Warren Spector to Kick-Off 2010 Game Developers Conference Europe as Keynote Presenter

BERLIN, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Adding to the international lineup of luminary speakers, today UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the leading Game Developers Conference® series (GDC), have announced that renowned game designer Warren Spector, creative director for Disney Interactive Studios' Junction Point will open the 2010 Game Developers Conference™ Europe on Monday, August 16.  Spector's keynote address titled, "What Videogames Can Learn from Other Media ... What We Can't ... And What We Shouldn't" will kick off GDC Europe, which returns to Cologne Germany August 16-18, 2010 for three days of learning, networking and inspiration.

During his keynote, Spector will share with the audience his thoughts on videogames as they compare to other media such as movies, television, theater, radio and comic books and explore the ways in which videogames use techniques borrowed from those mediums.  Spector will question the assumption that videogames should be more like other media, and will discuss how valid these comparisons are while suggesting some new comparisons that may be more relevant for moving our industry forward. Using examples from a variety of media and a variety of games, Spector will examine what we have learned, what we still have to learn in the future and what maybe holding us back from reaching our potential as the unique medium we must strive to become.

Warren Spector is a game development veteran with 6 years in tabletop games with Steve Jackson Games and TSR, followed by 21 years in electronic games with Origin, Looking Glass Studios, Ion Storm and most recently Junction Point, a division of Disney Interactive Studios.

In addition to making games, Warren has been a novelist ("The Hollow Earth Affair," published in 1988), a film reviewer for the Austin Chronicle and an Assistant Instructor for film and television studies at the University of Texas-Austin. From 2000-2002, he served on the Board of Directors of the International Game Developers Association and served as co-chair of the IGDA's education committee. In 2007, Warren returned to UT Austin to teach a Master Class in Videogames and Digital Media.

Warren graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL with a B.S. in Speech and received his Master of Arts in Radio-Television-Film. He then remained at UT to pursue a Ph.D. in Communications until the game business lured him away from academia just a dissertation short of a degree.  He is currently working on the Disney Epic Mickey video game available this holiday season, exclusively for the Nintendo Wii, offering gamers of all ages the opportunity to experience the world's most popular cartoon star, Mickey Mouse, as a true video game hero for the first time.  

"It is always a pleasure to welcome to stage a long time friend of the GDC such as Warren Spector," said Frank Sliwka, GDC Europe Event Director. "Warren's breadth of work from Deus Ex to the highly anticipated Disney Epic Mickey demonstrates innovative game design.  His talk will inspire current and new generations of European developers."

Warren Spector joins a global lineup of keynote speakers including Tencent Games VP, Bo Wang; Bigpoint GmbH CEO and Founder Heiko Hubertz; and Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst.

Online registration for GDC Europe ends August 12, 6 pm CEST.  For more information on GDC Europe visit: www.gdceurope.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, 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. 

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About UBM TechWeb

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About Disney Interactive Studios

Disney Interactive Studios, part of Disney Interactive Media Group, is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney Interactive Studios self publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with other interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. Disney Interactive Studios is based in Glendale, California, and has internal development studios around the world. For more information, log on to http://www.disneyinteractivestudios.com.

SOURCE UBM TechWeb Game Network