The GDC Prime conference is held in a symposium style setting at the US Grant Hotel. The conference is comprised of specially selected industry and visionary speakers and solution engendering workshops.
Topics covered at GDC Prime include:
- Identifying and Building Studio Value
- Building Value in Tech and Creative IP
- Building Value in People
- Building Value in Customers
- What Are We Missing?
- Entertainment
- Technology and the Internet
- Consumers
- Managing your People Investment in Realtime
- Nine Components of Successful Game Project Management
- Best Practices in Dynamic Staffing
- Effective People Investment
Session Descriptions
Day One (Tuesday, Dec 4)
Optional Gold Networking Event. (No official session content)
12:15pm Shotgun Start
Steele Canyon Golf Club
Scramble Format (max par rule)
Featured Discussion:
Identifying and Building Studio Value
9-10am
Moderator:
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Louis Castle, Co-Founder, Westwood Studios & Vice President of Creative Development, Electronic Arts Los Angeles
Developer/Publisher:
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Brian Woodhouse, Business Director, Bizarre Creations
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Michael Griffith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Activision Publishing, Inc.
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David Mann, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer,Foundation 9 Entertainment
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Jon Goldman, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Foundation 9 Entertainment
Conventional wisdom places development studio value in either IP (creative, engines, tools) or financials (royalty streams). The people evaluating your studio – whether investors, an acquirer or internal head of development – may have different ideas. How do we value a team's track record? high retention rate? tight R&D relationship with the local university? robust player community? Each speaker will discuss where they look for value in a development studio, and will give sample financial valuation metrics for each component.
10-10:30 Break
Workshop 1
Building Value in Tech and Creative IP
10:30am-12pm
Takeaway: The working group will identify value components in technology, tools and creative IP, and best practices to build that value.
-Moderator: Kathy Schoback, CMP Game Group
Workshop 2
Building Value in People
10:30am-12pm
Takeaway: The working group will identify where value lives in a studio's people, and best practices to build that value.
-Moderator: Jamil Moledina, CMP Game Group
Workshop 3
Building Value in Customers
10:30am-12pm
Takeaway: The working group will identify where value lives in a studio's customers – whether publishers, retailers or endusers - and best practices to build that value.
-Moderator: Loria Ryan, CMP Game Group
Reconvene/Report-Out
12-12:30
Moderators report key findings from each workshop to all attendees.
12:30-1 Break
1-2:30 Plated Lunch
Featured Speaker
What Are We Missing?
3-4pm
Speaker: Raph Koster, President, Areae, Inc.
For over twenty-five years, video games have lived on the sharp point where technology meets consumer entertainment. Our industry arguably went mainstream once the (mis-)quote "bigger than movie box office" no longer needed substantiation. What will be "bigger than videogames"? Will we see it coming? Have we already missed it? This speaker will draw our attention to happenings in entertainment, technology or the consumer space that we may not yet care about – but should.
Workshop 4
Entertainment
4-5:30pm
Takeaway: Participants will share trends, events and data they're watching in entertainment that could affect the business of game development, then recommend the ones most worthy of studio heads' attention.
-Moderator: Kathy Schoback, CMP Game Group
Workshop 5
Technology and the Internet
4-5:30pm
Takeaway: Participants will share trends, events and data they're watching in technology and the Internet that could affect the business of game development, then recommend the ones most worthy of studio heads' attention.
-Moderator: Jamil Moledina, CMP Game Group
Workshop 6
Consumers
4-5:30pm
Takeaway: Participants will share trends, events and data they're watching about consumers that could affect the business of game development, then recommend the ones most worthy of studio heads' attention.
-Moderator: Loria Ryan, CMP Game Group
Reconvene/Report-Out
5:30-6pm
Moderators report key findings from each workshop to all attendees.
6-7pm Break
7pm Cocktails
7:30pm Dinner
Day Three (Thursday, Dec 6)
Featured Speaker
Managing your People Investment in Realtime,
Speaker: Janos Flösser, Managing Director, Io-Interactive/Eidos
9-10am
The biggest variable affecting a game development budget's ROI – and the most difficult one to manage dynamically - is the investment in people. What skillsets and behaviors should we invest in as full-time employees – who are worth the increase in fixed overhead? What non-core skills should we treat as variable investment? How do we manage this tradeoff when the financial landscape or project priorities change? This speaker will answer these questions from his/her experience managing a successful team.
Workshop 7
Nine Components of Successful Game Project Management
10:30am-12pm
Takeaway: The working group will identify roles/competencies that are essential to a well-run project, then identify the relationships among the competencies. Studio heads can evaluate their existing project management structure against these groupings, identify skills gaps, and redefine hiring needs.
-Moderator: Kathy Schoback, CMP Game Group
Workshop 8
Best Practices in Dynamic Staffing
10:30am-12pm
Takeaway: The working group will identify proven ways to continuously assess and adjust staffing while maintaining productivity and workplace quality.
-Moderator: Jamil Moledina, CMP Game Group
Workshop 9
10:30am-12pm
Effective People Investment
Takeaway: The working group will identify which components of "people costs" – salary, health insurance, office location, profit sharing – make the most effective investments that materially improve project ROI.
-Moderator: Loria Ryan, CMP Game Group
12-12:30: Reconvene/Report-Out
Moderators report key findings from each workshop to all attendees.
1pm Buffet Lunch/Send Off (To Go boxes available)
To ReQuest an Invitaion, Email prime@gdcprime.com.
