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NZGDC17

Purchase your ticket for NZGDC17 now at https://nzgdc17.lilregie.com!

Interested in attending a Workshop? If you have a valid NZGDC17 ticket, you can register at: https://nzgdc17workshops.lilregie.com.
We will be checking each registration to ensure this, so please purchase your NZGDC17 pass before registering for Workshops.

10:40am NZST

The Cost of Making a Game

Speaker Feedback

This session will focus on the tangible and intangible costs of making a game, with attendees given the chance to see the 'real' cost of running a small independent team - ranging from overheads to stress management. This talk will utilize Opaque Space's journey into their VR title 'Earthlight' and cover the methods used to not only make a sustainable studio, but also discuss the failures, challenges and difficulties encountered.

Speakers

Emre Deniz

Director, Opaque Space

Emre Deniz has been working in Virtual Reality for the past four years, being one of the first developers in Australia to work on the HTC Vive as well as having worked as both lead game designer and artist on multiple projects in Virtual, Augmented and Mobile experiences. Emre has... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 10:40am - 11:25am NZST
WG403

Production & Business

11:35am NZST

Smarter Monetisation with Google Analytics for Firebase

Speaker Feedback

Learn how Google Analytics for Firebase and AdMob seamlessly work together to help you optimize and generate more revenue in your app. This session dives into how you can use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how ads impact user experience, how different audiences interact with ads and spend on IAP, and how to think about LTV holistically, across all revenue streams.

Speakers

Clifford Cohn

AUNZ Apps Lead, Google

Clifford leads the AdMob team for Google in Australia and New Zealand, and he recently relocated to Sydney from Tokyo, where he called home for 6 years. In Japan, he was part of a global strategy team focused on Google's publisher monetisation products. Prior to Google, he was in... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 11:35am - 11:55am NZST
WG404

Production & Business

11:35am NZST

Top 10 Tricks for Community Management (with or without a dedicated CM)

Speaker Feedback

New to building and managing a community? Not sure if you need a community manager? Scared that your players will be meanies? This talk is for you! Take a crash course in Community Management and learn to love communicating with your players rather than fearing them. I will be going through ten different steps discussing uses for different social media platforms and ways to talk to different audiences and demographics (including meanies) to make their contributions feel meaningful and extend the game experience beyond the game itself.

Speakers

Lisa Blakie

Community Manager, Runaway Play

Lisa is the Community Manager for mobile free-to-play developer Runaway, based out of Dunedin, New Zealand. She is responsible for extending the experience of Runaway's portfolio of 'games inspired by nature' beyond the apps, and out into myriad social channels, while retaining a... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 11:35am - 11:55am NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

1:15pm NZST

Managing Your Career Through Turmoil

Speaker Feedback

Game development is a career filled with ups and downs. Turmoil can be good and bad-but it always takes a toll on you personally and professionally. Learn how you can anticipate challenges, minimize the impact of change and disruption, and recover for maximum health, happiness, and career impact.

Speakers

Jen MacLean

Managing Director, IGDA Foundation

From the start of her career in 1992 at Microprose Software, through senior roles at AOL, Comcast and StoryArc Media, Jen has managed game development, strategy, marketing, business development and partnerships across multiple gaming platforms. Jen earned a BA in international relations... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 1:15pm - 2:00pm NZST
WG403

Production & Business

1:15pm NZST

Why we don't worry how people find us on the App Store

Speaker Feedback

Magical Park, a geospatial AR game, has got a very unusual business concept which was born from the question "How will we be found on the App Store?" This question resulted in a very new revenue model that utilises impact networks, is free to play, follows ethical game rules for kids and make money through councils. We hope that with our unusual business model other gaming companies will get inspired and think about other ways to generate revenue.

Speakers

Melanie Langlotz

Co-Founder, Geo AR Games

Melanie Langlotz is the co-founder of Geo AR Games, an Auckland based gaming technology start up which is best known for its product Magical Park. Magical Park is the world's 1st digital Playground and it fills urban city parks with fairy creatures and gets kids off the couch and... Read More →

Amie Wolken

Co-Founder, Geo AR Games

Amie holds a Bachelor law degree, which often comes very handy. She also holds a BA Degree in Computer Science and BA in Animal Biology and Psychology. Amie is a programmer/developer and has held positions like Support Manager and Operations Manager. She is a Director on the Board... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 1:15pm - 2:00pm NZST
WG907

Production & Business

2:10pm NZST

Rapid Prototyping in Unreal and the Importance of a good pipeline

Speaker Feedback

This talk is brought to you by Epic Games.

