Leading devs head to Liverpool for Develop

In three days time, 28 of the game industry’s leading innovators will descend on Liverpool to speak at the second annual Develop Conference.

This year’s northern conference takes place at the city’s Hilton hotel on Thursday, November 25.

Speakers from Sony, Media Molecule, AMA Studios, Honeyslug, Codemasters and Disney Black Rock will share experiences and secrets for success with delegates from entertainment and media sectors up and down the country.

“Delegates can look forward to a broad range of media rich sessions at this year’s Develop in Liverpool conference, including a 3D extravaganza from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe at the Odeon cinema, which opens the event,” said Andy Lane, managing director of organiser Tandem Events.

“Following that will be triple-A case studies, a glimpse into the inspiration behind LittleBigPlanet, an opportunity to quiz some of the industry’s brightest and best, and a battle between two top developers as they go head-to-head playing each other’s games. I’m pretty sure they’ll be on the receiving end of a bit of heckling and cheeky feedback.”

Confirmed attendees include Blitz Games Studios, Exient, Electronic Arts, Codemasters, Bournemouth University, Double 11, Catalysis Communications, Orange, University of Central Lancs, Spiral House, Glass Egg Digital Media, Motion Imaging, Darkworks, BBC Worldwide, Pinewood Studios, Microsoft, Blue Beck, KJLearning, Bizarre Creations, Alive Interactive Media, RealtimeUK, MPG Universal, Traveller’s Tales, Intel, Brain in a Jar, Musemantik, Lucid Dreams and Mobile Pie.

The event will close around 6pm with networking drinks at Café Sports Express.

Conference highlights include:

KEYNOTE: Seeing is Believing: 3D a New Creative Medium for Games
Mick Hocking, Senior Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

In full HD 3D at the Odeon Cinema, expect case studies of 3D games, a look at the 3D developing market, insight into why games are the killer content for 3D, plus what it takes to convert your game to 3D.

ALL: Step inside the Mind of SackBoy
Kengo Kurimoto, Level Design Lead; Rex Crowle, Graphic Playfulness; Kenny Young, Audio Designer, Media Molecule

The creative team behind LittleBigPlanet talk about what inspired the art, audio and design of one of the most innovative games in a long time.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Designing for Kinect – The Lessons from Fighters Uncaged
Pascal Luban, Creative Director, AMA Studios

Fighters Uncaged is the first true combat game released for Kinect. This presentation will cover both opportunities and challenges discovered by AMA during the development.

DESIGN, ART & PRODUCTION: Hohokum: The First 3 Years
Ricky Haggett, CEO, Honeyslug; Richard Hogg, Independent Artist and Illustrator

Ricky and Richard will describe the process of alternating short bursts of work with long periods of reflection, and demo the 2010 version of Hohokum alongside the many prototypes.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Putting Formula 1 back into Pole Position
Paul Jeal, Senior Producer F1 2010; Stephen Hood, Chief Games Designer F1 2010, Codemasters

A post-mortem recapping of the F1 franchise from the past and how Codemasters intends to take it into the future. The designers will discuss the challenges of putting a new face on a classic franchise.

ALL: Innovation in the Fast Lane: A Driving Game Designer Mash-up
Charnjit Bansi, Lead Designer, Bizarre Creations; Nick Baynes, Game Director, Disney Black Rock

Two key UK racing game designers take to the stage to play each other’s games, discover each other’s secrets, and doubtless enjoy a little friendly competition on the race track.

See the full list of sessions at Develop in Liverpool.