Casual Games Summit 201 (209) (Tue)

Speakers: Charles Merrin, Chris Early, Daniel James, Dave Rohrl, Dave Walls, Don Ryan, Erik Bethke, Erik Goosens, Heidi Perry, James Gwertzman, Jim Greer, John Needham, John Welch, Kenny Dinkin, Lee Crawford, Megan Gaiser, Nick Fortugno, Robert Nashak, Shaul Olmert, Steve Meretzky

Track: Tutorial: Game Design

Format: Tutorial

Experience Level: All

Description: Downloadable Casual Games on the Console - John Needham (Sony Online Entertainment); Chris Early (Microsoft); John Welch (PlayFirst)
How is each platform unique? What are the opportunities and challenges for casual games developers on each platform? How will the platforms evolve over the next year or two?

Post Mortems: Game, Franchise & Company
Heidi Perry (PlayFirst) talks about ways to leverage existing casual game intellectual property to turn a hit title into a hit franchise, as well as the overlooked importance of marketing for casual games. Lee Crawford (Twofish) speaks about raising venture money to start a casual game company in late 2006. Jim Greer (Kongregate) speaks about a user-generated casual games site as well as fund raising.

Innovation & the Value Chain - Alex St. John (WildTangent); Charles Merrin (Real); John Welch (PlayFirst); Daniel James (Three Rings); Dave Rohrl (PopCap)
Innovative game features that require client/server interaction whether done anonymously (e.g., high scores) or by creating user accounts and the impact on portal acceptance. Multiplayer gaming, community features, microtransaction models, etc. fall in here. The impact on the evolving relationship between developers, publishers, and portals. Predictions for what to expect over the next few years.

Using Licenses in Casual Games - Megan Gaiser (Her Interactive); Dave Walls (Funkitron); Charles Merrin (Real); Shaul Olmert (Nickelodeon); Robert Nashak (Yahoo); Heidi Perry (PlayFirst)
What's the value of a license and what are you getting into when you sign that deal? How do we appeal to new markets beyond the typical "soccer mom" demographic? In this sesssion, hear success and horror stories dealing with licenses and licensors.

International Opportunities - Making $$$ Outside the U.S. - James Gwertzman (PopCap); Erik Goosens (Real/Zylom); Erik Bethke (GoPets); Lee Crawford (Twofish)
What works and what doesn't. Who are the players and what are the opportunities?

Innovation in Casual Game Design: The Unseen Way Forward - Dave Rohrl (PopCap); Dave Walls (Funkitron); Kenny Dinkin (PlayFirst); Nick Fortugno (Gamelab); Steve Meretzky
This panel of blue-ribbon casual game designers discuss where the next generation of opportunities for growing the market through innovation lies; what are the genres and niches that aren't yet being served by the casual game market, how can we reach them, and how will that change the market and our view of casual games as a whole?