John and Saxon talk about the importance of having a rock solid workflow when dealing with real time development. How it can help manage expectations, clients, managers and ultimately make a better end product. They go over things such as decoupled coding and art, the importance of source control, reusing assets and whiteboxing.

Speakers

Saxon Dixon

Real Time Technical Artist and UX Designer, Virtual Immersive

Saxon is a Real-Time Artist and VR UX Designer with around 10 years experience in the Games and Interactive industry. Designing good looking and well playing experiences in everything from Mobile to Triple A games, he is one of Australia’s leading experts in VR UX. Saxon’s interests... Read More →

John Doolan

Lead Software Engineer, Virtual Immersive

John is a rendering and interactive graphics guru based in Sydney Australia. He's been in the Australian development scene for over 20 years. He has been lead programmer on multiple VR projects including SkyKraken and Infiniti VR. He is a co-founder of the Official UE4 Sydney Meetup... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 2:10pm - 2:55pm NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

2:10pm NZST

Yonder: The Startup Chronicles

Speaker Feedback

Yonder: The Startup Chronicles covers the journey Prideful Sloth took from inception to releasing Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. Cheryl covers a range of topics including the thought process and methodology that Prideful Sloth used to setup the company, how they approached funding for their project , as well as how cost and benefit trade-offs were addressed through the development process.

Speakers

Cheryl Vance

Director, Prideful Sloth

Cheryl Vance is a Brisbane based game developer and co-founder of Prideful Sloth - a micro-AAA developer known for technical excellence in world-building and a focus on player-driven experiences. Cheryl cut her teeth in the Australian development scene, and after working on several... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 2:10pm - 2:55pm NZST
WG126

Production & Business

3:30pm NZST

The struggles of transitioning Depth to a service based game

Speaker Feedback

There are plenty of pain points and struggles when transitioning any game to a service. This is the story of how we did that for Depth and how we did it.

Speakers

James Tan

Director, Digital Confectioners

James Tan is one of the directors of Digital Confectioners, a 100% independent studio that developed Depth.

Thursday September 7, 2017 3:30pm - 4:15pm NZST
WG403

Production & Business

3:30pm NZST

BizDev GameDevs: Indie Businesses and Beyond [Panel]

Speaker Feedback

This session will have a break from 16:15 to 16:25.

Accounting. Legal. Taxes. Overheads. Project Proposals. Fund Raising. Clients. Advertising. Come join game developers turned business owners to hear about the challenges of running studios, from 1-person outfits to large scale operations, as well as the state of the industry for ANZ developers.

Moderators

Emre Deniz

Director, Opaque Space

Emre Deniz has been working in Virtual Reality for the past four years, being one of the first developers in Australia to work on the HTC Vive as well as having worked as both lead game designer and artist on multiple projects in Virtual, Augmented and Mobile experiences. Emre has... Read More →

Speakers

Derek Bradley

CEO, Aurora44

Derek Bradley is CEO/Game Director at Aurora44, an independent games studio based in Wellington, New Zealand. Ashen, the first title from Aurora44, is being published by Annapurna Interactive and has been featured in the Xbox E3 Briefing in 2015 and 2017. Having worked at Weta Digital... Read More →

Steph Hall

Producer, RocketWerkz

Steph Hall is the Producer at RocketWerkz, a Dunedin-based Game Development Studio where she is involved in production at a project-level basis, as well as company operations and growth. She assisted with the setup of the studio in 2015, since which it has grown to 45 staff. In... Read More →

Zoe Hobson

Managing Director, Runaway Play

Zoe is the Managing Director of Runaway Play, an independent game developer and publisher making beautiful games inspired by the natural world. Zoe has a strong background in the media industry. She has worked in game production, film production, digital media, print media and television... Read More →

Maru Nihoniho

Managing Director, Metia Interactive

Maru is the managing director, game producer and designer at Metia Interactive. Maru is the game designer behind the development of SPARX, an interactive game based on cognitive behavioural therapy, designed to help young people manage their depression. In 2016 Maru was awarded a... Read More →

Samantha Ramlu

Managing Director and Co-Founder, Method, M Theory

Sam is the Managing Director and co-founder of Method – an award winning creative innovations agency, and M Theory – an AR/VR experience agency.Since 2003 Method has worked with clients to create unique and compelling digital experiences that engage and entertain. Method has been... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 3:30pm - 4:45pm NZST
WG308

Production & Business, Panel

4:25pm NZST

From nothing to Armageddon in 9 days

Speaker Feedback

Discover what it took for two people to go from no game to having a working product being showcased at the NZGDA booth at Armageddon working part-time. Learn why and how we did it, and what we learned from sharing our game with hundreds of people.

Speakers

Leith Caldwell

Technical Director, CloudFire Studios

Leith Caldwell is a senior developer with 15 years experience in programming and team leadership, multiple computer science degrees and production experience at a US game studio. Leith is the Technical Lead at CloudFire Studios, currently producing Rampage Arena, a high speed, physics-based... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 4:25pm - 4:45pm NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

4:25pm NZST

What are your in-app payment options and why do they matter

Speaker Feedback

When starting a new app, one of the last things most developers think about is how to monetise. Come join me to find out what your different options are and why it is important to think about this when developing the user experience for your apps.

Speakers

Jason Fischer

Head of Development, Bambora

Jason Fischer is a mobile enthusiast, developer, admirer or simple, elegant design and leads the development teams at Bambora in the APAC region. He has designed and developed software for web, desktop and mobile for individuals, business and customer facing applications in different... Read More →

Thursday September 7, 2017 4:25pm - 4:45pm NZST
WG126

Production & Business

9:15am NZST

Analytics for independent developers: How to benefit from game analytics, without the headaches

Speaker Feedback

We all know there’s a goldmine of precious information about your users’ gaming habits locked inside that game analytics data of yours, but the trick is trying to get to it. Despite what you might think, you don’t need a PhD in Data Mining to extract meaningful lessons from your analytics. Join analytics and monetisation guru Christina Chen for a practical talk targeted at Independent Developers to crack open that tough nut of data and get to the tasty information inside.

Speakers

Christina Chen

Managing Director, Second Sight

Christina Chen is an expert and entrepreneur in the field of data-driven player optimization and monetisation design. With a background in software engineering, Christina played a significant role in the formation of the SaaS approach at Microsoft. She worked on the payment services... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 9:15am - 10:00am NZST
WG403

Production & Business

9:15am NZST

Great workplaces by Design [Panel]

Speaker Feedback

This session will have a break from 10:00 to 10:10.

Many have been unfortunate enough to experience what it’s like toiling in a bad workplace – but it doesn’t have to be this way… This panel will explore what makes a workplace great, and how to structure teams and enable effective communications to maximize efficiency in a way which is both professionally fulfilling and as stress free as possible for everyone. During the session there will be the opportunity to share things that have gone wrong in the workplace, and more importantly, gone right!

Moderators

Liam Esler

Narrative Consultant

Liam Esler is a narrative consultant, diversity advocate, producer and event manager from Melbourne, Australia. He works with the Game Developers’ Association of Australia to manage Game Connect Asia Pacific, Australia’s game development conference, and is Co-Director of GX Australia... Read More →

Speakers

Emre Deniz

Director, Opaque Space

Emre Deniz has been working in Virtual Reality for the past four years, being one of the first developers in Australia to work on the HTC Vive as well as having worked as both lead game designer and artist on multiple projects in Virtual, Augmented and Mobile experiences. Emre has... Read More →

Zoe Hobson

Managing Director, Runaway Play

Zoe is the Managing Director of Runaway Play, an independent game developer and publisher making beautiful games inspired by the natural world. Zoe has a strong background in the media industry. She has worked in game production, film production, digital media, print media and television... Read More →

Jen MacLean

Managing Director, IGDA Foundation

From the start of her career in 1992 at Microprose Software, through senior roles at AOL, Comcast and StoryArc Media, Jen has managed game development, strategy, marketing, business development and partnerships across multiple gaming platforms. Jen earned a BA in international relations... Read More →

Calliope Newman Ryder

Student and Game Designer, RohoBlanco

Calliope is a game art student in her second year at Media Design School. She previously worked for a public relations consultancy, and is currently developing a physical game commercially. She is a passionate advocate of the importance of mental health, and probably reads too much... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 9:15am - 10:30am NZST
WG308

Production & Business, Panel

10:10am NZST

Game Jams and community building

Speaker Feedback

My experiences hosting two game jams and their results

Speakers

Juan Alejandro Rodríguez Morais

Student

Student at Media Design School, and Panama Game Jam co-founder.

Friday September 8, 2017 10:10am - 10:30am NZST
WG907

Production & Business

10:10am NZST

The Impacts of Immigration on People in Games

Speaker Feedback

The impacts of immigration laws on people involved in the games industry - such as visas impacting access to conventions & events, the vagaries of work permits, and how immigration gets expressed in games.

Speakers

Creatrix Tiara

Creative Producer / Media-Maker / Writer / Artist / Activist

Creatrix Tiara works with creative arts & media, technology, games, community cultural development, and education to explore ideas around community, identity, liminality, belonging, and social justice. She is a life-long writer, a strident activist for rights to self-determination... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 10:10am - 10:30am NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

10:40am NZST

Creating Studio Culture: Dino Polo Club Year 1

Speaker Feedback

Studio culture is incredibly important to studios of all sizes, but for something that can make or break a studio, it isn’t widely talked about. Navi will discuss the conscious development of studio culture at Dinosaur Polo Club as they navigate their first year of having employees. Full of useful takeaways about how to start looking at your own studio culture and where to start improving it, this talk isn't just for indie studios, promise!

Speakers

Navi Brouwer

Producer, Dinosaur Polo Club

Navi is the producer at Dinosaur Polo Club (makers of Mini Metro) and an organiser for two of Wellington’s yearly game jams. Her first career was in the wilderness of Vancouver, Canada as a primary school teacher. She then shifted into games as a QA Tester at PikPok before picking... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 10:40am - 11:25am NZST
WG403

Production & Business

10:40am NZST

eSports in NZ – assessing the opportunities

Speaker Feedback

This session will have a break from 11:25 to 11:35.

This panel will be covering the following topics:

Current state of play of eSports in NZ, and in a global context (how advanced / retrograde as we in comparison to the rest of the world / size of market opportunity)
What are the specific opportunities for eSports in NZ, both domestically, in Australasia, and globally?
What are the opportunities to improve accessibility for both amateur and professional eSports athletes with disabilities? Are there any easy wins, and how, longer term, can we inject systemically more support for players with disabilities that will grow and improve over time? Is there an opportunity for NZ to take a leadership role in this?
What are the game development trends that have fed the growth of eSports, and how have the game types being played changed?
What are the opportunities for disruption in eSports from a game design and development perspective?

Moderators

Tim Ponting

Director, Renegade PR

Tim Ponting has 30 years’ experience in media and marketing communications, initially as a multi-award winning journalist in music, technology and gaming magazines, from editing ZERO to the launch of ground-breaking PC Zone, followed by 5 years at Activision as European PR Director... Read More →

Speakers

Ben Lenihan

President, NZ eSports Federation

Ben is President of the New Zealand ESports Federation as well as a NZ qualified lawyer specialising in technology and business. He has also advised commercial operators on the establishment of eSports businesses and the operation of eSports events.Having worked as a lawyer throughout... Read More →

Duane Mutu

Director, Letplay.live

Duane Mutu is a director of Letplay.live (LPL), an Australian and New Zealand-based eSports media company. LPL is engaged in the business of developing and promoting esports tournaments and broadcast content. Duane is also spokesperson for the New Zealand eSports Federation. Duane... Read More →

Kim Robinson

General Manager, Techable Trust

Kim advocates for full inclusion of people with disabilities in all sectors of society including gaming. Kim is keen to see eSports become fully acessible to gamers with disabilities.

Jason Spiller

Campaign Manager, OMEN Gaming

Jason is a passionate Marketer, Product Manager and Community Architect. With experience across the game, esports and technology sectors. Over the last ten years he has built dedicated communities and overseen a high level of digital transformation within the software business. During... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 10:40am - 11:55am NZST
WG308

Production & Business, Panel

11:35am NZST

Kickstarter Success! now what?

Speaker Feedback

Looking at the success of our Kickstarter and Greenlight campaigns from almost one year ago, how we did it and what we would do differently now and then what has happened since.

Speakers

Gustav Seymore

Founder/Creative Director, Lost Goblin

Gustav Seymore has been in the industry over 10 years now at various sized studios working on different platforms and media. He is an experienced designer and producer and has a breadth of knowledge across multiple disciplines. Lost Goblin is his second indie studio and he successfully... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 11:35am - 11:55am NZST
WG403

Production & Business

11:35am NZST

Success and Envy: Understanding Luck

Speaker Feedback

Luck is an often under-examined component of success in modern discourse. This talk will take a look at the role of fortune within our creative and unique industry, and why it might be important to take the successes and failures of ourselves and others less personally, and more compassionately.

Speakers

Calliope Newman Ryder

Student and Game Designer, RohoBlanco

Calliope is a game art student in her second year at Media Design School. She previously worked for a public relations consultancy, and is currently developing a physical game commercially. She is a passionate advocate of the importance of mental health, and probably reads too much... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 11:35am - 11:55am NZST
WG126

Production & Business

1:15pm NZST

Battle Wounds of an Indie Developer

Speaker Feedback

The talk will encompass what a one person or small start-up team need to consider and be careful to avoid when starting an indie game studio. The sections covered will be pre-planning both company and your game, the idea and team selection, planning and goals, meeting obligations (personal and professional), and funding options and pitfalls.

