Program
| 8:30am | Breakfast and Registration Join your fellow attendees for breakfast and some pre-conference mingling. Register in advance to save money and time at registration. |
| 9:45am | Conference Welcome Charles Hudson and Jeremy Liew |
| 10:00am | What Makes Games Fun? We all like to have fun, right? What is it about games that makes them so fun? Is it gameplay? Social interaction? Achievements and accomplishments? Our panel of thought leaders will share their perspectives on what it takes to build a fun game and why building fun into games is more difficult than it looks. Panelists: » Erik Bethke - CEO, GoPets » Dr. Ian Bogost - Founding Partner, Persuasive Games » Nicole Lazzaro - President, XEODesign, Inc. » John Welch - Co-Founder, President & CEO, PlayFirst Moderator: » Jeremy Liew - Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| 11:00am | Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds Many so-called "casual MMOs" and immersive worlds are casual only in the sense that the point of the game is not to bash gruesome looking monsters or the game isn't set in a sci-fi fantasy world. The engagement story around existing and upcoming casual MMOs is real and very compelling. This panel will discuss what it takes to build a successful casual MMO that users love to play. Panelists: » Min Kim - Vice President of Marketing, Nexon America » Patrick Ford, VP Marketing and Community Development, K2 Networks » Kyra Reppen - SVP and GM, NeoPets » Craig Sherman - CEO, Gaia Online Moderator: » Joey Seiler - Editor, Virtual Worlds News |
| 12:00pm | Lunch We'll have box lunches available for everyone from 12 PM to 1:30. Grab a bite and take advantage of the opportunity to catch up with friends, check your Blackberry, or recharge your batteries. |
| 1:30pm | Asynchronous Games on Social Networks There are a lot of interesting asynchronous activities happening on social networks. Some of them are traditional games, others are games in disguise. Join us and hear from some of the leading voices in this space share their views on how to build great gameplay characteristics into social networking applications and what opportunities exist for gameplay to take advantage of the social graph. Panelists: » Siqi Chen - Founder, Serious Business (Friends for Sale) » Blake Commagere - Founder and VP Engineering, Mogad » Shervin Pishevar - CEO, Social Gaming Network » Mike Sego - Developer, (fluff)Friends Moderator: » Andrew Chung - Principal, Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| 2:30pm | User Generated Games in Social Networks and Virtual Worlds Games are one of the most popular activities on social networks and virtual worlds. Increasingly, users are taking it upon themselves to create games and entertainment of their own within the context of existing online environments. Curious as to what's driving this behavior? This is the panel for you. Panelists: » Daniel James - CEO, Three Rings » Jeremy Monroe - Director of Business Development, Sports & Entertainment, North America, Sulake Inc. » Ted Rheingold - Founder, Dogster and Catster » Cary Rosenzweig - President and CEO, IMVU Moderator: » Dean Takahashi - Writer, Venture Beat |
| 3:30pm | Break |
| 4:00pm | Building Communities and Social Interaction In and Around Games Social networking and games go hand in hand. Whether it's taking advantage of the relationship data in social networks to build novel gameplay or building community among people who play games, game developers are discovering clever ways to build real communities around the games they're developing. Hear from our panel of thought leaders about what it takes to successfully integrate community and social interaction into the next generation of games. Panelists: » Jim Greer - CEO, Kongregate » Amy Jo Kim - CEO, Shufflebrain » Mark Pincus - Founder and CEO, Zynga Game Network » Dave Williams - SVP, Shockwave, AddictingGames Moderator: » Brandon Sheffield - Gamasutra |
| 5:00pm | Monetization and Business Models for Social Games There are a handful of viable (proven) business models for social games. How should game developers go about choosing the best business model for their games? Our panel of experts will share their thoughts on the various business models and how to think through the right one for a given game. Panelists: » Jameson Hsu - Co-Founder and CEO, Mochi Media » Matt Mihaly - CEO and Creative Director, Sparkplay Media » Mattias Miksche - CEO, Stardoll » David Perry - CCO, Acclaim Moderator: » Ravi Mhatre - Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| 6:00pm | Reception After a full day of conference sessions and conversations, join the group for a beverage before you head out for the evening. |
| 7:00pm | Unofficial Conference After Parties Looking for something fun to do once the conference is over? Check these out! » Join Zynga and Women 2.0 for a party at the Zynga offices (365 Vermont Street) with great food, fun drinks and and awesome DJ. Bus transportation will be provided from UCSF beginning at 7 PM. » $uper Rewards After Party starts at 7:00pm and stops when you've had enough. Enjoy the open bar on Harlot's (46 Minna St) Mezzanine level, DJ Duse Rock, and food from Sushi Groove. Transport to the club will be provided. |
