PANEL: Video Game Comics: Lifting the Curse

LOCATION: Wyvern Theatre
TIME: Friday, 10:30am - 11:30am

DESCRIPTION: Comic books based on video games have not traditionally been very well received. While some have sold well, most are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to critics and direct market sales. How can the tide turn? What needs to be in a video game comic to make it worth reading? And could Video Game comics wind up being the savior of the comic book industry? Join representatives from across the comic book industry and moderator Lucas Siegel, Site Editor of Newsarama.com as they figure out how to remove the curse of the terrible video game comic.

Panelists include: Lucas Siegel [Site Editor, Newsarama] and Rob Chestney, [Creative Services Manager, BioWare Austin, and author of Star Wars: The Old Republic - Threat of Peace (Dark Horse Comics)]

PANEL: Interactive Drama: Dialogue as Gameplay

LOCATION: Cat Theatre
TIME: Friday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm

DESCRIPTION: Do narrative games provide dialogue choices that enhance gameplay? Is it important to develop relationships through interactive choices between player and non-player characters? How are interactive conversation choices designed and how important is the user interface? What does it mean to experience Interactive Drama in a gameplay mechanic of dialogue choices?

Panelists include: Jonathon Myers [Co-Founder, Writer, Reactive Games], Stephen Dinehart [Chief Wizard, NarrWare], Dan Tanguay [Design Specialist, Vicarious Visions], Emily Short [Interactive Fiction Author, Independent], Jeff Orkin [PhD Candidate, AI Researcher, MIT Media Lab], Martin VanVelsen [Senior Research Engineer, Carnegie Mellon University], Daniel Erickson [Writing Director, BioWare Austin]

PANEL: MMORPG.com: The Future of Online Gaming

LOCATION: Naga Theatre
TIME: Saturday, 5:00pm - 6:00pm

A panel of MMORPG experts gather to chat with fans on where the online game market is going. With games moving into the mobile space, free to play pricing models and five major launches in 2011 the online market is in for a major year. The panel will have speakers from some of the top upcoming games in the online space plus legends in the industry. Fan will be able to ask questions and get answers from top development studios about upcoming games as we hope to explore where online games will be going for the next decade.

Panelists include: Curt Schilling [38 Studios], Scott Hartsman [Trion], Colin Johanson [ArenaNet], Craig Alexander [Turbine], Garret Fuller [MMORPG.com] and James Ohlen [BioWare Austin]