IGDA Summit Focuses On Developer 'Quality Of Life'

The issue of overtime practices and developer burnout has rarely been more discussed than it is now, thanks to the infamous "EA Spouse" LiveJournal posting and a class action suit against EA for withholding of overtime pay. To address these issues, the International Game Developers Association is holding a Quality of Life Summit at this year's Game Developers Conference on March 8th, and has now released more information regarding it. In particular, the keynote speech at the summit will be given by Steve McConnell, the author of Code Blue and Rapid Development. McConnell's talk will cover constructive advice for managers and executives on how to improve the development process in order to minimizes crunch time and get better work out of satisfied employees. "Attendees of the Summit will be inspired by the reality that there is a way to be successful in the games business, while enjoying a sensible work/life balance," says Jason Della Rocca, the IGDA's Executive Director. McConnell will not be the only speaker at the event (overseen by the CMP Game Group, the same company that owns Gamasutra.com); other talks will be hosted by industry figures such as Julian Eggebrecht of Factor 5, David Perry of Shiny Entertainment, Rich Vogel of Sony Online Entertainment, and others. A complete list of speakers and session topics is available at the summit's website.