Ubisoft, PlayStation, EA and Microsoft developers join the free GI Academy student event

GamesIndustry.biz's free video games event for students will feature expert talent from some of the world's biggest game creators.

The developers of games such as LittleBigPlanet, Total War, Call of Duty: Warzone, Battlefield, Donkey Kong Country, Need for Speed, Her Story, Everwild, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Star Wars, Dreams, Yooka-Laylee, As Dusk Falls and many more will be speaking with students between Wednesday, October 26th and Friday, October 28th. Plus, Eurogamer’s Editor-In-Chief Martin Robinson will be discussing games journalism.

GI Academy takes place within a special Discord, and will feature roundtable sessions, keynotes, masterclasses plus the chance to speak with games industry professionals one-to-one. The event is completely free, courtesy of our partner Creative Assembly, and students can sign-up here.

The developers encompass disciplines such as game design, audio, VFX, concept art, character design, programming, UI, voice acting, business development, production, community management and writing.

Our keynote speakers include Sam Barlow, the creator of indie hits Her Story, Telling Lies and Immortality. Rare's Louse O'Connor, who is currently leading the Xbox game Everwild and who has worked on big hits such as Conker's Bad Fur Day and Viva Pinata. And Chella Ramanan, who is currently the narrative designer and writer at Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment studio, working on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Here is the schedule so far (UK time zone):

Wednesday, October 26th

Talks

10:00 - 10:45
Keynote Session: 'An Idea and an Emotion - How I make Games
Speaker: Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid

Sam Barlow delves into the fundamentals of how and why he makes games, highlighting the core relationship with players and focusing on unifying the mechanical aspects and narrative elements of his experiences from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, via Her Story and Telling Lies, up to his latest title IMMORTALITY.

11:00 - 11:45
Masterclass: Collaboration first: how to get the best from your team
Speaker: Roberto Geroli, Development Director, Creative Assembly

This talk will focus on how processes foster good team culture and encourage cross-team collaboration. Roberto will also give tips on how to be a good team member for any discipline, the foundations for developing your career. He will also explore some real-life case studies.

Roundtable Sessions

12:00 - 13:00
Creative Assembly TBC

13:00 - 14:00:
Room 1: JD Kelly, Freelance Voice Over artist
Room 2: Emei Burrell, Narrative Artist, Media Molecule
Room 3: Liam de Valmency, Lead Creative Programmer, Media Molecule

14:00 - 15:00:
Room 1: Shane Bromham, Principle Level Design, nDreams
Room 2: Mikael Karnell, EA DICE, Craft Director
Room 3: Ioana Iulia Cazacu, Game Designer, Mojiworks

One-To-One Sessions

10:00 - 11:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 3: Eva Lyncy, UI Artist, D3T

11:00 - 12:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 3: Eva Lyncy, UI Artist, D3T

13:00 - 14:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Shane Bromham, Principle Level Design, nDreams
Room 3: Gordon Bell, CTO, Nosebleed Interactive

14:00 - 15:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Sarah Brin, Business Development Manager, Media Molecule
Room 3: JD Kelly, Freelance Voice Over artist

Special Guest

Ted Timmins, Senior Creative Director, Raven Software (Call of Duty: Warzone)

Thursday, October 27th

Talks

Keynote Session: Title TBC
Speaker: Louise O'Connor, Executive Producer, Rare

11:00 - 11:45 Masterclass: How to be a good Technical Animator
Speaker: Agathe Laus-Pillot, Senior Technical Animator, Creative Assembly

In this talk, Agathe Laus-Pillot, will break down the core aspects of the technical animation discipline. It’s an essential area of games development, but one not often spoken about. Agathe will talk about the skills required, the purpose and use of rigs in development and the role Tech Animators play in tool development.

Roundtable Sessions

12:00 - 13:00
Creative Assembly TBC

13:00 - 14:00:
Room 1: Richard Stokes, VFX Artist, XR Studios
Room 2: Edd Coates, UI Lead, Radical Forge
Room 3: Luke Hardwick, Community Manager, Media Molecule

14:00 - 15:00:
Room 1: Josh Atack, Lead Concept Artist, EA Criterion
Room 2: Martin Robinson, Editor-In-Chief, Eurogamer
Room 3: PlayStation London TBC

One-To-One Sessions

10:00 - 11:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 3: Creative Assembly TBC

11:00 - 12:00 Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC Room 3: Josh Atack, Lead Concept Artist, EA Criterion

13:00 - 14:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Mikael Karnell, EA Dice, Craft Director
Room 3: Liam de Valmency, Lead Creative Programmer, Media Molecule

14:00 - 15:00
Room 1: Edd Coates, UI Lead, Radical Forge
Room 2: TBC
Room 3: Daniel Woodward, Learning and Development Manager, nDreams

Special Guest

Caroline Marchal, CEO and Creative Director, Interior Night

Friday, October 28th

Talks

Keynote Session: Title TBC
Speaker: Chella Ramanan, Narrative Designer, Ubisoft

11:00 - 11:45
Masterclass: Designing for intuitive Player Experience with the ‘3Cs’ (Character, Camera, Controls)
Speaker: Bence Kovacs, Senior Designer, Creative Assembly

In this masterclass, Bence Kovacs will talk about how to design to best support a quality player experience. He will look at the key elements of Player Character; how to define what a character can do, Camera; how to design what the player sees and perceives in the world, and Controls; how the player controls the game.

Roundtable Sessions

12:00 - 13:00
Creative Assembly TBC

13:00 - 14:00:
Room 1: Jo Haslam, Design Director, Snap Finger Click
Room 2: Daniel Woodward, Learning and Development Manager, nDreams
Room 3: Jake Gaule, Freelance Audio and Composer

14:00 - 15:00:
Room 1: Kev Bayliss, Character Designer and Artist, Playtonic
Room 2: Stuart Wilson, 3D Environment Artist, XR Studios
Room 3: Sarah Brin, Business Development Manager, Media Molecule

One-To-One Sessions

10:00 - 11:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 3: Creative Assembly TBC

11:00 - 12:00
Room 1: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 2: Creative Assembly TBC
Room 3: Creative Assembly TBC

13:00 - 14:00
Room 1: Louise Andrew, Head of Art, D3T
Room 2: TBC
Room 3: Dan Hutchinson, 3D Artist, D3T

14:00 - 15:00
Room 1: Jake Gaule, Freelance Audio Designer and Composer
Room 2: Emei Burrell, Narrative Artist, Media Molecule
Room 3: Dan Hutchinson, 3D Artist, D3T

Sign up for free right here.