Develop in Liverpool
Over 160 delegates clocked in at last week's inaugural gathering.
The thriving Northern game development community got right behind the first ever Develop in Liverpool Conference last week when some of the best and brightest developers came together for a day of learning, sharing ideas and networking.
Over 160 delegates attended and not just from the local communities in the North West, but also the North East, Scotland, Wales and the South East. Companies represented included Bizarre Creations, Codemasters, Dolby, Eidos, Firebrand Games, Hansoft, Introversion, Juice, Nintendo, RealtimeUK, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Sega, Universal Music.
”We wanted to re-create the Brighton event and deliver a conference that reflects the creativity and success of the UK’s development community, so we’re delighted that Develop in Liverpool was supported by the major players and we look forward to making it a regular date in the developer’s calendar.” commented Andy Lane, managing director at Tandem Events who organise the Develop conferences.
The event opened with a keynote presentation by Michael Denny, Senior Vice President, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Europe - who started his career in games development in Liverpool at Psygnosis back in the mid 90’s, explained that Sony Worldwide Studios looks for three things in external projects: quality, relevance, and innovation.
"It was a privilege to be invited to deliver the Keynote at this inaugural Develop conference in Liverpool.. The organisation, location and facilities all added up to a great event. It was a pleasure to take part and I hope to see it becoming a regular fixture in the industry's calendar." Denny remarked.
Sessions included:
Five App Stores Under the Microscope
Stuart Dredge, Mobile Entertainment
What the Music Industry Can Teach Us About Digital Distribution
Simon Watt, Universal Music
Keeping Northern Games Development on the Map
Chair: Toby Barnes, Pixel Lab; Richard Wilson, TIGA; Enda Carey, North West Vision & Media; Carrie Cunnlife, Game Horizon
Digital Distribution: From Blue Sky to the Bottom Line
Chair: Nicholas Lovell, GamesBrief; Mark Morris, Introversion; Tero Virtala, RedLynx
PlayStation: Cutting Edge Techniques
Neil Brown, SCEE
Role of the Production House in Game Development and Marketing
Tony Prosser, RealtimeUK
How to Get More From Your Music and Audio Team
Chair: John Broomhall, Audio Consultant; Dan Bardino, SCEE; Adele Cutting, EA; Nick Wiswell, Bizarre Creations
A Bizarre Way to do Real-Time Lighting
Stephen McAuley and Steven Tovey, Bizarre Creations
6 Ways to Get More Bang for Your Buck
Kevin Hassall, Beriah
Blocking to Rocking! The Art of LEGO Rock Band
Matt Palmer, TT Fusion
Why is Game Difficulty So Difficult?
Jason Avent, Disney Black Rock Studios
Resurrecting the Alien Breed Franchise
John Dennis, Team 17
Open Mic - Voice Control in SingStar: The Method and the Madness
Charlie Hasdell, SCEE
Develop in Liverpool teamed up with Software City - an event running alongside the Develop conference, which is designed to showcase the region's dynamic technology sector. Delegates to both events came together at the end of the day to hear an address by successful entrepreneur Richard Farleigh of Dragon’s Den fame - The Ups and Downs of Backing 60 Start-Ups - before heading off to Albert Dock for the jointly hosted “after show” networking party.
Develop is set to return to Brighton 13 – 15 July 2010 and Liverpool in November 2010.
Notes to editors:
About the Develop Conference:
The fifth Develop in Brighton Conference will take place 13 - 15 July 2010. It attracts around 1200 game developers from over 30 different territories and has become firmly established as the leading conference for European games developers.
The inaugural sister event to Brighton - Develop in Liverpool took place at the ACC in Liverpool on Thursday 5 November 2009.
www.develop-conference.com/liverpool
About Tandem Events: Tandem Events has over 20 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors, including the Casual Games Forum, Develop in Brighton, Develop in Liverpool, Evolve, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum and Games Grads.
www.tandemevents.co.uk
For more information contact:
Ali Wynn
T: 020 7405 4500 E: ali@tandemevents.co.uk