East Coast Game Conference 2011

RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 3, 2011 -- The East Coast Game Conference, returning April 13-14, 2011 at the Raleigh Convention Center, today announced the conference is dialing up its technical program with confirmed keynote addresses by graphics expert Tony Tamasi, Senior Vice President of Content and Technology for NVIDIA and industry veteran Mark Cerny, former President of Universal Studios' game division and Founder of Cerny Games.

East Coast Game Conference registration is now open, and will offer special Early Bird Registration pricing through February 18, 2011. To register, please visit www.ecgconf.com/apps/register/.

Keynotes

Mark Cerny's keynote, entitled, " The Long View ," will explore how the only constant in video games is change. 2009 and 2010 have now shown some erosion in console video game sales. Cerny will challenge the audience to consider - as game creators, what degree of adaptation is required in order to meet coming challenges? Cerny will also take a look at the future, as well as how past industry upheavals have impacted the creative process.

During a career spanning nearly thirty years, Cerny has worked as game designer, programmer and producer in both arcade games and console games.

Among many other titles, he designed and programmed 1984s "Marble Madness," oversaw the creation of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," and has worked in a variety of roles on "Crash Bandicoot," "Spyro the Dragon," "Jak and Daxter," "Rachet and Clank," "Resistance: Fall of Man," "Resistance II" and "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune."

Mark is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame, and has been honored by the International Game Developers Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tony Tamasi's keynote, entitled, " The Future of Graphics Processing ," will discuss the incredibly rapid advances in GPU technology and how their horsepower and programmability enable new gaming experiences.

Tamasi will use examples from iconic games to show the relationship between the capabilities of the GPU and the game experience. He then will discuss the future of the GPU including its use in mobile devices and provide a glimpse at their capabilities and the type of games and applications that will be possible to create in the near future.

Tamasi serves as senior vice president of content and technology at NVIDIA, where he is responsible for the strategic direction of the company's graphics processors, the development of tools and support for developers, as well as managing the company's interactions with developers. Prior to joining NVIDIA in 1999, he was director of product marketing at 3Dfx Interactive, and held roles at Silicon Graphics and Apple Computer.

Speaker Submissions

Under the theme, Engage and Connect, speaker session submissions are still being accepted online. Topics include game development, advanced learning, visual simulation, the business of games and media convergence.

About East Coast Game Conference

Held in Raleigh, North Carolina, the East Coast Game Conference (formerly the Triangle Game Conference) is a leading East Coast forum for sharing game industry expertise, networking and career building. Serving members who are market-leading companies and prominent industry figures based on the East Coast, ECGC's goal is to engage and connect professionals who have gathered in the North Carolina gaming hub and surrounding region to master the arts and sciences of gaming.

The program features panels and lectures by game industry experts covering game technology, the business of games and advanced learning and simulation technologies as well as an Expo and Career Lounge. For more information, visit www.ecgconf.com. ECGC can also be found on Facebook and Twitter at East Coast Game Conference and @ ECGameCon