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Game Career Seminar presented by Game Developers Conference: Friday October 3, 2008 at the L.A. Convention Center

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Session Schedule

Friday, October 3rd, 2008:

TIME	SESSION
10:00am - 11:00am	Keynote
11:30am - 12:30pm	Lecture: The DIY Game Career
12:30pm - 2:00pm	Lunch
2:00pm - 3:00pm	Lecture: Game Resumes the get Jobs
3:30pm - 4:30pm	Lecture: Love Your Inner Geek: Match Your Personality to the Right Game Career
5:00pm - 6:00pm	Panel: "Behind Closed Doors"

Game Career Seminar Conference Descriptions:

The DIY Game Career

Speaker: Scott Steinberg, founder of Embassy Multimedia Consultants and author of Get Rich Playing Games and Videogame Marketing and PR

Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.

Description: There's nothing stopping you from taking the interactive entertainment business by storm today! From essential online resources to practical tips and simple strategies for making an immediate professional impact, Get Rich Playing Games author Scott Steinberg shows you how to break into the industry quickly, no experience necessary. Whether game art, audio, design, journalism, or programming is your passion, learn what it takes to go from enthusiast to expert in no time flat! Steinberg started his own career in the business by running a fansite from his college dorm room, and says the DIY tools of getting in the game industry are there for the taking. You can do it, too.

Takeaway: Attendees will take away a list of things they can start doing immediately-event if they have no prior experience or knowledge -- to better improve their chances of having a career in the video game industry.

Game Resumes that Get Jobs

Speaker: Marc Mencher, CEO of GameRecruiter

Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.

Description: A winning resume is one of your most important career tools. Join this hands-on resume writing session with game career consultant and hiring expert Marc Mecncher. Mencher will share important resume writing tips, formats, and features for success in the unique game development industry. Mecncher has literally helped thousands of game industry professionals at all experience levels get their next jobs, and he will show you how to draft and revise a solid game industry resume. Bring a printed resume or a Word doc file on a thumb drive if you'd like to volunteer your resume to be used as a sample.

Takeaway: Attendees will be given precise information on what makes a game industry resume different from resumes in other fields. They will receive concrete tips on how to improve their existing resumes and learn what kinds of things will make them stand out as entry-level job candidates.

Love Your Inner Geek: Match Your Personality to the Right Game Career

Speaker: Fiona Cherbak, VP of Marketing, GameRecruiter

Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.

Description: Among the ranks of game developers, where would you actually fit in the best? Here's your chance to learn more about your future career in game development. Game industry HR and recruiting executive Fiona Cherbak walks you through a career-assessment that will help you identify your mostly likely areas of success in the gameindustry. Through this self-evaluation process, you will learn which roles you are best suited for and what career path may make the most sense for you.

Takeaway: Attendees will receive an overview of all the major jobs in the game industry. After filling out a brief personality quiz, they will have a set of profile results that will assist in defining their career paths. Audience members will also be invited to share their results.

Behind Closed Doors

Speakers: Dr. Gerri Sinclair, Executive Director of the Masters of Digital Media Program (moderator); Jim Rivers, Hiring Manager at Obsidian Entertainment; Tim Lang, Lead Game Designer at Spin Master Studio; Carey Chico,Executive Art Director at Pandemic Studios

Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.

Description: What really goes on inside a game studio? What do game designers really do on a day-to-day basis? Does overtime at a game company really mean working until midnight and on Saturdays? A diverse cross-section of game developers have agreed to come to the table with nothing to hide and answer all your questions about what it's really like to work in the game industry. The audience is promised at least 30 minutes of Q&A time with the panel, so come prepared with your most burning questions.

Takeaway: Attendees will takeaway solid answers to whatever remaining questions they have about working in the game industry. They will develop a more clear understanding of what happens inside a game studio and the people who work there. Panelists will share details about what occurs in their day-to-day work life.

Meet the Speakers

Fiona Cherbak

Chair (IGDA's Women in Games Special Interest Group)

Fiona Cherbak is an accomplished recruiting executive in the game industry, expertly placing professionals in key positions at leading game, mobile, and internet companies around the world. Currently, she is chair of the IGDA's Women in Games Special Interest Group, as well as an advisory board member for Women in Games International, SXSW Screenburn 2009, and America's Video Game Expo. Cherbak has participated as a game career speaker at numerous industry and college events. She is an editorialist on hiring practices and diversity issues in the game industry, and is often interviewed by mainstream media on game career-related topics.

