Blizzard exec confirmed for Austin Conference keynote

Organisers of the Austin Game Conference have announced two keynote speakers for the September event, which will begin with an address from Blizzard Entertainment's VP of game design, Rob Pardo.

Joining Blizzard in 1997 as a designer on StarCraft, Pardo has since led various game design projects - including Warcraft II and its various expansion packs, and hugely successful MMORPG World of Warcraft.

Pardo is currently overseeing design and implementation of gameplay features on every Blizzard game for both PC and console platforms.

The conference is scheduled to take place over three days, beginning on September 6th and ending September 8th with a keynote address from Hugo Award winner and acclaimed science-fiction author Vernor Vinge.

During the three days, the conference will feature a broad selection of tutorials, lectures, seminars and workshop events covering online and networked game development, including massively multiplayer online games, PC and console premium online games and casual games.

Further information on the conference programme, together with dates, venues and registration details can be found by visiting the official Austin Game Conference website.