GDC Prime is an invite-only forum for heads of studios to collaborate on solutions to the challenges you face in running your development business. The GDC Prime sessions are designed to provoke frank, intellectually honest discussion among attendees about the most pressing issues for the industry today, and what the future will hold. We have invited the peers among us who are thought leaders and crafters of innovative solutions to share openly their successes and challenges. We have also invited speakers working in a related discipline to share their insights and offer new perspectives.

About the GDC Prime Advisory board:

These seasoned industry professionals ensure that the quality of the content provided to attendees is high-level, relevant, and timely. Their input is critical to the success of the seminar. Read below to find out about the extraordinary members of the Prime Advisory Board.

 

Louis Castle
Co-Founder, Westwood Studios & Vice President of Creative Development, Electronic Arts Los Angeles

As part of the management team, Castle helps direct EALA’s programming, artwork, audio, and research & development departments, as well as contributes to studio business strategy. Castle was the general manager of Westwood Studios from 2000-2003 and served in creative, business and finance roles while growing Westwood from two employees in 1985 to over 250 in 2002. In his creative roles, Castle has contributed as executive producer, creative director, technical director, programmer and artist to over 100 games created by Westwood and EA over the past 23 years including best selling original franchises such as COMMAND & CONQUER, LANDS OF LORE and EYE OF THE BEHOLDER as well as block buster licensed original products including THE LORD OF THE RINGS-THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH II, THE LION KING, BLADE RUNNER and MONOPOLY.

Laura Fryer
Executive Producer, Microsoft Games Studios

As Executive Producer for Microsoft Games Studios, Laura Fryer is responsible for shipping great games for the Xbox and Windows platforms. Her most recent titles are "Gears of War" and "Zoo Tycoon".An industry veteran, Laura was one of the first members of Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) in 1995. As a producer, she shipped several games, including the classic "Crimson Skies", and "Fighter Ace", Microsoft's first massively multiplayer game. She also conceived and produced Microsoft's first release of Zone.com.Prior to her return to MGS in 2004, Laura was the Director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, and a founding member of the Xbox project, which she joined in May 2000. During her tenure, she cultivated worldwide Xbox Developer Support, created the Xbox Advisory Board, and ran Xbox game developer events around the globe.Named one of The Hollywood Reporter's "Top 12 Most Influential Women in Gaming" and one of Next Generation's "Game Industry's 100 Most Influential Women", Laura is dedicated to fostering diversity in the games industry.An avid gamer, Laura enjoys taking "video game vacations" to play video games in marathon all-day sessions. Her other hobbies include reading, gardening, juggling, and playing with her dog Jazz.

 

Karthik Bala
Co-Founder, Vicarious Visions

Karthik has led Vicarious Visions since its formation in 1994. He's been in the gaming business for ten years and has had diverse roles ranging from programming, art / animation to marketing and public relations. Karthik enjoys finding innovative solutions to technical and art challenges and always asks for the impossible :). To date, Karthik has over 40 published game titles to his credit on a variety of different platforms. He holds degrees in both Computer Science and Psychology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 

Jeremy Gordon
President, Secret Level

Jeremy Gordon is the Studio Director and Chief Technology Officer of San Francisco based Secret Level, a SEGA studio, developers of games, tools, and technology for the console and PC game markets. At Secret Level, Jeremy is responsible for day-to-day studio management as well as setting and implementing Secret Level's technology strategy. Jeremy has spent the last twelve years running small self-funded game development companies including the past six at Secret Level where he was a founder and served as President and CEO guiding the studio to its successful acquisition by world-renowned video game publisher SEGA.

 

 

 

Read more about the GDC Prime Advisory Board here.