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Hit List Q&A: Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion. Torsten Reil holds a BA in Biology from Oxford University and an MSc in Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems from Sussex University. Prior to founding NaturalMotion, Torsten was researching for a PhD in Complex Systems at Oxford University's Zoology department, from which he spun off NaturalMotion. Torsten has been named amongst MIT's TR100 global top innovators, Next-Gen's 25 People in the Games Industry, Develop magazine's 25 Game Changers, and Game Developer Magazine's Power 50. At his upcoming D.I.C.E. Europe talk, Torsten will be speaking on "The Time To Take Risks Is Now." The game industry is currently presenting us with an opportunity of a lifetime. Old structures are broken up, audiences have swelled, and revenues for iOS and Android games companies are growing exponentially.
Hit List Q&A: Lorne Lanning, co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Lorne Lanning, co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants. Lorne Lanning co-founded Oddworld Inhabitants with his partner, Sherry McKenna, in 1994. His Oddworld games, based in a universe where the dark side of globalization meets the consumer funny bone, have sold nearly 7 million units and garnered dozens of awards not only from the game industry, but also from the music, television, film, and animation industries - as well as illustration and design annuals. In 2008, Oddworld re-emerged as a self-published independent studio bringing its library of titles across various digitally distributed networks in over 20 languages. Their latest in-the-making game, a remake of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, was showcased by Sony as an iconic representative of their support of the increasingly relevant self-published indie development communities. At the D.I.C.E. Europe conference, Lorne will be speaking on "Properties of the Apocalypse" where he will take attendees on a journey across the macro intent of his studio's design ambitions toward creating "trojan horse media." He will also discuss how and why Oddworld's character creations and story lines aimed to target an increasingly disillusioned audience.
Hit List Q&A: David Polfeldt, MD of Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: David Polfeldt, Managing Director of Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment. David Polfeldt has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. He started his career as a writer and illustrator of obscure and hopelessly un-commercial comic books. After a few years as a poor artist, David's childhood interest in designing and making board games with his older brother proved to be an excellent entry point into the games industry. From humble beginnings with web based games and multimedia projects, David eventually founded a small studio which he operated as a Managing Director until he was recruited by Massive Entertainment's founder who needed a guy to "fix everything". Since joining Massive in 2005, David has been deeply involved in all the projects the studio has released: World In Conflict, Assassins Creed Revelations, Far Cry 3 and the newly announced The Division. At his upcoming D.I.C.E. Europe talk David will be speaking on "Swedish Dev Culture." After the enormously successful announcement of Tom Clancy's The Division at E3 this year, David was asked by several journalists why there are so many good Swedish game studios. He decided to explore if there is any truth behind the statement, and if Swedish developers have anything in common.
Journey takes 'Game of the Year' at DICE awards
Journey took a long walk through the DICE awards this evening and scooped up eight accolades along the way. We can't help but agree with the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. The 16th annual DICE awards also recognized The Walking Dead with four awards.Valve co-founder and overlord Gabe Newell became the 17th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame (he also totally ignored the "no denim" rule of the awards show). Also, Infocom co-founders Dave Lebling and Marc Blank receive the 2013 AIAS Pioneer Award.All the winners can can be found listed after the break.
Hit List Q&A: Frank O'Connor, 343 franchise development director
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: 343's Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor. Frank O'Connor has worked in and around the gaming industry for about twenty years, starting in the gaming press in the UK, where he edited and wrote for several magazines before making the move to the States. After several years working on games publications here, he took an opportunity to work at Bungie studios as a community manager, working on consumer relations, marketing efforts and game fiction.When Bungie spun out of Microsoft during Halo Reach, he decided to stay with the Halo franchise and has been there since the inception of 343 Industries. He's lived through every single console and computer game transition, and he is just as excited about the impending one as he was when Pong gave way to the Atari 2600.At Frank's forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session with Microsoft Game Studios/343 Industries' Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, Frank will co-present on "Changing the Universe - Three for Three." This session will explore the trials, tribulations, and opportunities in building and rebuilding a cultural phenomenon, expanding a beloved universe into live action and transmedia storytelling, all while creating a AAA-game studio from scratch.
Hit List Q&A: Matthew Lee Johnston
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Matthew Lee Johnston. Matthew Lee Johnston is an eighteen-year veteran of the video game industry and in that time has contributed to over 50 shipped titles. His first project was Microsoft Golf 2.0, and his most recent was Plants Vs. Zombies 2.At the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit today, Matt will be moderating a panel titled, "Secret Sauce: Disruption on the Mobile Frontier." Joining him on the panel will be Halfbrick CMO Phil Larsen (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride), Spry Fox CEO David Edery (Triple Town) and Backflip Studios CEO Julian Farrior (Dragonvale). This is a session where outspoken and independent developers, who have innovated in the mobile market, tell the big guys how they snuck up behind them and grabbed their earnings last year. We'll get behind-the-scenes access to the designs, principles, and methods that allowed these studios to disrupt the entire balance of the traditional video game marketplace in less than two years by dominating the mobile space with some great entertainment.
J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell to duel in DICE 2013 opening keynote
J.J. Abrams, prolific film director and dual-wielder of beloved franchises, will headline the opening keynote of the 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit alongside Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. The Star Wars/Star Trek director will bring his cinematic perspective and flair to a discussion entitled "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" on February 6."J.J. thoughtfully weaves together suspense, action, emotion, and fun into every one of his projects – elements every game developer aspires to capture as well," said Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences President Martin Rae. "Each year, the D.I.C.E. Summit sets the tone for the year ahead in games and adding J.J. and Gabe's shared insights is a natural fit as we see all forms of entertainment converge."The D.I.C.E. Summit will have a host of talks swirling around the impending entertainment singularity, and run from February 5 until February 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The D.I.C.E. Awards, which seek to honor the best games released over the past year, will take place on February 7.
Hit List Q&A: Glen Schofield, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Sledgehammer Games co-founder Glen Schofield. Glen Schofield is co-founder and studio head of Sledgehammer Games, co-developer of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. A visionary in the video game business for more than 20 years, Glen started his career as an artist and art director for Absolute Entertainment. He also served as the general manager of EA's Visceral Games Studio and was the creator and executive producer of the award winning Dead Space. Glen is credited in over 50 games that together have grossed more than $3 billion in revenues.Art has been an important part of Glen's life from a young age. He started taking art lessons early on, eventually earning a BFA (he also holds an MBA) and began his professional career as a freelance illustrator before entering the world of video games. In his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, Glen will discuss "The Art of Inspiration." He will speak about how he draws inspiration from anything and anywhere and how that has influenced his work as a game developer on a day-to-day basis.
Hit List Q&A: Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi. Outspoken entrepreneur, passionate video game developer, and the Person of the Year 2012 according to GamesIndustry International, Victor Kislyi is the man behind the blockbuster World of Tanks, the Massive Assault Series, and the upcoming World of Warplanes and World of Warships action MMO games.In 1998, Victor established Wargaming, eventually leading the company from its strategy gaming roots to its current position as a leading global interactive entertainment conglomerate with over 1,300 employees and 11 offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Victor leads the team, setting design philosophy and strategy and boosting the company with his experience and enthusiasm. Under his expert care Wargaming is now working on four MMO games and building the Wargaming.net service - the epicenter of a battle-driven gaming universe that would unite all company's projects under a single multiplayer ecosystem.At his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, Victor will speak on "The Evolution of Free-To-Play: From Tanks To Beyond." Without growth there is only stagnation. While "free-to play" has taken the gaming industry by storm, it's becoming more and more apparent that an evolution of the business model is necessary in order to truly adapt to the needs of gamers and consumers. He will walk D.I.C.E. attendees through his vision of the free-to-play market as it stands today, as well as his thoughts and ideas on how it must grow in the future in order to remain viable.
Check out the D.I.C.E. awards finalists
The nominees for the 16th annual D.I.C.E. (hint: It's spelled out right in the image) awards have been listed! While Journey is (deservedly) leading the list with 11 nominations, MMOs and not-quite-MMOs have done their genre proud. Diablo III, Torchlight II, and Guild Wars 2 are all in the running for Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year. Diablo III also got tapped for a shot at Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion is also in the running for the original music composition award. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, February 7th. There are oodles of other games in the running for oodles of other titles, so be sure to check out the complete listing of nominees.
2013 DICE Award nominations led by Journey, Walking Dead, Far Cry 3
The nominations have been announced for the 16th annual DICE Awards, and Journey leads the pack with nods in 11 categories including outstanding achievement in music composition, outstanding achievement in game direction and overall game of the year. The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3 and Halo 4 have each racked up eight, seven and six nominations, respectively. Dishonored and Borderlands 2 each pulling in five nods.In addition to Journey, contenders for game of the year include The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown.The DICE Awards will take place on February 7 at 10:30pm ET, during the 2013 DICE summit, and will be hosted by Chris Hardwick of The Nerdist and Talking Dead. The event will be streamed live on Machinima. You can read the full list of nominations right here.
Hit List Q&A: Warren Spector, Creative Director and Founder of Junction Point
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Junction Point's Warren Spector. Warren Spector, veteran electronic game designer/producer, heads up video game developer Junction Point Studios, a division of Disney Interactive. Warren has worked in the game industry since 1983. After six years at Steve Jackson Games and TSR, creating pen-and-paper games, he joined computer game developer Origin Systems where he produced several games including Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds, System Shock, Ultima VII: Part 2, Serpent Isle, Wings of Glory, Bad Blood, Ultima Worlds of Adventure: Martian Dreams, Cybermage and others.After seven years with Origin, Warren did a brief stint with LookingGlass Technologies before founding Ion Storm's Austin, Texas studio in 1997. At Ion Storm, he produced and directed the award-winning, genre-bending Deus Ex. He later oversaw development of Deus Ex: Invisible War, released in 2003, and Thief: Deadly Shadows, released in 2004. That year, he left Ion Storm to found Junction Point Studios, developing concepts for a variety of video game and motion picture partners before being acquired, in 2007, by The Walt Disney Company. There he directed Disney Epic Mickey, released in 2010. A sequel, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, was released in November 2012.In his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, Warren will be speaking on "Hey, You kids! Get Outta My Yard! or The Graying of Gaming.""Used to be, games were largely the domain of youngsters - kids played them and 'kids' (relatively speaking) made them," Spector says. "Nowadays, things are different. Gamers are everywhere, coming in all ages and genders, and developers have grown up, too. In this talk, I will address the impact of aging on gamers, on developers and on our medium. How does the graying of gaming affect Game Content, Player Commitment, Design Philosophy, Gaming Platforms, Mainstream Media Interactions and, generally speaking, The Future. This talk will be a personal look backwards and forwards that will, I hope, offer something for kids and adults, boys and girls, men and women, whatever their relationship may be with games as pastime, as art or as business."
Hit List Q&A: Supergiant Games studio director Amir Rao
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Supergiant's Amir Rao. Amir Rao is the Studio Director for Supergiant Games, the team behind the AIAS award-winning downloadable game Bastion, which was released on Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, Mac, Linux, Chrome and iOS. Prior to Supergiant Games, Amir worked at Electronic Arts Los Angeles as a designer on Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3.At the upcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit Amir will be speaking on the topic, "Multiplatformism." Over the course of a year, Supergiant Games shipped its award-winning game Bastion on six different platforms with three fundamentally different user interface paradigms. This session covers the design tenets that emerged in translating Bastion from controller to keyboard to touch. The talk will explore Superigant Games' ethos behind picking platforms, while considering if the future of elegant design is truly interface agnostic.
Hit List Q&A: David Cage, founder of Quantic Dream
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Quantic Dream's David Cage. David Cage founded Quantic Dream in 1997, with the ambition of using interactivity as a new means of expression. He developed a creative vision based upon emotion, innovation and immersive storytelling. After his first video game Omikron featuring famous singer David Bowie, the game Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) received great critical acclaim and won several awards worldwide. In 2010, Heavy Rain, a dark thriller produced by Sony, met critical acclaim and commercial success, selling over 2.3 million units to date. Heavy Rain was the winner of three Interactive Achievement Awards in 2011 (now called the D.I.C.E. Awards) - Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music CompositionIn 2012, Cage launched a new tech demo called KARA, featuring an android girl with an actress who delivered a stunning acting performance. Quantic Dream is currently in production of Beyond, a game written and directed by David Cage, starring actress Ellen Page. The game, produced by Sony exclusively on PlayStation 3, will be released in 2013.In his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, Cage will be speaking on "The Peter Pan Syndrome: The Industry that Refused to Grow Up." In a significantly changing landscape dominated by franchises, where new devices with 89c games get more and more of consumers' attention, the video game industry is confronted with a massive challenge. A new console cycle is about to start, new business models and platforms appear while creativity and risk taking has never been lower.The game industry, having always refused to grow up, is now confronted with a new dilemma: evolve or stagnate. The first and most important revolution to start is about content. Based on his experience and fifteen years in the industry developing original content, David Cage will explain in a passionate, thought-provoking presentation (with a French accent) his vision for content in the future and why he believes it is the key to expanding our market and finally become a mature industry.
Hit List Q&A: Xavier Poix, Ubisoft Annecy, Montpellier and Paris managing director
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Ubisoft's Xavier Poix. Xavier Poix is Managing Director of Ubisoft's Annecy, Montpellier and Paris studios. Xavier joined Ubisoft in 1998 on the business side, becoming Sales Director for France before moving into production. He was Director of Ubisoft Montpellier and producer of the game for Peter Jackson's King Kong before taking his current role. Under Xavier's management, Ubisoft's French studios have become synonymous with launch titles for new platforms, such as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Red Steel, and ZombiU. Their creative talent is at the origin of blockbuster brands (Raving Rabbids, Just Dance), critically acclaimed original IP (From Dust), and demonstrating that license-based titles and quality gaming experiences are not incompatible (The Adventures of TinTin, Michael Jackson The Experience). Having recently finished development on several Wii U launch titles as well as Assassin's Creed 3 multiplayer, the French studios are working on new titles, including Rayman Legends, and continue to infuse creativity and innovation into Ubisoft's brands.At his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, he will be addressing the topic – "Developing the Future: leveraging new technology to change the way we play." Putting new tech in the hands of developers inevitably results in exciting new ideas. And when that tech is revolutionary, it can change paradigms and make us question the fundamentals of how we play. Building on the personal of experience of overseeing Ubisoft titles that offered audiences a new way of interacting with the game – and each other – this talk explores certain trends that could mark and potentially change our perspective of gaming in the near future.
