NEW DATES, THEMES, CONTENT & SPEAKERS FOR DEVELOP CONFERENCE & EXPO 2007

Tandem Events has announced that the second Develop Conference & Expo will be held in Brighton from July 24-26 2007.

Europe's leading event for the game development community, the Develop Conference & Expo launched last summer to wide acclaim, attracting around 1,100 attendees from 22 territories. It returns this year with a line up of world-class speakers, new conference tracks, themes, sessions, workshops and master classes, giving delegates the chance to be at the very forefront of the industry as it evolves.

More than 70 inspirational speakers will take part in the two-day Develop Conference discussing the hottest and most relevant issues facing today's developers. Already confirmed are the likes of Media Molecule, Peter Chaing (Vfx), Peter Molyneux (Lionhead), Rare, Mike Gamble (Instinct Technology), Katie Ellwood (SCEE) and Steve Williams (Blitz Studios).

The conference content has been honed for 2007 by the advisory board chaired by Owain Bennallack, resulting in around 45 sessions split across seven tracks - design, production, coding, business, art, audio and world vision. Brand new for this year, the World Vision track will offer vital insight into games development around the world and look at what can be learnt from other countries.

Underpinning the seven tracks are four key themes: Community (reinvigorating games with user-created content, communities and sharing), Connectivity (exploiting inter-format networking opportunities), Creativity (making the video game 'You Tube' of tomorrow) and Control (taking advantage of new wave devices).

"As we leave GDC behind, we couldn't have asked for a better following wind for our second Develop Conference this July," commented advisory board chair Owain Bennallack.

"One of our long-standing key themes, social networking and its impact on games, surprised many as the talk of San Francisco, thanks largely to Phil Harrison's key speech revealing PlayStation Home and Media Molecule's Little Big Planet. We think developers are now ready to hear a lot more about how the lessons of Web 2.0 can make their games better and more successful, and the Develop conference in Brighton is the only place to do so, as well as picking up plenty more traditional hints and tips about programming, art, audio, and production."

Running alongside the conference at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, Develop Expo will bring together around 40 of Europe's most innovative companies from every sector of games development, providing visitors with the opportunity to find out about the latest development tools and technology, make new contacts and catch-up with old ones.

Develop Mobile is returning for 2007. Taking place on July 24, Develop Mobile is a one-day conference focusing on wireless games development. GAMES:EDU also makes a welcome return on July 24. Backed by Skillset, GAMES:EDU provides a unique platform for the UK's foremost educators and the development industry to debate the current and future education needs of the gaming community.

"We are confident that Develop Conference & Expo 2007 has everything to deliver a thought-provoking, educational, inspirational and business-changing experience for our delegates," stated Andy Lane, Tandem Events' managing director. "It really is the must-attend event for anyone in European development community this summer."

Delegates can apply for Super, Standard, Mobile, Audio and Expo passes for Develop Conference & Expo online at www.developconference.com. An early bird discount of approx. 20 per cent applies to all passes purchased before July 1 2007. The expo pass is free of charge.