Animex Game
Animex Game is a packed two day programme of talks from top AAA and exciting indie studios worldwide. Join us for a behind the scenes look at recent and highly anticipated titles, as well as top tips from some of the games industry’s shining stars.
Get Passes25 May 17
OL1 Europa Building, Teesside University
9:00AM
Registration
9:55AM
Welcome
Gabrielle Kent | Teesside University
10:05AM
Shooty Shooty Gun Hands: making a VR experience from the ground up
Wyeth Johnson | Epic
Robo Recall has been lauded by many as the best VR experience to date and the first system seller for Oculus Touch. The developers also screwed a bunch of stuff up and had no idea what they were doing. Thankfully, making functional VR is starting to really make sense, and these early projects provide tons of education for those who follow, which is why they gave the whole thing away, source and all, for free. Let's talk input devices, design philosophy, project pillars, technical issues, making something with a tiny team, and why holding a coffee mug with your pinky out is so important.
11:00AM
Making games for kids
Chris Walter | BBC Children’s
Children are the future, so it’s important we set them on the right track. Chris Walter will talk about his experiences as a games producer for BBC Children’s Interactive, making games that go hand-in-hand with television brands and the incredibly diverse ability of the 2-12 year age range.
12:00PM
Lunch
1:30PM
In conversation with Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett |
Gabrielle Kent | Teesside University
2:30PM
Break
3:00PM
Dialogue systems in Double Fine games
Anna Kipnis | Double Fine
You might have toyed with the idea of having recorded dialog in your game and wondered what, exactly, that would entail. In this session Anna will give a broad overview of how dialog gets into a Double Fine game, from the moment a line is written to hearing and seeing the line in the engine, even in a foreign tongue. This session will focus on the technology required to make it possible, as well as exploring some useful approaches, including examples of dynamic dialog systems.
4:00PM
Animating the mechanical creatures in Horizon Zero Dawn
Richard Oud | Guerrilla Games
Richard joins us to discuss the tricks and challenges that came with animating the awe-inspiring mechanical creatures for one of this year’s most striking open world games.
5:00PM
Close
7:30PM
Players’ Lounge
A lively networking event for audience and speakers in our Student Union Terrace Bar.
26 May 17
OL1 Europa Building, Teesside University
9:00AM
Registration
For unregistered attendees only. Europa Building
10:00AM
So, what's the story... with Bethesda's stories?
Emil Pagliarulo | Bethesda Game Studios
Join Emil as he dives into Bethesda's approach to telling stories in games such as Skyrim and Fallout, and the three general rules that he applies when doing so.
11:00AM
Game design and VR: working with new rules
Gary Napper | Supermassive Games
Many have called VR the wild frontier of videogames because so many things that used to work for regular games no longer apply to VR titles. In a similar way, new rules are being written for great ways of doing things in VR and things that you should never ever do. However, from working hands on in VR many are discovering that the list of dos and don'ts can be broken very quickly. Gary Napper from Supermassive Games discusses working with VR and some of the discoveries and theories surrounding development.
12:00PM
Lunch
1:30PM
Night of the living Dev: A guide to surviving the games industry.
Louise O'Connor | Microsoft Rare Ltd
The apocalypse is coming. You’re about to embark on a journey into an industry where only the fittest survive. Come along and listen to someone who is obviously obsessed with Zombies, and can therefore draw comparisons between the zombie apocalypse and working in the games industry! Louise will share the lessons she’s learned over her 18 year career to survive the games industry and hopefully prepare you for the inevitable game dev apocalypse.
2:30PM
Break
3:00PM
Designing to be overlooked
Åsa Roos | Bioware
There's one area in games that's best when it's not noticed. User experience design encompasses both the user interface and the introduction of the game to the player, and a good user experience does this without added frustration on the player's part. This is a short introduction to user experience design, how it ties in to game design and how you can use it to streamline both the experience of play and the mechanics of your game.
4:00PM
Purpose and personality in the first-person animation of Overwatch
Matt Boehm | Blizzard Entertainment
Each member of Overwatch’s diverse cast of heroes has a lovingly crafted visual design and a distinct personality. How does one maintain this sense of character in a game primarily experienced through the first person? This talk dives into the artistic and technical challenges of creating personality in first-person animation while staying true to the designer’s intent for gameplay.
5:00PM
Festival closing remarks