Games Track Announced For FMX 2010

ACADEMY OF INTERACTIVE ARTS AND SCIENCES SEEDS SPEAKERS

CALABASAS, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences® (AIAS) announced the final game track for FMX 2010, to be held in Stuttgart, Germany May 4-7. FMX is the primary European event for leading international experts in the creation, production, and distribution of digital entertainment and interactive visualization. In addition to the conference, there is a trade show floor, workshops, master classes, screenings and special events.

"Games play a major role at FMX where we try to focus on Visual Arts and emphasize the creative, concept, arts and story-telling aspects of game-making," said Thomas Haegele, Chair, FMX.  "Visual Arts for games will be very prominent with more than ten lectures, organized in partnership with the AIAS."

The speakers in the games track include:

• Christophe Brusseaux, Graphic Director, Quantic Dreams; Heavy Rain: How Art Was Used to Create a Movie Experience
• David Hego, Art Director, Rocksteady; Batman:Arkham Asylum: Explains the Approach to Art Direction
• Saku Lehtinen, Art Director, Remedy Entertainment; Alan Wake: The Creation of a Thriller Game
• Bruno Velazquez, Lead Animator, Sony Computer Entertainment America; God of War III :The Animation Process
• Tom Williams, Technology, Black Rock Studio; Demolition by Design-Deconstructing Split/Second
• Ken Perlin, Scientific Advisor, Actor Machine; Procedural Visual Representation in Responsive Animation
• Evan Hirsch, Vice President Creative Development, THQ; Visual Story Structure & Enhanced Interactive Experience
• Frank Vitz, Senior CG Supervisor, Electronic Arts; Fight Night 4: Real Time Physics Driven Animation and VFX
• Ben Diamand, Senior Staff Programmer, Sony Playstation; Realtime Shadows for God Of War III
• Jolyon Webb, Research & Development, Blitz Game Studios; Game Face Story: Using A Short Term Prototype for Long Term Gain

"The traditional crafts of story and art have been reinterpreted by a generation of digital artists in games, film and animation," said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS, and host of the Games track at FMX 2010.  "The Academy game makers taking part in this year's FMX have exciting developments to show and share with their colleagues."

For the very first year, FMX 2010 initiated a partnership with Quo Vadis Conference, one of the most highly attended game developer conferences in Germany. This track will cover the new developments in social gaming with speakers such as David DC Collier, founder, Pikkle, who will be providing insight into Japan's latest social games, and Bernhard Falch, CEO, Sulake, and creator of the famous Habbo Hotel, who will be discussing the secret behind the incredible success of Gameforge.

For more information and registration: http://www.fmx.de/tickets.E.7.html

About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote, advance and recognize common interests and outstanding achievements in the interactive arts and sciences. The Academy has created and collaborated on a number of unique programs that promote the industry: D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment; Into The Pixel, a juried exhibition of art from video games; and with Gamestop and The Guildhall at SMU, the Indie Games Challenge, a contest for professional and non-professional video game developers to create their own video game and the chance to win up to $300,000 worth of prizes.  

The Academy Foundation includes educational programs including the Randy Pausch Scholarship, which awards students pursuing their dreams of becoming an interactive entertainment creator, the Mark Beaumont Scholarship and The Academy Scholar, a program sponsored with The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University (SMU)  

The Academy also conducts an annual awards show, Interactive Achievement Awards, to promote and acknowledge exceptional accomplishments in this field.  With more than 20,000 members, including Capcom, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, Ubisoft, Day One Studios, Epic Games and Insomniac Games, The Academy is the leading advocate of video games worldwide.  More information is available at http://www.interactive.org , www.dicesummit.org and http://www.intothepixel.com.

About FMX:

FMX is an event by Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in cooperation with the Visual Effects Society, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, ACM Siggraph, 5D Conference and Stuttgart Media University. It is hosting the Animation Production Day 2010 (APD), a joint venture with the Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart (ITFS). FMX is funded by the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Economics Baden-Wuerttemberg, MFG Film Funding, the MFG Innovation Agency for IT and Media and the FFA German Federal Film Board. The event is produced by Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction.

SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences