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Richard Garriott to deliver Game Developers Conference Europe keynote
Are you planning to venture to the wilds of Europe for the upcoming Game Developers Conference Europe? If so, you're in for a treat, as the father of Ultima will be delivering the keynote speech. That's right, the one and only spacefaring game developer Richard Garriott will give a presentation at the conference discussing social gaming, its future, and what mark it may leave on the gaming industry as a whole. Garriott is perhaps known best for being the creator of the Ultima series (and the victim of assassination in the early days of Ultima Online), but his most recent foray in the industry came in the form of Portalarium, a social gaming company. Frank Sliwka, event director of GDC Europe, notes that "there are few developers with Richard Garriott's history, pedigree and vantage point, having been a defining force in the realm of traditional hardcore games, birthing the RPG and MMORPG genres, to now helping lead the way within the world of social games," so the speech will almost certainly be enlightening for anyone with an interest in the subject. GDC Europe will be taking place from August 15-17, so if you're looking to make the journey to gaming mecca, go ahead and start making plans!
CCP Games CEO to announce new project in GDC Europe keynote
Hilmar Pétursson, the CEO of CCP Games, will keynote Game Developers Conference Europe 2009 in Cologne, Germany. The event runs from August 17 through the 19th at the Cologne Congress Center East. Hilmar's keynote will focus on how CCP Games rose from being a small Reykjavik-based studio with an obscure niche title to becoming a success story in the MMO industry with the growing popularity of EVE Online, now running studios in Atlanta and Shanghai, as well as their hometown of Reykjavik. Perhaps the biggest news here is the reveal hinted at in the CCP Games press release: "As a testament to the industry's potential for growth despite widespread economic turmoil and as an inspiration for up-and-coming independent studios, Pétursson will give an exclusive first look at the company's latest project, which is currently in pre-production." We can only assume this is the World of Darkness MMO, but it could very well be a closer look at Walking in Stations or any of the other projects CCP announced at last year's Fanfest. Regardless of what this new project is, we won't know for sure until August.
Crytek exec Avni Yerli joins GDC Europe advisory board
Like momma always said, if you're gonna effect change, the best place to be is on the inside. Avni Yerli, managing director and co-founder of Crytek, has joined the GDC Europe advisory board, where together with existing members he hopes to "create a conference that will hit the industry's nerve." GDC Europe's Frank Sliwka put it another way, offering hope that Yerli's membership will "elevate the conference to a whole new level." Let's just hope the board's processors can handle the stress without -- dare we say it -- crying.
