News

Microsoft, one of ECGC's sponsors, is organizing a Hackathon, starting tomorrow (April 25 2013), from 9am to 4pm. Bring your laptop and code along, or just hang out, hack, and ask questions.

There will be cash prices for the ECGC Best Game Contest. $1000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place (must be submitted by May 22nd, only for ECGC attendees). Microsoft also have cash prices for apps. $100 for any app in the Windows marketplace via Windows 8 or Windows phone platform, and up to $2000 total. This contest runs until June 30 2013.

Here are the workshops, all located in the ECGC expo floor:

• 9am to 10am:
  HTML5 Starter Game Kit - Dave Isbitski
• 10am to 11am:
  Cocos 2D Starter Game Kit - Diego Rivera
• 11am to 12pm:
  Impact JS Starter Game Kit - Jesse Freeman
• 12pm to 1pm:
  Open Hack space; Ask the Experts - Microsoft Evangelists
• 1pm to 2pm:
  Impact JS Starter Game Kit - Jesse Freeman
• 2pm to 3pm
  HTML5 Starter Game Kit - Dave Isbitski
• 3pm to 4pm:
  MonoGame Starter Game Kit - Tara Walker
  
  

Submit your game via this link: aka.ms/ECGCWin8Contest

International Game Developers Association Executive Director Kate Edwards, Others To Focus On Industry Jobs At April 24-25 Raleigh Conference

RALEIGH, N.C. – The International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Triangle Game Initiative and the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC) (http://www.ecgconf.com), have announced the launch of a career track as part of this year’s event at the Raleigh Convention Center, located at 500 S. Salisbury St. The career track, the first in the ECGC’s five-year span, will draw job seekers to North Carolina’s capital city to learn more about how to break into the gaming industry. Featuring local companies such as Epic Games, Vicious Cycle and Gamebryo, the career track will give attendees an opportunity to hear what it takes to land a job in the game industry and the various roles and responsibilities available, including community managers, marketing specialists, producers, script writers and game designers.

North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park is home to more than 40 companies developing and publishing games, along with being the U.S. hub for game engine development, with Epic, Vicious Cycle and Gamebryo having headquarters in the region.

Those looking for a career in the game industry will be able to hear firsthand accounts of various game industry roles from a wide array of experts. The 2013 career track schedule includes:

Wednesday, April 24:

• 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: James Morgan, product manager at Sky Parlor Studios, will speak on the “Path to Production,” offering attendees insight in to production management.
• 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: Brian Scates, senior supervisor at Ubisoft and MMI Support, will speak on “Online Support – The New Dev Discipline,” sharing his role in customer support for a gaming company.
• 3:15 p.m. to  4:15 p.m.: Kate Edwards, executive director of IGDA, will speak on “A Call to Action.” providing the ways attendees can look at the industry as a whole.
• 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.: Chris Barney, game engineer and designer for Pearson, will speak on “Racism. Sexism. Classism. Privilege,” looking into the world of gaming design.

Thursday, April 25:

• 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Jerry Kingrey, stock trader and instructor at Wake Technical Community College, will speak on “Stock Trading and the Gaming Industry,” offering a look at the financial side of the gaming industry.
• 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: Andrew Greenberg, president of Georgia Game Developers Association, will speak on “Developer to Owner: Turning Your Game into Your Company,” telling attendees how to make a career as a game developer.
• 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.: Narie Kay, business development associate at ZeeGee Games, will speak with attendees about finding and working with a mentor in the gaming industry.
• 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Jennifer Canada, founder and game designer at Impathy Studios, will speak on “You’re Hired! How to Nail the Interview and Stick the Landing for Artists and Designers,” discussing a final take on getting a job in the game industry.

The ECGC tracks address every sector of game development, including: game design, programming, art/animation/motion capture, writing for games, creating serious games, game education, mobile games and now game careers. ECGC provides opportunities for market leaders, new developers and everyone in between to learn new skills, connect and see in the future of the industry. It is expanding this year by bringing in more well-known speakers and opening its programs to a broader group of attendees.

For more information or to register for the conference, visit http://www.ecgconf.com.

QUOTES:

"What began as a small group of gamers in the Triangle several years ago has quickly expanded to become the largest meeting of gaming professionals on the East Coast, and this year we are proud to be able to expand that reach to include those job seekers interested in breaking into the industry,” said Walter Rotenberry, ECGC co-director and Triangle Game Initiative co-president. “North Carolina is home to a large variety of game companies, and ECGC is an opportunity for everyone, from artists and designers to academics and business executives, to come together to make sure we continue to see this industry thrive and grow in the region."

