Kath Brice 08:55 (BST)
26/06/2009

Key members of the DC Universe Online team have been confirmed as speakers at this year's GDC Austin, taking place in September.

The session, themed around why heroes and villains are needed in games, will be led by Jim Lee, comic book artist and executive creative director on the upcoming DC Universe Online, DC Comics writer Marv Wolfman and two of Sony Online's creative directors, Chris Cao and Jens Andersen.

The team will explore why gamers enjoy playing as heroes and villains and try to give attendees a philosophical insight into the challenges faced when making characters good and evil. They'll also be explaining why tension between good and evil is critical for both telling a good story, and making a videogame.

Other industry speakers from BioWare Austin, Gaia Online, Stardoll, Turbine and Zynga have already been confirmed for the event, which will run from September 15-18.

Sessions will cover topics such technologies and services to improve MMO performance, analytic tools to increase player engagement and the new rules of free-to-play.

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