC Online website, or subscribe to updates from the new GDC Online-specific news page via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. GDC Online is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb, as is this website.