2008 Worlds In Motion Summit Adds Virtual Economies Panel

As the January 16th deadline for early registration approaches, the organizers of the 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit have announced more of the speakers who'll be participating in the upcoming event - organized by the creators of Gamasutra sister welbog WorldsInMotion.biz. This time, we reveal the participants of a very exciting panel on socioeconomics in virtual worlds. Many online worlds and multiplayer games have developed their own thriving economies and complex indices, just from the in-game purchase, sale and trade of virtual items. This panel will convene executives and economists from some of the biggest, and we're pleased to present Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, Ph.D, in-world economist for EVE Online, Gaia Online CEO Craig Sherman, and John Bates, director of business development for Entropia Universe. Each representing a different approach to the topic, the panelists will discuss the importance of virtual economics to the fabric of online interaction, and the way the virtual goods and commerce add both concrete and abstract value to the play experience. Additionally, we welcome Slashdot editor and MMOGNation.com writer Michael Zenke as panel moderator, as his strong background in online worlds guarantees an interesting and informed discussion. Participation from Multiverse's Corey Bridges and Rafhael Cedeno, MindCandy's Michael Smith and Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel has also been announced for the event, and more previously-revealed speakers include Areae's Raph Koster, Relic Labs studio head Adrian Crook, Nexon's Min Kim and Millions of Us' Reuben Steiger, among others. The Summit, which is organized by the editors of WorldsInMotion.biz, will be held on Monday and Tuesday, February 18-19th 2008, as part of the 2008 Game Developers Conference. The Summit will focus on the intersection of online worlds and games, and the official description of the event is as follows: "The Worlds in Motion Summit is a definitive event tailored for the growing number of industry professionals and Fortune 500 companies developing interactive online spaces for both entertainment and commercial purposes. Discussion forums will delve into online worlds, social gaming and media and player created activity. These will provide insight for developers of all backgrounds into how the game industry is collectively building socialization into games and integrating personalization and player-generated content into gameplay — while widely accessible Web and networking tools are looking to the game industry for their way forward." The Summit is available to attend via several different Game Developers Conference 2008 passes, and more information on the event plus the speakers announced so far is available on the Worlds In Motion Summit webpage. The deadline for early registration is January 16th.