Develop in Liverpool

Tandem Events today announced that Michael Denny, Senior Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Europe will give the opening keynote presentation at the Develop in Liverpool conference taking place next month.

Denny heads up Sony Computer Entertainment's game development operations in Europe. His responsibilities include managing all internal studios and externally developed first party productions. He shapes and guides the European product development plans in areas including strategic and business planning and product focus.

“Quality, Relevance, Innovation" - Denny’s talk, will provide a visionary insight into what Sony Computer Entertainment First Party studios are looking for now and in the future when commissioning Original IPs from Independent developers.

“The Develop conference always represents an important gathering for the Industry, offering a great opportunity for sharing both knowledge and insights. The UK remains a beacon for the Global games development industry, and the North West has been a creative hub within the UK development scene for many years. I'm very much looking forward to the event, and it's a privilege to be invited to deliver the opening keynote at this inaugural event in Liverpool” commented Denny.

Develop in Liverpool has teamed up with Software City - an event running alongside Develop, which is designed to showcase the region's dynamic technology sector. Delegates to both events will come together at the end of the day to hear an address by high-tech 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, sponsored by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

The first ever Develop in Liverpool conference is a one-day event with three tracks:

Evolve - focusing on developing games for new platforms, new technologies and new markets, Coding & Production and Art & Design.

Evolve sessions include:

Turning Browsers into Gamers for Fun and Profit

Dylan Collins, Jolt Online Gaming

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

Coding & Production sessions include:

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

More…

Art & Design sessions include:

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

Notes to editors:

About the Develop Conference:

The fourth Develop in Brighton Conference took place in July 2009. It attracted 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 will take place at the ACC in Liverpool on Thursday 5 November 2009. Delegates can apply for conference passes at: 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 taking place on 29 October 2009, Develop in Brighton, Develop in Liverpool, Evolve, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum and Games Grads.

www.tandemevents.co.uk

For more information or to apply for a Press Pass please contact:

Ali Wynn

T: 020 7405 4500 E: ali@tandemevents.co.uk