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Michael Acton Smith, the founder of UK success story Mind Candy, is to provide the closing keynote for the Develop Conference.
Mind Candy broke onto the scene with the global children’s phenomenon Moshi Monsters, a virtual pet website that is projected to generate $100 million before 2011.
London-based entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith will offer insight into the firm’s success with a closing keynote at Evolve.
In February, Develop named Acton Smith as one of the UK’s top sixteen games developers in the modern age.
Evolve is a one-day event that opens the Develop Conference, focused on emerging games sectors such as mobile, browser and social games.
The event runs on 19th July, with the Develop Conference carrying forward until 21st.
Acton Smith’s keynote presentation ‘Lessons Learned Building Moshi Monsters to 50m Users’ will examine what the Moshi Monsters team learned during this intense period of growth.
"I’m really looking forward to speaking at Evolve,” Acton Smith said.
“It’s going to be a highly illuminating and entertaining session for anyone who’s interested in online games or wants to find out how to expand IP onto new platforms.
“The games industry is going through cataclysmic changes at the moment and the Develop Conference is the perfect place to connect, share and learn about what’s coming next."
Around 1,300 industry professionals are expected to attend The Develop Conference in Brighton. This year’s event will be its sixth in as many years.
Registration is open at www.developconference.com with early bird rates on offer for the next two months.
The Develop Awards will again arrive on the evening of the second day of the conference.
21 awards are up for grabs for studios across Europe, with the core awards like Independent Studio, Development Legend and New IP still part of the mix.
Last year’s New Download IP, Micro Studio and individual creative outsourcing awards which debuted last year also return.
Click here for a full guide on each award and how to lobby.
Over 550 games development professionals attended the event last year. To book your place at the 2011 awards contact Kathryn.Humphrey@intentmedia.co.uk.
The ceremony takes place on July 20th at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Brighton. Amiqus has signed as Gold Sponsor, with Babel Media sponsoring the Development Legend prize. OPM Recruitment is on board as Table Gift Partner.
If you want to sponsor the event, a category or an award, contact Alex.Boucher@intentmedia.co.uk for more details.
