See how top F2P spenders are shaping our industry at GDC 2015

Back in 2013, Kongregate cofounder Emily Greer delivered an insightful GDC talk about best practices for free-to-play game design. Next March she returns to the conference to delve deeper into what makes F2P games tick: those big spenders we often call "whales." In her upcoming GDC 2015 talk, "Don't Call Them Whales: F2P Spenders and Virtual Value," Greer (a self-professed stats geek) will examine this phenomenon by looking at demographics, play and buying patterns for top spenders on the Kongregate web platform and mobile games, how expectations of game spending and value are formed, and how attitudes toward spenders and spending shape the whole industry -- not just free-to-play games. It's a talk worth attending for anyone seeking a better understanding of where the industry is going, and conference organizers look forward to announcing many more GDC 2015 sessions covering a diverse array of game industry issues in the months ahead. All of the announced talks are now available in the online GDC 2015 Session Scheduler, where you can begin to build your conference week and later export it to the up-to-the-minute GDC Mobile App, coming soon. In the meantime, don't miss your chance to save money by registering early -- the deadline to register for passes at a discounted rate is January 21, 2015. GDC 2015 itself will take place March 2-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2015, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.