2011 D.I.C.E. Summit Keynote to Feature a Panel of AIAS Hall of Famers

Renowned Gaming Journalist Seth Schiesel of the New York Times to Moderate

CALABASAS, Calif., Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) today announced that their distinguished Hall of Famers from the past four years – Mike Morhaime, Bruce Shelley, Mark Cerny, Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk – will participate in the keynote panel for the 2011 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain) Summit at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas on the evening of Wednesday, February 9, 2011. These five video game luminaries will be conducting a lively discussion, debate and predict the next frontier of interactive entertainment.

The keynote panel will be moderated by Seth Schiesel, long time video games journalist for The New York Times.

"We are looking forward to putting these five video game legends on stage to open the 10th iteration of the D.I.C.E. Summit – it is the first time the Academy has endeavored to create a presentation of this kind," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.  "These men have individually put deep marks and shaped the industry in very different ways – hearing their thoughts on the future of this industry will exemplify the best aspects of the Summit and we're confident that our attendees anticipate this dialogue as much as we do."

The keynote panel will showcase:

2008 Hall of Fame - Mike Morhaime, President, CEO and Co-Founder of Blizzard Entertainment, and highly regarded for his contributions to the one of the world's most popular and enduring games, World of Warcraft. Morhaime has had a direct hand in the development of Blizzard's other blockbuster franchises, Diablo and Starcraft .  Over the past decade Morhaime has overseen Blizzard's transformation into a global enterprise.

2009 Hall of Fame - Bruce Shelley, a leading innovator in the RTS genre.  He is currently a consultant at Zynga and most recently was a consultant for Blue Byte, a Ubisoft studio, on their Settlers 8 and My City games. In addition to contributing to the success of games such as Age of Empires, Shelley was named one of the 25 "Game Gods" by PC Gamer in 1999 and one of the most influential people in gaming by GameSpy in 2002.

2010 Hall of Fame - Mark Cerny, President of Cerny Games and consultant to the video game industry. Over the last 30 years Mark has been a game designer, programmer, and producer. He has worked on an assortment of arcade games and console games, most notably including Marble Madness, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Ratchet and Clank and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

2011 Hall of Fame - Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of the legendary development studio BioWare™.  "The Doctors" as they are known, have produced of games such as the Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights, MDK2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire™, the Mass Effect series, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, and Dragon Age: Origins.

The D.I.C.E. Summit 2011 is the home of the 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards® ceremony on February 10, where industry leaders and members pay tribute and recognize the individuals and games that contribute to the growth of the interactive entertainment software business. Jay Mohr will be returning for his sixth year as host. G4 will also be airing a one-hour special on Saturday, February 12th at 4 p.m. ET / PT as well as live same-day webcast of the IAAs in its entirety on G4tv.com/DICE at 7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET.

Immediately following D.I.C.E. this year, will be the Indie Games Challenge winners announcements and celebration, with exclusive online content of the Indie Game Challenge being hosted on G4tv.com/DICE. The IGC is a partnership between the AIAS, Gamestop, and The Guildhall at SMU.

Registration for the D.I.C.E. Summit will be extended to Monday, January 31st at Midnight.

For more information and registration: www.dicesummit.org.

SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences