Game Developers Conference Europe 2012 Begins Company: Game Developers Conference Product: GDC Europe The 2012 Game Developers Conference Europe (GDC Europe) begins today at the Congress-Centrum Ost of the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Produced by UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the leading Game Developers Conference series, GDC Europe is the continent's most important game development event. GDC Europe takes place in Cologne, Germany from August 13-15, 2012. Now entering its fourth year, GDC Europe once again serves as an essential forum for educating and inspiring attendees, who will have the opportunity to hear from both leading European and international creators of computer, console, handheld, mobile, social and online games. The conference features more than 80 lectures, keynotes and panels across five Main Conference tracks (Business, Marketing & Management, Game Design, Production, Programming and Visual Arts) and three Summits (the Independent Games Summit, the Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit and the Social & Online Games Summit), with each one addressing topics at the forefront of discussion in the European game development industry. GDC Europe welcomes more than 125 national and international speakers, more than 50 exhibitors and sponsors and more than 200 members of the press to its 2012 event, held in conjunction with Gamescom, the leading European interactive entertainment consumer show. Gamescom takes place August 15-19, 2012 and these combined events comprise Cologne's games week. The 2012 conference will feature track keynotes by Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi, who runs the company behind the massively successful free-to-play online title World of Tanks; Epic Games senior engine programmer Niklas Smedberg, who worked on the team behind Infinity Blade, an iOS title that has been referred to as "ferociously satisfying" by Eurogamer.net; and Ubisoft Montreal creative director Alex Hutchinson, one of the minds behind the critically-acclaimed, award-winning Assassin's Creed franchise. Each keynote will highlight the importance of flexibility, business savvy, technical know-how and future thinking when it comes to developing, producing and marketing the world's most successful video games. These track keynotes are presented alongside other talks by leading European developers including Eskil Steenberg, developer of the procedurally-generated indie game, Love, Riccardo Zacconi of cross-platform game developer, King.com, Travian Games' war game expert Jan Van der Crabben and many more. Making its debut at GDC Europe this year is the popular Classic Game Postmortem series, first introduced at the 2011 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Classic Game Postmortems provide a forum for makers of some of gaming history's most innovative, landmark titles to deconstruct what they learned during development, allowing audiences to gain understanding about what it took to bring the games to life. The Martin Hollis Goldeneye 007 GDC Europe Classic Game Postmortem will take attendees back 15 years to examine how Hollis' team created the one of Nintendo 64's biggest releases, and how what started as a Virtua Cop-style on-rails project became the legendary FPS that paved the way for console shooters like Halo and countless others. "In its fourth year, GDC Europe strives to continue its tradition of providing a setting for European and international developers to share knowledge and gain critical insight on the most pressing issues affecting the industry today. The high-quality content that will be featured during GDC Europe 2012 is a testament to the fact that the European game development community has always been and remains a key entity in the discussions regarding the overall evolution of game development. Attendees will, without a doubt, benefit from the myriad opportunities for dialogue, reflection and education that take place during the event." - Meggan Scavio, general manager, Game Developers Conference events. In addition to the session, summit and keynote content, GDC Europe provides opportunities for networking, creative exchange and business development, with venues including the GDC Europe Expo Floor, VIP Lounge, and the GDC Europe Business Lounge at Gamescom, plus a host of industry parties and events. More than 50 exhibitors and sponsors from a host of regions across Europe and worldwide across Europe and worldwide are present on the GDC Europe Expo Floor. For up to the moment details on GDC Europe, including a schedule of all conference events and parties, plus a complete exhibitor list, please visit the official GDC Europe website (link below). -Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins Related Links: The Official GDC Europe Website Game Vortex's Review of World of Tanks (PC) Game Vortex's Review of Assassin's Creed II (360)