Montreal International Games Summit

Montreal, September 3, 2008 - Alliance numérique, Quebec’s digital industry network, offered a first glimpse of the rich content in store for the 2008 Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS). The fifth edition of this popular event – which brings together creators, developers and producers of video games for all platforms – promises to live up to its stellar industry reputation with another full program of top-tier sessions and activities. This year’s line-up includes an exclusive keynote address from David Braben of Frontier Developments along with a special showcase featuring Quebec and Canadian talent.

“Following the outstanding success of last year’s event, the Montreal International Game Summit has proven itself to be the most important East Coast industry experience for North America’s video game industry,” says Alain Lachapelle, Director of MIGS. “Alliance numérique is excited to head up this year’s edition, which already is shaping up to be an ideal forum for exchange, learning and discovery among local and international game industry professionals.”

This year, industry sessions will be divided into six tracks: Game Design, Visual Arts, Technology, Production, Business and Serious Games. To foster greater collaboration among event participants, the Summit will introduce roundtables in 2008 – inviting attendees and speakers to address specific topics and engage in open discussions.

What does David Braben see in his crystal ball?

In addition to the sessions included in the six-track schedule, the 2008 Montreal International Game Summit will welcome four prominent speakers whose professional paths are an inspiration to many in the industry. 

Frontier Developments’ David Braben from the UK will be one of the four marquee keynotes at this year’s Summit. An active and outspoken advocate of the video game industry in the UK, Mr. Braben will analyze recent and upcoming technological trends and the implementation of new business models, as well as offer his predictions for sixth generation consoles in a session entitled Planning for the Future?.

A showcase for Quebec and Canadian expertise

The fifth edition of the Summit will also highlight Quebec and Canadian creative talent in the video game industry. More than twenty high-profile Quebec and Canadian speakers will be on hand this year.

From Quebec

•    Stéphane D’Astous, General Manager, Eidos Montréal, Log of a Montreal Start-up (Business Track)

•    David Lightbown, A2M, Under the Surface (Visual Arts Track)

•    Éric Chartrand, EA Montréal, Should We See the World Differently? Design Better Games for a New Audience (Design Track)

•    Dominic Guay, Ubisoft Montréal, Procedural Data Generation in Far Cry 2 (Technology Track)

•    Sébastien Caisse and Jean-Sébastien Duberger, Volta, Concept Art Outsourcing (Visual Arts Track)

From Canada

•    Ken Faier, President, Nerd Corps Entertainment, Developing Multi-platform Children's Properties (Business Track)

•    Paul Martin and Dean Giberson, Slant Six Games, Data Massage Therapy: Pipelines, SCons and SOCOM: Confrontation  (Technology Track)

•    Edoardo De Martin, Next Level Games, Efficiency through Common Sense (Production Track)

•    Steve Rechtschaffner, Nexon Publishing North America’s Humanature Studio, There’s Nothing Micro about Microtransactions! (Business Track)

•    Stéphane Morichère-Matte, Threewave software, Making Great Multiplayer (Production Track)

Key partnerships

Once again, MIGS is pleased to acknowledge the support of its public sector partners Canada Economic Development, Canadian Heritage, the Quebec Ministry for Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (MDEIE) and the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, as well as the public relations contributions of its corporate partner High Road Communications.

About MIGS

MIGS was created in 2004 to serve members of the video game industry, which currently employs over 6,200 people in Quebec. The gathering promotes the transfer of knowledge and expertise, raises the international profile of the Quebec video game industry and cultivates information-sharing and dialogue among industry stakeholders. A specialized top-level event, MIGS covers a comprehensive selection of game development topics, including artistic creation, game design, production and programming.

For more information, to register for the event or to sign up for the MIGS newsletter, visit the Summit website at www.sijm.ca.

About Alliance numérique

Alliance numérique, Quebec's digital industry network, is dedicated to supporting and accelerating the growth and competitiveness of the industry. Focusing its efforts on private companies and SMBs, it has more than 200 members in the game, eLearning, education and Internet services and applications sectors. For anyone seeking to work with professionals in the field of interactive digital content, Alliance numérique is the gateway.