Special Ops: The Writer of the Future
Speaker: Flint Dille (Writer/Game Designer, Ground Zero Productions)
Date/Time: Wednesday (September 17, 2008) 4:30pm — 5:30pm
Location (room): Ballroom B
Track: Writing for Games
Format: 60-minute Lecture
Experience Level: Intermediate

Session Description
SPEC OPS – THE WRITER YOU WILL NEED TO BE: The future writer will need to be fast and versatile to survive in a constantly changing and adapting mediasphere. They will have to be adept at boldly assault mediums that don't use writers and work with clients don't know they need writers –ex: social networks, virtual worlds and casual games will find unexpected need for writers. They will have to survive both on the assigned project and the spec project and must know how to budget time, effort and resources to balance their attack. This talk will also cover the skills, tools and attitudes the future writer will need. Flint Dille is an Austin Speaker Vet and writer/designer of over 50 games. Currently, he’s also designing for virtual worlds and social networks. His new book, The Ultimate Guide to Videogame Writing and Design, co-written with John Zuur Platten, was released last month.

Idea Takeaway
They will have a chance to think about the future and will be provided with both abstract theory and practical advice for how to survive and thrive in the future.

Intended Audience
This lecture has no real prerequisites other than that the audience member be a writer who plans to work in the future. This is for pros to sharpen their survival skills and novices to prepare for the future.