Bartle, Moore to Keynote Indie MMO Conference

Independent game studio Last Straw Productions announced keynote speakers for both days of the Indie MMO Game Developers Conference 2.0, which aims to provide content, community and contacts for artists, designers, programmers, and indie entrepreneurs. The indie-themed keynote speaker on March 29th is "Indie Evangelist" Jay Moore. Previously, Jay was director of business development at online tool developer and game publisher GarageGames, where, among other things, he launched IndieGamesCon and worked to establish Torque as the game engine platform of choice for independent game developers. The MMOG Design-themed keynote speaker on March 30th is industry guru and "founding father" of virtual worlds Dr. Richard Bartle, co-writer of the first MUD in 1978 and author of the 2003 book Designing Virtual Worlds, now an industry consultant and a professor of computer game design at the University of Essex, UK. “IMGDC is honored to have such renowned industry professionals as keynote speakers. It doesn’t get much better than this!" said IMGDC founder and director Jonathon Stevens. "IMGDC 2.0 is going to be an incredible conference building on the passion and excitement we saw last year. Last year, we got you excited, this year you’ll leave IMGDC with a passion and love for an industry that desperately needs it!” IMGDC will be held March 29th – 30th, 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.