Game Design Expo 2010

For Immediate Release

April 13, 2010 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – They came from around Vancouver and North America. Game Design Expo 2010, hosted last weekend by the Game Design program at Vancouver Film School (VFS), drew a crowd of nearly 400 to the Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre and VFS’s Game Design campus for an informative and memorable weekend about the dynamic, fast-changing game industry.

The audience represented a near-even mix of game industry professionals and aspiring game designers, but they all had one thing in common: they care about games. And for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of games, the weekend had lots to offer.

Beginning with a day of spirited talks at Saturday’s Industry Speaker Day, the audience was treated to presentations covering game design and development from just about every angle. United Front Games’ William Ho delved into user-generated content (through the lens of the upcoming ModNation Racers, which attendees could try for themselves at kiosks right outside), and BioWare’s Armando Troisi lifted the cover off of Mass Effect 2, one of the most well-received games in recent memory.

The audience also got an exclusive glimpse of gameplay from Blue Castle Games’ Dead Rising 2 (due late August), the sequel to the original Capcom blockbuster, and talks from Propaganda Games’ Chris Whiteside, Obsidian Entertainment’s Matt MacLean, and Big Sandwich Games’ Tyler Sigman.

Industry Speaker Day culminated in a lively panel on The Future of Gaming. Moderated by Reviews on the Run co-host Scott Jones, six industry leaders, representing mobile and casual game creators and developers of AAA titles alike, discussed everything from interfaces to innovations in distribution to the boom in social networking games. “Now we’re making games for people who don’t call themselves ‘gamers’,” said BigPark Gameplay Producer Jay Balmer. “We’re exploding in all directions.” Trent Shumay of Finger Food Studios agreed: “The reality is that the market is expanding.”

On Sunday, VFS opened the doors to its acclaimed one-year Game Design program, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as one of the schools most favoured by game industry recruiters. Attendees took sample classes taught by VFS instructors, played student-created games, heard from alumni, and enjoyed an arcade of hit games on which VFS graduates have worked.

The Open House – and the weekend – also featured the unveiling of Vancouver Film School’s $30,000 Women in Games Scholarship, which covers one aspiring female game designer’s full tuition to VFS's acclaimed one-year Game Design program. Details on three other scholarships, ranging in value from $2,500 to $7,000 and sponsored by G4, Annex Pro, and Radical Entertainment were revealed as well.

Finally, VFS used the event to launch the 2010 edition of its report, The Game Industry: Now & in the Future, exploring the facts, trends, and outlook guiding the game industry forward.

Visit gamedesignexpo.com to download a free copy of the report, as well as photo and video highlights (coming soon) from Industry Speaker Day and the Open House, and all the details and application forms for the 2010 Women in Games and Game Design Expo scholarships.

VFS is proud to partner with the following event sponsors in making Game Design Expo a hit in 2010: G4techTV, Annex Pro, Radical Entertainment, Biz Books, Entertainment Consumers Association, Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, NextGen Player, The Georgia Straight, Vancouver ACM Siggraph, and Women in Games Vancouver.

About Game Design Expo

Game Design Expo is an annual event for game industry professionals and enthusiasts hosted by Vancouver Film School’s Game Design program. Since the inaugural weekend in 2007 and continuing through sold-out events in 2008, 2009, and 2010, Game Design Expo has played host to such industry luminaries as Ron Gilbert, Clint Hocking, Don Daglow, Ellen Beeman, and Eric Zimmerman, and creative leaders from companies like Bungie, Activision, EA, Obsidian, BioWare, Epic, and Ubisoft.

About Game Design at Vancouver Film School

Vancouver Film School, founded in 1987, offers a proven education for everything in the entertainment industry. With 13 production-oriented programs and a world-leading one-year education model, VFS prepares students to join the creative economy. Students in the Game Design program learn to be part of any video game development team by learning all aspects of game design, from visual storytelling to level design principles to the production process, ultimately creating playable games themselves. Graduates have worked on such recent games as Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Punch-Out!!, and Dawn of War II.

Our professional faculty and Game Design Expo speakers are available for print, television, and radio interviews upon request. For more information, please contact:

Thuy Khuc, Public Relations Coordinator

Vancouver Film School

604.631.3563 or toll free in North America 1.800.661.4101

thuy@gamedesignexpo.com

Contact Person: Thuy Khuc, Public Relations Coordinator

Company Name: Vancouver Film School

Telephone Number: 604.631.3563 or toll free in North America 1 800 661 4101

Email Address: thuy@gamedesignexpo.com

Web site address: gamedesignexpo.com