Game Design Expo 2010

For Immediate Release

February 16, 2010

February 16, 2010 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – The fourth annual Game Design Expo will take place April 10 and 11, 2010 in Vancouver. This popular event for video game industry professionals and gamers will be tackling the most pressing challenges and trends in the game industry now and for the future, and features the game industry luminaries responsible for today’s most innovative games.

Hosted by the Game Design program at Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada’s premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution, Game Design Expo begins with the perennially sold-out Industry Speaker Day on Saturday, April 10: a chance for pros and enthusiasts to come together for a day of talks and panels.

This year’s speakers include Armando Troisi, Lead Cinematic Designer on BioWare’s runaway hit Mass Effect 2, to discuss the game’s groundbreaking approach to interactive narrative, and United Front Games’ William Ho, who will explore user-generated content through the lens of the highly-anticipated PS3 title ModNation Racers.

Other speakers include creative movers from the legendary California-based developer Obsidian Entertainment (Alpha Protocol), Blue Castle Games (Dead Rising 2), Propaganda Games (Tron: Evolution), and Big Sandwich Games (Sky Pirates of Neo Terra). The day culminates with a spirited industry panel hosted by Electric Playground’s Victor Lucas called “The Future of Gaming.”

Tickets to Industry Speaker Day, which have sold out quickly every year, are on sale now at $75 (CDN). For ticket purchases, schedule, and more about the event, visit gamedesignexpo.com.

On Sunday, April 11, VFS will throw open the doors to its acclaimed one-year Game Design program, named a top 10 school “most favoured by video game industry recruiters” by the Los Angeles Times, for a free, day-long Open House. Sunday’s event offers a hands-on look at the program, providing visitors with the opportunity to test-drive student- and alumni-created games, take sample classes, and meet faculty and students.

The Open House will also launch the 2010 Women in Games $30,000 scholarship to VFS. Inaugurated last year, the scholarship is part of VFS Game Design’s ongoing initiative to actively support women entering the game industry – the only one of its kind in the world.

Because space is limited, anyone interested in attending the Open House is strongly encouraged to register now, before it fills to capacity. Event details and registration are available at gamedesignexpo.com.

Game Design Industry Speaker Day

Saturday, April 10, 2010, 9am-6:30pm

Vancity Theatre

1181 Seymour St.

Vancouver, BC

VFS Game Design Open House

Sunday, April 11, 2010, 9am-3pm

Vancouver Film School

390 West Hastings St.

Vancouver, BC

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

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Game Design Expo 2010 Speaker Lineup

Industry Speaker Day - Saturday, April 10, 2010

William Ho Game Designer, United Front Games

Armando Troisi Lead Cinematic Designer, BioWare Corp.

Chris Whiteside Design Director, Propaganda Games

Josh Bridge/Jason Leigh Level Director/Creative Director, Blue Castle Games

Matt MacLean Lead Systems Designer, Obsidian Entertainment

Tyler Sigman Design Director, Big Sandwich Games

Panelists

Jay Balmer (BigPark), David Bowring (Volition Inc.), Josh Bridge & Jason Leigh (Blue Castle Games), Ted Nugent (Genius Factor Games Inc.), Trent Shumay (Finger Food Studios), and Moderator Victor Lucas (Greedy Productions Ltd.)

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 event in 2007 and continuing through the sold-out 2009 weekend, 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, 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

+1 (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