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CONFERENCE  

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    FREE TO PLAY DESIGN & BUSINESS

The Summit Call for Submissions is now open! Click here for full details and to submit your proposal by October 23, 2012

Over the past few years, the free-to-play (F2P) model has revolutionized the games industry, from social games, to hardcore MMOs, to open Web and mobile games in general. Developers and publishers are grappling with the implications of service-based games, metrics-driven business, A-B testing, viral user acquisition, whales versus minnows ... a whole new way of doing business. Designers are grappling with the creative implications of a world in which gameplay and monetization is intimately intertwined, the social interactions between players, how the game grows in depth without losing its core audience, and how to keep the audience engaged in games with no ending. F2P games already dominate the Web and mobile ecosystems and are expected to become a major disruptive force on next generation consoles. Are you facing this brave new world with anxiety and questions? Then come to the Free-to-Play Design & Business Summit, where leading professionals from the F2P world can offer stress relief and provide answers.

Sessions will be announced in December

Click here for Sponsorship Opportunities

FREE TO PLAY DESIGN & BUSINESS SUMMIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

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Steve Meretzky
Playdom
 
It's hard to have a serious conversation about gaming without mention of Steve. It's also hard to have a humorous conversation about gaming without mention of him. Steve's contributions to the industry began in 1981 at the legendary adventure game company Infocom, where his titles included Planetfall, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (a collaboration with Douglas Adams), Leather Goddess of Phobos and Zork Zero. Prior to joining Playdom, Steve co-founded Boffo Games and held senior creative posts at Blue Fang Games, Floodgate Entertainment and WorldWinner.com. Over his prolific career, Steve also consulted with teams at Activision, Blizzard, Disney, EA, Harmonix, Hasbro and Legend, to name a few. A former board member of IGDA, Steve organized the Social & Online Games Summit, Casual Games Summit, and the annual Game Designers Workshop at the GDC. Steve holds a BS in construction project management from MIT, but otherwise assures us that he did not waste his four years there.
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Frank Cartwright
K2 Network/GamersFirst
 
As SVP of product and platform development, Frank Cartwright brings over a decade of experience in online, core and casual gaming. Most recently he served as vice president Online Entertainment at the GameShowNetwork (GSN) where he oversaw the product development, technology implementation and administration of GSN.com, the network's emerging casual game site. Prior to GSN, he served as vice president of product development and engineering at Global Gaming League (GGL) a worldwide leader in organized competitive online and live video game tournaments and events (V-Sports). Prior to GGL, he served as vice president of production for SkillJam Technologies where he played an instrumental role in the company's growth and globalization efforts handling all technical development and production. Frank began his career in gaming in 1995 at Dreamers Guild as lead software engineer on Turner Interactive's Dinotopia PC game. From there he joined Disney Internet Group (DIG) creating dozens of Java, Flash and Shockwave online games and building Disney's online, multi-player gaming platform. Frank has a BS degree in Business Management.
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David Edery
Spry Fox
 
David Edery is currently the CEO of Spry Fox, a game development studio creating downloadable and online free-to-play games, and a director on the board of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Previously, David was Worldwide Games Portfolio Manager for Microsoft's Xbox LIVE service, where he was responsible for content strategy and for selecting the specific games which would be accepted for distribution by the LIVE service. David co-authored "Changing the Game: How Video Games are Transforming the Future of Business", a book that explores the ways that games can be leveraged by businesses of all kinds.
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Juan Gril
Joju Games
 
Juan heads the production at Joju Games. Joju produces online, social and multiplayer games for clients such as Atari, Shockwave.com, MTV Networks, Comedy Central, Mochimedia and Nickelodeon. Juan has more than 12 years of experience developing online games. Previously, and as one of the first members of the Yahoo! Games team, Juan was the lead producer for the downloadable games area and community manager of multi player games. In the last year of his tenure at Yahoo!, Juan was the head of Yahoo! Games Studios.

Juan is a frequent speaker at industry events, and holds a BFA in Electronic Media from the University of Illinois.
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Sulka Haro
Makielab
 
Sulka came to Makielab from Sulake, where he was design lead on Habbo Hotel, the teenage virtual world phenomenon with over 200 million registered users. In addition to working on Habbo, he was the Lead Designer for Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. Sulka occasionally blogs at Sulka's Game.
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John Welch
Making Fun
 
John Welch is veteran leader of the games industry and one of the early pioneers of digital distribution. He is co-founder and president of Making Fun, the first full-service social games publisher, which was acquired by News Corporation in November 2010. Previously, Welch was co-founder & CEO of innovative casual game publisher PlayFirst, famous for the best-selling "Diner Dash" brand. He helped build Shockwave.com into a top game portal, and he was a key member of the Dreamcast Network team at SEGA. He created and ran a software startup in the early Internet days after starting his career at Andersen Consulting. Welch served as steering committee member and chair of the IGDA Online & Casual Games groups, and he is a regular faculty member of the annual Game Developers' Conference. He is an active advisor and investor in several startups including Secret Builders, a creative virtual world heavily endorsed by parents and teachers. He is an active member and officer of the Golden Gate chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). John holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from M.I.T. and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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