The Carolina Games Summit will host ShootMania Storm, Gears of War: Judgement, and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier benefit tournaments at the East Coast Game Conference with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Child’s Play Charity. The Conference is being held April 24-25th at the Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina. The tournaments will be held in the Exhibition Hall and will span both days of the event. Registration for the tournaments is free to all conference attendees however a small donation to Child’s Play Charity will be required upon arrival. Tournament registration is currently available at www.CarolinaGamesSummit.com/tournaments.php and will continue on site at the Child’s Play booth in the exhibition hall.

The ShootMania Storm FFA Royal and 3v3 Elite tournaments will be held on Alienware x51 desktops with BenQ XL2420T 24” LED displays and Plantronics GameCom 780 7.1 Channel headsets, the official computer , monitor, and headset of the Carolina Games Summit. The Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Guerilla Mode score tournament and Gears of War: Judgement 4v4 tournament will be held on XBOX 360 consoles with BenQ XL2420T 24” LED displays customized with FPS presets and Plantronics GameCom X40 headsets.

Full color custom made plaques will be awarded to the first place winners in all tournaments along with prizes from the developers of the games, many of whom are attending and speaking at the East Coast Games Conference and will be available to talk with tournament participants at various times during the event. Prospective attendees must purchase their East Coast Game Conference passes from ecgconf.com/register.

If you are unable to attend donations are accepted online via the official Child’s Play donation widget here: bit.ly/10a8Pe3

RALEIGH, Durham -- April 12, 2013 – Epic, EA and Ubisoft designers and engineers will deliver track lead speeches at this year’s East Coast Games Conference (ECGC), April 24-25, 2013 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, N.C. 

Speakers Include:

• Art - Jim Brown, Lead Level Designer, Epic Games
• Programming - Stephane Imbert, Technical Director, Electronic Arts North Carolina
• Education - Greg Stelmack, Senior Software Engineer,  Ubisoft Red Storm
• Design - Christopher Barney, Game Engineer,  Pearson Education
• Serious Games - Dan Baden, Senior Liason and Game Design Consultant,  Centers for Disease Control
• Writing - Matt Forbeck, Freelance Author and Game Designer
• Mobile - Ethan Levy, Co-founder, Quarter Spiral

Cliff Bleszinski, former Epic Games Design Director, and Jason Vandenberghe, Ubisoft Montreal Creative Director, will deliver the keynote addresses at this year’s event.

In addition to the previously mentioned tracks, Game Careers will also be emphasized with its own track, speakers and a career lounge.

The IGDA is co-producing the ECGC conference this year.  Lifetime members of the association will be provided a free pass. 

"Some of the brightest minds employed by the biggest companies in the industry will share lessons learned from decades of experience, providing actionable insight to the conference’s attendees,” Dustin Clingman, Chair, IGDA, said. “ECGC provides a unique learning opportunity for game developers on the east coast with a second-to-none lineup."

Individuals interested in attending can register at: http://east-coast-game-conference-2013.eventbrite.com/

For more information, visit the site: http://www.ecgconf.com/

About East Coast Games Conference:
Once called the Triangle Game Conference, the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC) has become a leading forum for industry professionals to share expertise, network and build careers.

About IGDA:
The International Game Developers Association is a global, non-profit membership organization serving individuals who create video games.

April 3, 2013 - Three world-renowned DJs will perform at Epic Games' ECGC 2013 Opening Night Party, kicking off the East Coast Games Conference (ECGC) in style on Wednesday, April 24, at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, N.C. As a platinum sponsor of ECGC, Epic is bringing performances by Gramatik, Cherub and HeRobust as well as open bar access to registered ECGC attendees.

"Epic is showing incredible support for this year's East Coast Games Conference, and this party is a must-attend event,” said Walter Rotenberry, CEO, ECGC. “Video game creators of all kinds will come together under one roof to enjoy like-minded company as well as a great line-up of talented chill out, electro-pop and downtempo musical artists."

Featured Artists:

Gramatik
With more than 100,000 tracks sold on Beatport.com, topping all kinds of genre charts, Gramatik is considered a world-class producer. He earned nominations for “Best Chill Out Artist” and “Best Chill Out Track” at the 2010 and 2012 Beatport Music Awards. Gramatik has performed at festivals across the US including gigs at Lightning in a Bottle, Wakarusa, Electric Forest, Camp Bisco, Wanderlust and many more.

