The three day 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference has come to a closing and a lot was learned this year. http://www.austingdc.net  The three day event was from Sept. 15th - 17th, the same time Warhammer was released for pre-order customers. So much information was shared that I don't know where to start. Let me start with the EA (Electronic Arts) since this was the first exhibit you see when you walk into the hall. A big screen showing Warhammer game clips was surrounded by a few developers and artists that attended the event discussing current and past issues about the game. After talking to one of the developers about Warhammer and my issues I have with the game, I was invited to sit and play the games they had set-up for gamers to try out. I over heard they were also aware of a problem with pre-order codes sent to Game Stop stores with an Authentication failed error and were working on a solution.
My next stop was the Playxpert exhibit just behide EA and their end to the ALT+TAB Widgit. Everyone NEEDS to see and download this FREE beta software! www.playxpert.com You can now have an in-game web browser using their advanced universal overlay system while you are playing and works with all games I was told. It has a lot of other added features as well but the in game web browser is what had my attention. No more Alt+Tab for game information and returning to a dead character killed by a wondering mob.

 Sony Online Entertainment was also there talking about their new game in development, DC Universe Online and looking for Artists, Writers and Programmers to join their team here in Austin, TX. In fact, almost every Gaming Company that attended the event were taking resumes from anyone interested in starting a career with them.

Most of the sessions from the guest speakers had the feeling of one developer or artist to another rather then a teacher to a student, so everyone felt they were part of a team rather then taking a class.Three days may seem like a long time but time was short and I was able to attend three of the many sessions offered throughout the three day event.

The first session I attended was Unlocking Flash to Build the Next Great MMO with Ben Garney (PushButton Labs). Knowing Adobe Flash was installed and running on most computers that access the internet, I was curious how exactly this could be done. Due to the graphic limitations of Flash and Actionscript to write the code this did not seem possible to me. After the session I was still was not convinced we will be seeing any great Flash MMO, except maybe a small MMO game being used to sell a commercial product. Cutting the session short to attend a different session I stumbled across a few exhibitors in the Palazzo area.

Co-Founder Troy Gilbert with Mockingbird (www.playmockingbird.com) was one of the exhibitors in the Palazzo showing off their software. Now this is where the next great MMO may come from after all. This three man team working at home has developed a software program that uses Flash Technology and almost anyone can use to make and design a game. It is a game to make a game pure and simple. Right now it is a single player shooter type stage but I can see this evolving into multiplayer one day. What makes this software so different is the ease to add games to website, forum or blog. You don't need to know or learn Flash Actionscript, simply cut and paste the HMTL code and you now have your game anywhere you can add web HMTL script to ( I can't on this forum, see my blog at http://www.guildportal.com/Blog.aspx?Blog=508174)

My next session was How We Made Battlefield Heroes Our Journey from Game Team to Service Team with Bjarne Rene (EA DICE). As many of know designing a game that everyone wants to play is not easy. First you need a working game engine, and then you need artists, writers and programmers to apply the game code to the engine. All this can be done at first with a small team of students or professionals. The hardest part is moving the game from your office or computer to the World Wide Web. Because of the expense involved to distribute and market a game almost every independent game company like DICE has to open its doors to a major software company like Electronic Arts. Working together they are now able to bring to life a working Alpha Beta and now in Beta testing MMO game. Anyone who likes the Call for Duty game series will love this one.

The last session I was able to see was ARG’s: Fake Websites, Invented Stories, Automated Phone Calls and Other Methods to Earn the Trust of a Community with Elan Lee (Fourth Wall Studios). This was an informative session on marketing methods Community Managers have used to spark game interest in our everyday lives. An example of this from wiki is:

I Love Bees (also known as ilovebees or ILB for short) was an alternate reality game (ARG) that served as both a real-world experience and viral marketing campaign for the release of developer Bungie's 2004 video game Halo 2. The game was created by 42 Entertainment, who had previously created an ARG for the film A.I., and commissioned by Microsoft.

Elan Lee continued the session with more examples he and his team used viral marketing on other projects like Steven Spielberg’s movie A.I., music artist Nine Inch Nails, and Tombstone Poker. The one thing I discovered you can do to have a Community Manager remember you is to remember to invite them to your wedding. This above all else lets them know they have done their job well.

You can visit my blog for more details http://www.guildportal.com/Blog.aspx?Blog=508174