PAX Prime organizers today revealed the various panels and discussions planned for PAX Dev on Wednesday, August 24 and Thursday, August 25 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. Some of the speakers and panelists taking part in PAX DEV include John Scott Tynes of Microsoft, Mike Selinker of Lone Shark Games, Daniel James of Three Rings, Chris Hecker of Spy Party, and many others.
Topics include everything from the trials and tribulations of going from being a professional developer working for a major company to an indie, to how Roger Ebert's criticism of games as not being art is spot on.
Sessions include (but are not limited to) the following:
"Why Roger Ebert Was Right" – John Scott Tynes of Microsoft - An examination of how as game designers we have almost entirely failed to integrate games with stories. It's time to blow it all up and start over!
"Not Waving but Drowning: Networked Multiplayer Indie Game Architecture" – Chris Hecker of Spy Party – A lecture for developers seriously considering throwing their lives away to make their indie game work over the internet with a somewhat modern set of features and reasonable level of polish and scalability.
"The Price Tag" – Daniel James of Three Rings – Look at the choices we make as developers; and those that may be made for us when games meet the audience and business meets the market.
"Are They Dead Yet?" – Post-mortem of "Orcs Must Die!" that examines the great and, uh, not-so-great decisions along the way.
"PuzzleCraft: How to Design Every Puzzle Type Ever" – Mike Selinker of Lone Shark Games – Discussion of the placement and purpose of puzzles (electronic and tabletop), the effects they have on players' psyche and the process of creating elegant and creative challenges.
"From the Cubicle to the Basement: Corporate Devs Go Indie" – A frank and open discussion with a panel of game developers have left successful careers in the traditional studio model to go out on their own as indies.
A full schedule of events and speakers at PAX DEV can be found here. Tickets cost $329 and can be purchased at dev.paxsite.com.