Speakers

Ian Shephard

Creative Director, Cloudfire Studios

Ian is a creative generalist who is schooled in post graduate digital video post production and has spent the last decade running various businesses including a 3D visualization company, two game studios, a web development firm and a shift management SAS business.

Friday September 8, 2017 1:15pm - 2:00pm NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

1:15pm NZST

The value of incorporating competitive gaming into your game

Speaker Feedback

A candid look at the current state of the competitive gaming landscape within New Zealand and abroad, nestled within industry observations to help you consider whether diving into competitive gaming is right for your title.

Speakers

Jason Spiller

Campaign Manager, OMEN Gaming

Jason is a passionate Marketer, Product Manager and Community Architect. With experience across the game, esports and technology sectors. Over the last ten years he has built dedicated communities and overseen a high level of digital transformation within the software business. During... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 1:15pm - 2:00pm NZST
WG901-902

Production & Business

2:10pm NZST

AR/VR Tools for business [Panel]

Speaker Feedback

How to turn AR/VR content creation and game development into a revenue stream from big industry.

Moderators

Aliesha Staples

Founder/VR Producer, Staples VR

Aliesha comes from a 12 year film industry and VR creation background, she is the founder of Staples VR, New Zealand and Australia’s first VR equipment rental supplier and content creation company specializing in camera movement and custom applications. She took a small start... Read More →

Speakers

Emre Deniz

Director, Opaque Space

Emre Deniz has been working in Virtual Reality for the past four years, being one of the first developers in Australia to work on the HTC Vive as well as having worked as both lead game designer and artist on multiple projects in Virtual, Augmented and Mobile experiences. Emre has... Read More →

Jennifer Scheurle

Game Design Lead, Opaque Space

Jennifer Scheurle is a world-travelling Game Designer and public speaker who has worked on 10+ released titles since she started working in the industry 6 years ago. Born and raised in Germany and with a Bachelor of Arts (hons) in game development, she has played her role in Europe’s... Read More →

Krystal Thompson

Developer, StaplesVR

Krystal is the head of game development at Staples VR leading our game developers and interactive team through the daily challenges of working in the AR.VR industry and implementing the workflow learnings of a rapidly evolving tech sector. She is part of the Staples VR hackathon team... Read More →

Amie Wolken

Co-Founder, Geo AR Games

Amie holds a Bachelor law degree, which often comes very handy. She also holds a BA Degree in Computer Science and BA in Animal Biology and Psychology. Amie is a programmer/developer and has held positions like Support Manager and Operations Manager. She is a Director on the Board... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:10pm - 2:55pm NZST
WG308

Production & Business

2:10pm NZST

Indie Quality Assurance: Tips and Tricks

Speaker Feedback

With Quality Assurance going the way of the major studios in Australia, the skills and process have diminished as well. this talk aims to guide small to medium indie teams to integrate Quality Assurance practices and team members, As well as give an over view of Quality Assurance Processes.

Speakers

Megan Summers

Founder and Product Manager (Screwtape Studios) / Lead Tester (Defiant Development), Screwtape Studios/Defiant Development

Megan Summers has been a part of the Australian Video Games Industry for 10 years. Her career began at Pandemic Australia in Quality Assurance and moved to Krome and THQ OZ over the next 4 years working to the role of Senior Quality Assurance. In 2011 Megan stepped out on her own... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:10pm - 2:55pm NZST
WG908-909

Production & Business

2:10pm NZST

Keystones for Scheduled Expansions

Speaker Feedback

There are some key differences between making expansions and ongoing content as opposed to new games. This talk discusses production, design and communication with your team and audience when making content on a schedule.

Speakers

Carl de Visser

Lead Producer, Grinding Gear Games

Carl de Visser is Lead Producer and Manager of Game Design at Grinding Gear Games, working on the online Action RPG Path of Exile (GameSpot 2013 PC Game of the Year), and its expansions. Before working in videogames, Carl made boardgames, including co-designing the eurogame Endea... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 2:10pm - 2:55pm NZST
WG403

Production & Business

3:30pm NZST

Finance and Tax Q+A

Speaker Feedback

Bring along your finance or tax questions to ask a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years digital game industry experience.

Speakers

Lance Burgess

Director, CFO, BW Miller Dean Chartered Accountants, PikPok

I am a Director of a Chartered Accountancy firm, and have worked in the digital games industry since the start-up of PikPok 20 years ago. I currently hold the CFO position for PikPok and look after the finances of many of the other Wellington Game Studios including Dinosaur Polo... Read More →

Friday September 8, 2017 3:30pm - 3:50pm NZST
WG308

Production & Business