Casual Games Summit 101 (109) (Mon)

Speakers: Alexis Madrigal, Andrew Pedersen, Brad Edelman, Charles Merrin, Chris Melissinos, Dan Prigg, Daniel Bernstein, Daniel James, Dave Rohrl, Dave Williams, Greg Lanz, James Gwertzman, James C. Smith, Jeff Weinstein, Jim Greer, John Welch, Josh Williams, Juan Gril, Justin Everett-Church, Kenny Dinkin, Lee Crawford, Margaret Wallace, Nick Fortungo, Nick Stern, Patrick Wylie, Phil Weber, Ron Powers, Steve Meretzky, Tysen Henderson

Track: Tutorial: Game Design

Format: Tutorial

Experience Level: All

Description: What Is a Casual Game? - Steve Meretzky (MuddyC)
What exactly is a casual game? Just who plays casual games and who buys them? Did they suddenly emerge from nowhere over the last few years to take the gaming world by storm or is there a deeper history? These and other questions are pondered as a way of setting groundwork for the days ahead.

Design Principles for Casual Games - Nick Fortungo (Gamelab)
What things must any casual game design take into account to be successful? What design approaches are kisses of death in this space? What is the audience willing to swallow? And how does working in the try-and-buy model impact your design decisions? This session tackles these and other tough questions of casual game design.

Art Direction for Casual Games - Tysen Henderson (PopCap Games); Phil Weber (Gamelab); Nick Stern (PlayFirst); Margaret Wallace (Skunk Studios).
What art styles work for casual games? When, where, and why does 3D make sense in a casual game? What kinds of themes does the casual game audience love, and which are off limits? Can you ruin your game by pandering excessively to the audience or do all women just really, really love fairies and unicorns?

Bookworm Adventures Post-Mortem - Tysen Henderson (PopCap Games)
Bookworm Adventures was released in November 2006 after more than two years in development. This session discusses how the game evolved over the course of its development and even gives a peek at some of the bits that were left on the cutting room floor.

Casual Game Technology Face Off - Chris Melissinos (Sun); Justin Everett-Church (Adobe); Brad Edelman (PlayFirst); James Smith (Reflexive Entertainment); Josh Williams (GarageGames); Jeff Weinstein (PopCap).
Over the last few years, new platforms like Flash have matured, and C++ frameworks like Garage Games’ Torque and the PopCap framework have emerged. This panel of technologists tells you why their platform or framework rules the roost, and bring a demo to prove it.

Business Models on Parade - Dave Williams (AtomShockwave); Alexis Madrigal (DFC); Daniel James (Three Rings); Charles Merrin (Real); Dave Rohrl (PopCap).
A variety of business models have emerged, each offering new ways to monetize widely varying audiences. Leading lights in the world of try-and-buy, advertising, subscription, and microtransactions offer insight not only into how their business model works but also on why they think it is critical for the future of casual games.

Publishers’ Hot Seat - Kenny Dinkin (PlayFirst); Dan Prigg (Real); Patrick Wylie (Big Fish); Tony Leamer (Oberon); Greg Lanz (iWin); Margaret Wallace (Skunk Studios).
Before 2004, most companies that were creating casual games served as their own publishers - shouldering development costs and managing marketing and distribution. Over the last 3 years publishers have emerged as an important force in the industry, working with developers to fund their projects and to distribute and promote them to portals (not mention provide professional QA, localization, represent games to licensees like mobile publishers, and a variety of other services). The portfolio managers of the major casual game publisher spend an hour in the hot seat fielding questions from the development community as well as telling you why you should bring your next game to them first.

So You Want To Start a Casual Game Company - Lee Crawford (TwoFish); Juan Gril (JoJu Games); Nick Fortugno (Gamelab); Daniel Bernstein (Sandlot Games); James Gwertzman (PopCap); Jim Greer (Kongregate).
New entrepreneurs and seasoned vets from the casual space talk about the startup discuss the current climate for startups and how it is better and worse than it was a few years ago as well as speculating on unique opportunities that are ripe for the taking today.

Idea Takeaway: Attendees will learn the ABC's of casual game design, technology, production, and business/marketing issues. In one day, the Casual Games Summit 101 will take anyone from outsider status to a full well-rounded knowledge of the casual games and the casual games space.

Intended Audience: Day One of the Summit is for people new to casual games space, or those wishing to cement their foundation of knowledge about casual games. They may be new to games, or they may be from the traditional "hardcore" games side of the industry.