Round Up: Games@Large, OGDC/Armstrong, Green Monsters

Today's round-up includes news of Exent Technologies tapped to lead the European Union's Games@Large initiative, the 2007 OGDC's keynote address by Webzen America CEO Cindy Armstrong, and new hires at Curt Schilling's Green Monster Games, as well as the latest Game Career Guide updates, Serious Games Source posts, GameSetWatch posts and Gamasutra job postings. - Officials from Israeli games-on-demand provider Exent Technologies announced the company has been tapped by the European Union to lead Games@Large, an initiative focused on enabling European consumer electronics platforms and devices to be video game ready. Exent will head a consortium of 15 global organizations, including Philips Electronics, Atmel, Portugal Telecom and Fraunhofer Institute. The Games@Large initiative will encompass four years of research, development and implementation of platform enablement game technologies, with an investment of €16 million ($20.5 million). "Games@Large will enable companies from member countries to leap ahead of the field in game technology," commented Exent CEO Zvi Levgoren. "We view this as an excellent opportunity to significantly impact the market by revolutionizing the way video games are consumed, enabling ubiquitous game-play and opening the market to additional consumer electronics manufacturers." - Evergreen Events, organizers of the 2007 Online Game Development Conference (OGDC), have announced that its inaugural event, to be held from May 10-11, 2007 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle, will feature a keynote address by Webzen America CEO Cindy Armstrong. Before joining Webzen America as the company's CEO in April, Armstrong served as vice president of business development for Sony Online Entertainment, but she has also held key positions at a variety of other top electronic entertainment companies, including Nintendo of America, Boss Game & Film Studios, NES International, Inc. (Paris, France) and Activision UK Ltd. - Officials from Boston-based MMO focused game company, Green Monster Games, announced its first round of new hires, including well-known members of the MMO community. GMG's founder, baseball legend and avid MMO fan Curt Schilling, announced ten employees thus far to lead the development of the company's first MMO. Of these, Steve Danuser has been appointed director of community development/senior designer. Danuser will oversee the construction of the company's official website, and develop its fan community while reporting directly to Schilling. Danuser joins the company from Sony Online Entertainment, where he served as the community manager for EverQuest II. In addition, Ryan Shwayder, who previously worked as the community relations manager for EverQuest II, has taken up a similar role with GMG, and will work to establish the company's presence through the web and other media alongside Danuser. In addition, another EverQuest II alumni, Erik Theisz has been appointed as GMG's senior producer. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a roundtable look at game journalism by game journalists themselves, the 102 Student Showcase entries for this year's Independent Games Festival, and Running With Scissors' announcment of the Postal Fudge Pack. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source include news of PIXELearning's Business Success launching for GCSE business students. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Amaze Entertainment, Blue Fang Games, Cranky Pants Games, Electronic Arts, Relic Entertainment, Sierra Online, Snowblind Studios, and Volition.