David Helgason To Keynote Canadian Games Conference
Along with a reminder that the deadline for Early Bird ticket prices for this year’s Canadian Games Conference is April 25th, organizers have confirmed that David Helgason will open this year’s Conference with a 9:30am keynote address on Thursday, May 19th. David, an entrepreneur, visionary and ex-programmer, has served as the CEO of Unity Technologies since co-founding it in 2003. 
Canadian Games Conference has also announced the following sessions, and I believe there are still more session announcements yet to come:
4 Art Directions in One Game: Mission Possible? – Thomas Wilson, Creative Director, Beenox
What Makes a Good Pitch? Lance Davis, Slant Six and Rob Caouette, Export Development Canada
Microsoft KINECT Showcase
Social Games: Manipulating Your Brain Chemistry for Good – Michael Fergusson, CEO, Ayogo Games Inc.
From AAA Console Game Development to iPhone – Chris Ulm, Appy Entertainment
Musing About Cloud – Denis Dyak, President, Silicon Knights
Evolution of an App – Matt Chilek, VP, Softlayer Technologies
How FIFA Stumbled on a New Business Model – Paul Hossack, EA
How MMOs Really Work – Simon Ludgate, Soulrift and Craig Morrison, Creative Director, Funcom Games
On-Line Everywhere – Cyrus Greenall, Ubisoft Vancouver
The Design Evolution of HOARD – Tyler Sigman, Big Sandwich Games
Use Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Studio – Matt Tanner, Business Development Manager, Snowed in Studios
So You Want to be a Game Programmer? – Karl Schmidt, Programmer, THQ
An Argument for Smaller Big Games – Raphael van Lierop, Relic
How to Self Fund Development – RBC, Export Development Canada and Big Sandwich Games
Cross Platform iOS Development – Wolfgang Hamann, CEO, Koolhaus Games
DO Sweat the Small Stuff – Kris Piotrowski, Creative Director, Capybara Games
Please visit the Conference site for a full listing of speaker sessions and bios.
Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Canadian Videogame Awards on May 18th, featuring Video Games Live. The show will be held at the Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, and will be hosted by Electric Playground’s Victor Lucas. This is the party that will kick-off CGC, and tickets start at just $30.00. Join the biggest names in the Canadian game industry as we celebrate Canadian excellence.
