Evolve London

Playfish, ngmoco, Microsoft Research, ustwo, Team 17, Hand Circus and Wonderland are among the leading edge speakers at the inaugural Evolve in London conference, which takes place on Wednesday 8 December 2010.

Evolve in London, which debuted to wide acclaim at Develop in Brighton in 2009, will bring together some of game development’s leading pioneers and trendsetters to share their experiences and help delegates embrace this fast-changing market.

“With innovation in gaming speeding up and social gaming and internet connectivity having evolved from fringe to mainstream in barely a AAA development cycle, the future of social and digitally distributed gaming is at the forefront of this year’s conference,“ commented Andy Lane, managing director of organiser Tandem Events.

“With two great keynotes, from ngmoco CEO and founder Neil Young, and Playfish co-founder Kristian Segerstrale, together with a host of other world-class speakers, delegates will discover just how rapidly the market is evolving, the lessons that have been learnt along the way and the approach leading social, casual and mobile game developers are adopting in their quest for success.”

Further top level speakers and panel sessions complete the line-up, with the conference rounded off by a networking drinks reception.

Sessions confirmed so far:

KEYNOTE: What We've Learned, How We've Evolved & Why We Did It

Neil Young, CEO & Founder, ngmoco

From zero to the leading mobile social games company in just over 2 years - Find out what ngmoco has learned, how we've evolved & pivoted our company around that learning ahead of the market. We'll share why we did it, what we're doing next and what we think the road ahead for the games industry looks like.

KEYNOTE: Social Gaming: After the Revolution

Kristian Segerstrale, GM and Co-founder, Playfish

Early social games have spawned a billion dollar industry that’s gone mainstream. Discover how social games will continue to evolve, what is driving this evolution and why it’s not too late to get a piece of the action.

As We May Game

Richard Banks, Senior Interaction Designer, Microsoft Research in Cambridge

Richard will give insight into the potential of the future of digital interaction - what new experiences may soon be possible, or simply desirable, in the future. Expect examples from Microsoft Research, new technologies and emerging experiences.

How to Thrive as a Modern Game Studio

Oli Christie, Neon Play; Mills, ustwo; Simon Oliver, Hand Circus; Matthew Wiggins, Wonderland

What lessons have the pioneers in the digital marketplace learned about how to develop and maintain games in a business environment where publisher advances are all but unknown, shelf-lives are unbounded, and the competition is practically limitless?

The Worms Have Turned: Why Team 17 Went Back to Self-Publishing

Martyn Brown, Studio Head, Team 17

Martyn explains why Team 17 has gone full circle, how digital distribution makes it possible, and whether he foresees a new Golden Era for independent publishers.

The New Video Games Industry Cycle

Ian Baverstock, Partner, Tenshi Ventures

Find out how can games companies compete in an era of massive disruption - where the hot hardware platform of yesterday is replaced by the coolest new social network platform of the hour.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About Evolve:

Following its success running alongside the Develop in Brighton Conference for two years, the Evolve Conference will take place as a stand-alone event in London on Wednesday 8 December 2010.

Evolve in London is a daylong conference focusing on how to develop games for new platforms, new technologies and new markets. The programme will explore emerging platforms, new business models and the integration of Internet services and user-generated content. It will help game developers tackle the issues arising from emerging platforms and digital marketplaces, connected gaming, user-generated content, and the crossover between games and Internet services.

To register for Evolve in London, please visit www.evolveconference.com

About Tandem Events:

Tandem Events has over 20 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors, including Evolve in London on 8 December 2010, Develop in Brighton, Develop in Liverpool, Evolve in Brighton, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum and Games Grads.

www.tandemevents.co.uk

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