Future Play Conference Discusses Serious Games at GDC Canada

Organizers behind the upcoming Game Developers Conference Canada have announced that registration for the Future Play 2009 conference is now open. Future Play is a conference dedicated to the research and discussion of the development, impact, and talent that will forge new directions for the games industry in the coming years. Panels and workshops at this year's Future Play conference will discuss the possibilities of using serious games to solve real-world problems, and will explore their potential uses in the areas of training and education. Exploration of serious games in Canada has recently been spurred by the Serious Games Canada group, a collective that examines gaming possibilities in multiple fields, including the areas of advertising, communications, and health. Future Play 2009 will include a keynote speech from Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the software development firm Digitalmill. Sawyer was a producer for Digitalmill's Virtual U, a university management simulation that was named a finalist at the 2001 Independent Games Festival. Sawyer also served as volunteer producer of the first Serious Games Summit, held at GDC 2004. This year's Future Play conference will take place between May 12th and 13th during GDC Canada. All conference events be held at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, located at 999 Canada Place in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The early registration deadline for Future Play and GDC Canada 2009 is April 15th, 2009.