2009 Montreal Games Summit Debuts Dates, New Venue

Montreal International Games Summit organizer Alliance numerique has announced its 2009 dates, location, and opens up its call for submissions. The show will take place this year at the downtown Montreal Hilton Bonaventure Hotel on November 16 and 17, 2009. The conference, which had more than 100 speakers last year, and 1,500 participants, has opened up its call for submissions. The advisory board, which is led by Jason Della Rocca, will accept proposals through April 24 at its official website. "Top-level professionals" from games and related industries, such as film, IT, and mobile phones are invited to submit session proposals. Submissions will be accepted in one of the conference's six tracks: art, business, design, production, technology, and serious games. Though no details on speakers have yet been revealed, last year's MIGS event had a notable roster including Disney/Junction Point president and creative director Warren Spector and Microsoft Game Studios executive producer Laura Fryer. Relevant talks that arose out of last year's show include Ubisoft technical director Dominic Guay's discussion of procedural techniques from Far Cry 2, Frontier Development chairman David Braben's critical look at game industry product cycles, and Spector's calls for a renewed pioneering spirit in developers.