Carey Chico

Executive Art Director (Pandemic Studios)

Carey has been working in the game industry since 1996, after graduating from UCLA with a bachelor's in design. His foray into the game industry began when he started at Activision Studios as an animator on PLANTETFALL. From there, he rose through the ranks as lead artist on BATTLEZONE and then as a founding member of Pandemic Studios where he completed BATTLEZONE 2 as art director. After working again as art director on STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, he stepped up as studio art director to oversee more global and long term art interests. Some of the most recent titles under his supervision are FULL SPECTRUM WARRIOR, BATLLEFRONT, MERCENARIES, and DESTROY ALL HUMANS.

Dr. Gerri Sinclair

Dr. Gerri Sinclair, Executive Director of the Masters of Digital Media Program at Vancouver's Centre for Digital Media

Dr. Gerri Sinclair is the executive director of the Masters of Digital Media Program at Vancouver's Centre for Digital Media, Great Northern Way Campus. She has more than 20 years' experience spanning the fields of internet and new media technology, entrepreneurial business, academic research, and government policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Renaissance drama as well as an honorary Doctor of Science in Computing Science from the University of British Columbia.

Tim Lang

Lead Game Designer (Spin Master Studio)

Tim Lang is a game designer currently at Spin Master Studios in southern California. Previously, he was a game designer at Electronic Arts, where we worked on the Medal of Honor series. He started his professional careers in video game development as a level designer on several Might and Magic titles.

Mark Mencher

CEO (Game Recruiter)

Marc Mencher is a recognized game industry career specialist and CEO of GameRecruiter. He has been responsible for helping innumerable job seekers secure jobs with leading game companies for nearly 20 years. Mencher is a regular speaker at game industry conferences, college campuses, and job fairs around the country. His career development articles are published on a monthly basis in various online publications, and he is the author of the widely-acclaimed career primer, Get in the Game: Careers in the Game Industry. He is currently on the national advisory boards for Westwood College and The Art Institutes.

Dan Paladin

Artist (The Behemoth)

Dan Paladin is The Behemoth's only artist and one of the company's three co-founders. The Behemoth's first title was Alien Hominid, released in 2004, which won more than 15 awards on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. The title was later reinvented in 2007 as Alien Hominid HD for Xbox Live Arcade. Castle Crashers, The Behemoth's second award winning title, was released on Xbox Live Arcade in late August of this year. Before helping build The Behemoth, Paladin worked for both Presto Studios and Gratuitous Games as an animator and designer.

Jim Rivers

Hiring Manager (Obsidian Entertainment)

Jim Rivers is the hiring manager at Obsidian Entertainment, a game studio (Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2) in Orange County, Calif. Rivers previously worked as a career advisor at The Art Institute California-Orange County,assisting animation and game development students. He's also an Art Institute alum.

Andy Schatz

CEO and Founder (Pocketwatch Games)

Andy Schatz, CEO and founder of Pocketwatch Games, was the sole programmer, designer, and producer of Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa and Venture Arctic, the first two titles released by the company. Schatz is also a defender of the indie game-maker's lifestyle and hosted the 2007 and 2008 Independent Games Festival awards ceremonies. In addition to his work at Pocketwatch Games, Schatz recently served as executive producer on Green.com, an online virtual world, and as a game designer, programmer, and development director for game developers TKO Software and Presto Studios. He graduated from Amherst College with a degree in computer science and fine arts.

Scott Steinberg

Founder (Embassy Multimedia Consultants) and Author (Get Rich Playing Games and Videogame Marketing and PR)

Scott Steinberg is an author, entrepreneur, and TV and radio host covering the video game industry. A frequent guest on ABC, CBS, and CNN, he's also founder of game industry advisory Embassy Multimedia Consultants, and has covered technology for more than 300 outlets, including The Los Angles Times, the New York Times, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and TV Guide. A self-publisher and industry talent scout, hes also creator of DigitalTrends.com's documentary series Players Only. His recent books include Get Rich Playing Games and The Videogame Style Guide.