Women in Games International Announces Keynote Speaker in San Francisco Game Industry Leaders Discuss Hot Career Topics
Wednesday, February 1, 2006---San Francisco, CA---Women in Games International, a non-profit organization in the interactive entertainment industry, today announced their keynote speaker for their next conference, Women in Games International-San Francisco. Robin Harper, SVP of Community and Support for Linden Lab, will present "From the Virtual to the Real: How Second Life created an online world and community that strongly appeals to women, and how the virtual world has changed the real life of women participants."
Women in Games International-San Francisco, titled "Games for Women, Games by Women" is scheduled on Saturday, February 18 from 1 pm to 6 pm at the Fort Mason Conference Center in San Francisco. This conference addresses the myth that women don't "do" games by discussing statistics, game genres and careers in game development. Second Life is an acclaimed 3-D online world that has attracted thousands of female players.
"From its beginnings, Second Life has always attracted a significant number of female residents, many of whom have prospered in the virtual world to become its chief builders, land owners and wealthiest citizens," states Robin Harper, SVP Community Development and Support for Linden Lab. "I'm looking forward to sharing some of our lessons learned with the audiences at Women in Games International to dispel common misconceptions and hopefully encourage greater involvement by women in gaming and other creative digital environments such as Second Life."
Kathy Schoback, Development Chair for Women in Games International, offers "WIGI is thrilled to have Robin share her insights on making game experiences more inclusionary. I'm also looking forward to meeting other women in the Bay Area game industry!" Kathy is VP of Content Acquisition for AGEIA in Mountain View.
Other featured speakers include acclaimed design leader John Romero; members of Ubisoft's Frag Dolls player team; Brenley Brotman, Senior Recruiting Manager, Lucasfilm; Don Daglow, CEO, Stormfront; Sheri Hargus, CTO, Her Interactive, Mitzi McGilvray, General Manager for Casual Games, Slam Dunk Productions; Heidi Perry, Vice President of Marketing, PlayFirst; Margaret Wallace, CEO, Skunk Studios and many more.
Panel topics include "Games For Women," which focuses on the games and genres that already are succeeding with female players, and how to develop and market games that appeal to the female and male audience. Another panel, "Games By Women," addresses the videogame industry's constantly changing tools, technology, and skills, as games and game systems evolve. This panel of experts will talk about the skills needed for a successful career, both now and for the future. The closing panel, "Women Who Play," remarks on the different game styles and attitudes of female players, and how that may influence the overall game market in the future.
The Women In Games International Conference -San Francisco will be held at the Fort Mason Conference Center, Landmark Building A, located at the Presidio in San Francisco, California. Attendance is $45 for general attendees, $35 for WIGI members and $30 for students with I.D. Space is limited, so interested attendees are encouraged to secure their spot by registering online today at http://www.womeningamesinternational.org.
About Women in Games International
http://www.womeningamesinternational.org
The Women in Games International Conference series has been created as a forum to discuss a wide range of issues related to women in games. The half-day conference consists of an opening keynote address, panel discussions with top experts in the field, round-table discussions and a post-conference networking reception. Sponsors include title sponsor Microsoft Game Studios, event sponsor Ubisoft, and series sponsors Game Developers Conference (GDC), International Games Developers Association (IGDA), Mary-Margaret.com, Girls in Games, ThemePark Studios, WomenGamers.com and BusinessWire. This event is presented in cooperation with the Women in Games Conference in the U.K.
For more details regarding Women In Games International, contact PR Committee Chair Fiona Cherbak at Fcherbak@womeningamesinternational.org, visit their web site at http://www.womeningamesinternational.org, or contact Morgan Ogburn, ThemePark Studios, 512/916-9633 or morgan@themeparkstudios.com, for more information.
Contact: Morgan Ogburn
Phone: 512/916-9633
morgan@themeparkstudios.com