Hit List Q&A: Jesse Schell, Schell Games CEO
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Schell Games CEO Jesse Schell. A note from the AIAS:Jesse is the CEO of Schell Games, the largest videogame studio in Pennsylvania. He also serves as Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University. Jesse has worked on a wide variety of innovative game and simulation projects for both entertainment and education, but he is best known for his award winning book The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses and for Beyond Facebook, a talk at the 2010 DICE Summit where he described a future where games and life become indistinguishable. He is a former chair of the International Game Developers Association, and in 2004 he was named one of the world's Top 100 Young Innovators by MIT Technology Review. Before starting his own company, Jesse was the Creative Director of the Walt Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio, which helped to develop interactive theme park attractions as well as Toontown Online, the first massively multiplayer game for children. Before that, he worked as writer, director, performer, juggler, comedian, and circus artist for both Freihofer's Mime Circus and the Juggler's Guild.Jesse will be speaking at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit on "The Secret Mechanisms." The world of game design is changing. New systems of distribution and payment are making even seasoned designers feel naïve. The key to understanding what business models and what game concepts will work is to understand the human mind, for the mind is the medium in which game designers work. Far from an inert surface, the human mind has thousands of complex mechanisms that determine a game's success or failure. Continuing the theme of Jesse's landmark 2010 DICE talk, this talk gathers mechanisms from far and wide: art, psychology, advertising, music, architecture, poetry, science, storytelling – nothing is off-limits, and special attention is paid to the mechanisms that can help us understand how to live, thrive, and survive in this post-retail world of game development.
Valve's Gabe Newell inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame
Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve, is the 17th inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, earning the title for 2013. Newell joins Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, John Carmack, Michael Morhaime, Drs. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck, and Tim Sweeney, among others, in the AIAS Hall of Fame.Newell will also be a keynote speaker for Thursday's conference at the 2013 DICE Summit. Epic Games President Mike Capps will present Newell with the Hall of Fame Award at the 2013 DICE Awards."Gabe is a living legend of the video games industry, and his relentless focus on customer experience has made our whole industry a better place," Capps says. "Valve's unconventional success is an inspiration for us all, and I couldn't be more pleased to present Gabe's Hall of Fame award."
DICE Award nominations for 2013 open
Pssst, academy members, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences currently has submissions open for the DICE awards. So, go ahead and start submitting titles for the annual awards show. You've got until 5PM Pacific on Monday, December 3. Nominees will be announced the week of January 21, 2013. The actual awards show is February 7 at the Hard Rock Casino in Vegas.Pssst, non academy members, here's your chance to tell voting members the games you think should be nominated. The DICE awards, previously known as the Interactive Achievement Awards, is the most legit awards show this industry has all year. So, go ahead and drop some ideas in the comments below. We're pretty sure some members will use it as a crib sheet.
Hit List Q&A: Jenova Chen, thatgamecompany President
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: thatgamecompany President Jenova Chen. A note from the AIAS:Jenova Chen is President & Creative Director for thatgamecompany (TGC). TGC is best known for creating experimental, artistic, and accessible games that touch players on an emotional level. TGC designed and developed the award-winning PSN titles flOw, Flower, and, most recently, Journey.At the upcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit conference, Jenova will be speaking on: Emotion Oriented Interactive Entertainment - Inspirations and Theories Behind Journey. Jenova learned many valuable lessons on what went well and how to do better on his quest to create games that deliver a lasting emotional impact. Jenova will discuss TGC's founding design philosophy and share some of the lessons he and his team gleaned from TGC's past six years developing three innovative downloadable games.
Hit List Q&A: Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software President
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Gearbox Software President Randy Pitchford. A note from the AIAS:Randy Pitchford is co-founder, owner and President of Gearbox Software. Randy served as Executive Producer and in creative and development capacities in the creation of Gearbox Software's award winning, best-selling original franchises Brothers in Arms and Borderlands. Under Randy's leadership, Gearbox Software has also developed a string of hits with sequels, expansions, and original games for many of the industry's most credible franchises and in 2010 acquired Duke Nukem to add to its stable of properties. Before the launch of Borderlands 2 on September 18, 2012, Gearbox Software games have sold over 30 million units earning more than $1 billion in gross revenues.What many do not know is that prior to game development, Randy was a professional magician. In his forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session titled "Video Games Are Magic," Randy will explore how the lessons of magical performance apply to our industry. Along the way, he'll demonstrate and expose specific techniques, methods and ideas from magic that illustrate how the art of illusion has a lot in common with the art of interactive entertainment and leave his audience with tools that are useful and applicable from the executive level to the design level of our craft.
