Game Developers Conference Europe Introduces the Games & Movies/TV Track, Bringing Cinematic Flourish to Games

BERLIN, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridging the gap between the cinematic screen and the game platform, UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference® (GDC), have announced the Games & Movies/TV Track taking place at the 2010 Game Developers Conference Europe.  The one-day track with high level international speakers, taking place the first day of GDC Europe (Monday, August 16), will aim to provide attendees with a roadmap for adapting the amazing spectacles of the silver screen into successful games and help to guide attendees through the risky path of working games into film or TV and film or TV into games.  This new offering to GDC Europe is in partnership with IHK Koln, the City of Cologne and Mediencluster NRW.    

The worldwide success of the film Avatar's use of animation, visual technology, and storytelling for both the big screen and videogames illustrates the increasing opportunities and convergence of the two entertainment mediums in pop culture today. In 2009, the domestic gross for the entertainment sectors in Germany alone amounted to 2.5 billion Euros (approximately $3.1 billion US Dollars), which mirrors the same amount of revenue for the country's videogame industry. GDC Europe will spearhead these new opportunities by hosting talks, workshops and roundtables from renowned representatives from both sectors to lend their expertise in each area as well as their insight into the challenges and trends that come from working together.  The first announced speaker for this workshop includes Jorg Tittel, producer, director and writer at BreakThru Films Ltd. Tittel has written for game publications such as Next Gen, the Official Dreamcast Magazine (USA), MANIAC (Germany) and Famitsu DC (Japan) and is credited for working on the Minority Report Xbox/PS2 videogame. He also made Testudo, a short film featuring photorealistic bonking CG tortoises, which got the attention of Oscar winning producer Hugh Welchman (Peter & the Wolf). Tittel is currently working on a science fiction TV and game series to be produced by Welchman in partnership with ITV.

"The industry has seen much success in the cross-over between games and film. With the addition of the Games & Movies/TV Track at GDC Europe, we expect our conference to continue to offer ground breaking topics and business opportunities for game developing professionals," says Frank Sliwka, VP European Business Development of the UBM TechWeb Game Network and Event Director of GDC Europe. "Anyone looking to fully understand the future of game development, from online and social games to the challenges of uniting the worlds of games and movies, will be in Cologne this summer."

In addition, the first set of sessions has been announced for GDC Europe, focusing on the dynamic and evolving social and online game space. These sessions will include talks by Playdom, offering an in-depth recap on the world of social gaming, Crytek's session on how gaming can permeate borders from pop to high culture, and a talk by leading social game developer Playfish, among many others.  

The full list of newly-announced speakers and sessions includes:

GDC Europe takes place August 16-18, 2010 at the Cologne Congress East Center in Cologne, Germany.  The event will be held in conjunction with gamescom, the leading game industry European event for consumers, publishers, and trade professionals. Learn more about GDC Europe at www.gdceurope.com.  Early registration discounts end July 21 at 11:59pm EDT.

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,  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