Day two of GCAP keynoted by Bioware and Insomniac

At the end of day two of GCAP 2011, we look back on the keynote addresses, big plans by Screen Australia, and the discussions our industry has had.

The largest news of the day was the reveal by Screen Australia (SA) and the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) of a raft of new measures aimed at helping to rejunivate and revitalise the Australian game development scene.

The different measures being offered are rooted in the 'Playing for Keeps' report, which outlines the reasons why the government should invest in the Australian scene, and aims to make Australia competitive with Canada, Europe and the USA.

The morning's keynote address was by Mike Acton from Insomniac Games, who delivered an impassioned speech to a crowd of hundreds about how it's up to developers to be the change they want to see in the industry. He insisted that games needed to stop being considered second class to film, that games had 'won' the battle and that film could come along for the ride as game developers everywhere innovate and create at an ever-increasing pace.

Key talks throughout the day included Paul Callaghan, Freeplay organiser, celebrating the variety amongst game developers rather than the similarity, a panel with Callaghan, Morgan Jaffit (Defiant Development) and Chris Wright (Surprise Attack) on how to successfully apply for funding from VCs and government grants, and finally a great and hearty discussion with Eros Resmini from Openfeint on free-to-play models and in-app purchasing schemes for iOS devices.

Ending the day was a keynote by Richard Iwanuik from Bioware, who investigated quality control in a world where goals are constantly shifting at an ever-increasing pace. Iwanuik asserted that product quality is no longer absolute, and is defined by the consumer rather than the product, while companies themselves needed to become more agile and reflexive from their market strategies right through to their compensation schemes.

Image courtesy of i R Media.

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