Cherub
Cherub is a sexy, avante garde, electro-pop duo that is the dance love-child of 80’s funk, and pop-music from the future. Cherub’s music is a fresh electrified take on risqué pop music that brings to mind timeless artists like Prince, Zapp and Roger in addition to more contemporary artists like Pharrel as well as The Dream. With a live show that is bouncing with energy, Cherub dances their way into the hearts of audiences from the first falsetto hook, until the very last delay filters out.

HeRobust
Hayden Kramer, a.k.a. HeRobust, is an Atlanta-based producer that has been blending genres ever since he emerged onto the electronic music scene. HeRobust's debut EP, Albumin, was released on Saturate Records and was quickly recognized by industry leaders such as XLR8R, Mad Decent, Vice and Jay Scarlet of Beat Dimensions. HeRobust has shared the stage with the likes of Flying Lotus, Daddy Kev, Gaslamp Killer, Salva, NiTGrit, Shlohmo, Shigeto and many more.

Feb. 25, 2013 – Cliff Bleszinski, former Epic Games Design Director, and Jason Vandenberghe, Ubisoft Montreal Game Designer, will keynote this year's East Coast Games Conference (ECGC) April 24-25, 2013 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, N.C.

Bleszinski, a veteran of the video game industry, shipped his first commercial title, Jazz Jackrabbit, in high school. During his tenure at Epic, Bleszinski was a key visionary behind the award-winning, multimillion-selling Unreal game series and the billion-dollar Gears of War franchise, which has eclipsed 19 million copies sold worldwide and crossed over into novels, comics, film, action figures and merchandise. He also lent his creative expertise to Fortnite, ChAIR Entertainment's Infinity Blade series and multiple unannounced projects.

Vandenberghe, another veteran AAA action/adventure game designer, started out as a programmer on The X-Files Game and then spent six years at EA making James Bond games: Agent Under Fire, Nightfire, Everything or Nothing (his first lead design role) and From Russia With Love.  He later worked on The Godfather and Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Vandenberghe then moved to Activision where he actively contributed to X-Men: The Movie Game, the Call of Duty and Guitar Hero franchisesand Spider-Man.  In 2008, he was offered an opportunity he couldn’t refuse: to make 1st-person sword & gun play fun at Ubisoft Paris. 

The IGDA is presenting the ECGC conference this year. In addition to a Games Design, Programming, Art/Animation and Mobile Games tracks, ECGC will offer Writing for Games, Serious Games, Game Careers and a faculty track: Game Education.

"We'll befeaturing a world class group of speakers," Dustin Clingman, Chair, IGDA, said. "We're bringing learning opportunities closer for developers in the eastern half of the U.S. and any other industry professionals that want to join us."

Individuals interested in attending can register at: http://east-coast-game-conference-2013.eventbrite.com/ 

About East Coast Games Conference
Once called the Triangle Game Conference, the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC) has become a leading forum for industry professionals to share expertise, network and build careers.

About IGDA
The International Game Developers Association is a global, non-profit membership organization serving individuals who create video games.

Tuesday, Feb. 12 – A stellar list of speakers and eight tracks addressing nearly every sector of game development are scheduled for this year’s East Coast Games Conference April 24-25, 2013 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, N.C. The IGDA is co-producing the conference this year with the Triangle Game Initiative, bringing in more heavyweight speakers and opening up the conference to a broader group of attendees.

This year's conference will include a new Writing for Games track, an expanded Serious Games track and a Game Careers track for people that would like to get into the industry.

"We're taking a great regional game industry conference and making it better," explains Dustin Clingman, chair, IGDA. "We're showcasing the East Coast of the U.S. as a regional power house for game development. This year’s conference will feature a world class group of speakers."

The ECGC provides an opportunity for market leaders, new developers and everyone in-between to learn new skills, connect and see into the future of the industry. The program will feature panels and lectures by game industry leaders covering a wide variety of topics, as well as an Expo and Career Lounge and the extremely popular return of Unreal University.

Tracks offered this year will be:

• Game Design
• Programming
• Art/Animation/Motion Capture
• Writing for Games
• Creating Serious Games
• Game Education
• Mobile Games
• Game Careers

Once called the Triangle Game Conference, the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC) has become the leading East Coast forum for game industry professionals to share expertise, network, and build careers. The Research Triangle Park in North Carolina is home to more than 40 companies developing, publishing, along with being the U.S. hub for game engine development with Epic, Vicious Cycle and Gamebryo having headquarters in the region.

The International Game Developers Association is the largest non-profit membership organization serving individuals who create video games. We bring together developers at conferences, in local chapters and in special interest groups to improve their lives and craft.