2009 Independent Games Summit Announces First Speakers

Author: by Staff

The organizers of the 2009 Independent Games Summit have announced initial speakers for the March 2009 GDC-included conference, including notables from 2D Boy (World Of Goo), Stardock (Sins Of A Solar Empire), and more. Initial confirmed speakers for the event, which is taking place on March 23rd and 24th, 2009 as part of the 2009 Game Developers Conference, include 2D Boy co-founder Ron Carmel, talking on 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Going Indie But Were Afraid to Ask'. As is explained in the lecture description: "When Ron Carmel and his business partner Kyle Gabler formed 2D Boy and started making the IGF award-winning World Of Goo, they knew a bit about game design and programming, but hardly anything about the business aspect of making a game... Having published on Wii/WiiWare and PC both physically and digitally in multiple territories, Carmel explains how they managed it, with plenty of real-world numbers plugged in." In addition, Stardock's Brad Wardell, the founder of an independent game developer and publisher involved in such titles as Galactic Civilizations II, Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod and Elemental, is presenting a lecture named 'Stardock On The PC Hardcore Scene As Indie', described as follows: "Through its choice of game projects combined with its digital distribution platform, Impulse, Stardock has been able to tap into the "core" PC game player, a group that has been often ignored in recent years, with the ability to create games they want and deliver those games to them. Wardell will discuss the strategy Stardock uses to design such games, as well as how they deliver these games to the target audience through both retail and digital channels." Other notable lectures confirmed at this early stage include: - Acclaimed indie creator Jonatan 'Cactus' Soderstrom (Clean Asia, Psychosomnium) is renowned for the wide-ranging, eclectic multitude of freeware games that he creates. In an IGS lecture, "he'll discuss fast prototyping and how he creates standout, beautiful games in as little as four hours." - Infinite Ammo's Alec Holowka (IGF Grand Prize-winning Aquaria, Paper Moon) and Pillowfort Games' Tommy Refenes (Goo!, Grey Matter) talking on 'How to Finish a Game Project You... Hate?', specifically "finding and maintaining motivation on an indie game project, long after it feels natural to do so." - IGF Chairman and Gamasutra/Game Developer publisher Simon Carless on 'Independent Games & Sales: Stats 101', talking on "how you can make a living from PC web, casual, and downloadable indie titles, iPhone games, XBLA, WiiWare, and PlayStation Network titles, to name but a few." The Independent Games Summit takes place alongside the yearly Independent Games Festival at GDC 2009, with IGF finalists invited to attend IGS for free, and other interested parties able to attend via a GDC Summits Pass. More information on the full line-up for the Summit will be available at the official Independent Games Summit webpage in the near future.