2011 Game Developers Conference Online in Austin, Texas Debuts Summits, Opens Call for Submissions Through May 5

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the Game Developers Conference® Online (GDC Online), has announced its Main Conference track line-up and Summits for the October show, the leading worldwide event discussing the business and art of online games.

Organizers are now accepting submissions through Midnight PT on Thursday, May 5th to present lectures, roundtables, and panel sessions at GDC Online 2011, which focuses on social network titles, free-to-play web games, kid-friendly online titles, large-scale MMOs, and all types of connected games.  

Main Conference submissions should address the most pressing development challenges for online and connected games, targeting the following tracks: Business and Marketing, Design, Production, Programming, and the new Customer Experience track.

Evolving from last year's Live track, GDC Online's notable new Customer Experience track will feature successful strategies to attract, retain and effectively monetize players. Industry experts are encouraged to submit a proposal in areas such as increasing player satisfaction and engagement through metrics-driven post-launch development, design patterns for expansion content, building and managing communities and more.

GDC Online 2011 show management is also requesting submissions for its standalone summits, which this year include the Game Narrative Summit, the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit and the GDC Virtual Items Summit.  

Returning alongside the ever-popular Game Narrative Summit (formerly the Game Writing Summit), is the Smartphone & Tablet Gaming Summit which will focus on the increasing number of diverse successful platforms available today. The program will include best practices and the future of gaming on established and emerging platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Android OS phones, tablets and an abundance of new handheld devices.

The brand new GDC Virtual Items Summit will offer a deep-dive exploration on the best design and monetization techniques for virtual goods in leading online games. The single day program is designed to evaluate economic and demand-based models of what players are buying in the top online games - and how developers can design a game's economy to both make players happy and bring in more money.

In addition, industry veterans interested in educating prospective game developers should submit their session ideas for the annual Game Career Seminar.

"The social and online games space is still growing at an extremely rapid rate, and the time has never been more ripe for the learning, inspiration and networking opportunities we provide at GDC Online," says event director, Izora de Lillard. "We look forward to hearing from our community of established developers and vibrant newcomers , as GDC continues to help grow the connected gaming space."

GDC Online will take place October 10-13, 2011 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.  To learn more about the submissions guidelines and conference topics for GDC Online, visit www.GDCOnline.com.

About the UBM TechWeb Game Network

A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the UBM TechWeb Game Network – formerly known as the Think Services Game Group - offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and research products and services. These include the Game Developers Conference®, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com and network of sites, the Game Advertising Online ad network, the Game Developers Conference® Online, the Game Developers Conference™ Europe, the Game Developers Conference™ China, the Game Developers Conference™ Canada, Game Developer Magazine, Game Developer Research, the Game Career Seminars and GameCareerGuide.com, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. 

About UBM TechWeb, a division of United Business Media

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and professional information – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software and Game developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively participate in UBM TechWeb's communities. UBM TechWeb brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology. UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

SOURCE UBM TechWeb Game Network