The Speakers

Alain Xalabarde

Product Manager at Zeptolab

TITLE: " Think Big: IP management for small studios "


ABSTRACT:

When done well, Intellectual Properties are an extremely valuable asset that can significantly improve your scalability and overall chances of success. Building a recognizable and timeless brand is no easy task, but developers generally overlook opportunities in their own games. It’s crucial to question the “franchisability” of your creations from the very first day and expand upon them in a smart manner. Likewise, when using an external IP, there are many misconceptions on how to make the best use of it and truly exploit its full potential. Whether you’re creating the next icon of gaming history, or whether you’re interested in utilizing a pre-existing powerhouse, you will learn how to grow a simple doodle into a billion-dollar franchise, and how to manage it from birth to immortality.


ABOUT ALAIN:

With a deep background in the film industry, Alain Xalabarde has had the fortune to work in almost every platform and a wide variety of genres. He began his career at IGT (#1 casino games developer in the US), leading some of their premium titles such as ‘American Gods 4D’. He began his career at IGT (#1 casino games developer in the US), leading some of their premium titles such as ‘American Gods 4D’. He was also a proud member of Fatshark‘s PC smash hit ‘Warhammer: Vermintide 2‘, a dedicated designer at Genera Games (one of Spain’s leading studios), and later joined Starbreeze for their ‘Payday Crime War‘ mobile title. He currently works at Zeptolab as a Product Manager, working closely with the studio’s largest brand ‘Cut the Rope’, and collaborating with many talented studios on the future of Om Nom.


Dr Daphne Economou

Senior Lecturer - University of Westminster

TITLE: " The Concept of Gamification in Non-Game Contexts "


ABSTRACT:

Gamification is a term that describes ways of applying game principles and design elements in non-games contexts to enhance services and motivate people/users to complete tasks, achieve their goals and reach their objectives. Gamification takes advantage of people's natural tendencies for competition, achievement, collaboration, and charity. This talk will elaborate on gamification and it will show examples of its use based on projects developed by the Serious Games at Westminster Research Group in domains of Education and training, Health, Culture.



ABOUT DAPHNE:

Dr Daphne Economou is a Senior Lecture at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Westminster, London, UK. She has 20 years’ experience in higher education, she is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy and in 2019 she won the Westminster Learning & Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Westminster.

Her research interest falls in user experience involving user interaction with various technologies (XR, VR, AR, mobile) and devices. She has been research fellow in several research projects funded by organisations like the Greek Ministry of Trade, SONY, Innovate UK and by the University of Westminster. She led and successfully completed research projects funded by the European Union. She is currently leading the Serious Games at Westminster Research group that looks at aspects of gamification to motivate and engage users interacting with technology. She is research active in the areas of user experience, human computer interaction, immersive learning, and serious games. She is supervising several Ph.Ds. in the before mentioned areas, she has successfully supported Ph.Ds. to completion and she has been external examiner in several PhDs.

Daphne has been involved in the organisation of several Special Tracks/Sessions, Workshops at International Conferences. In 2019 was local chair of the 5th Annual International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network. In 2020 and 2021 she served as academic program chair of the 6th and 7th Annual International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network organised online in VR. She edited a number of Special Issues in prestigious journals, she has published a long list of journal papers and peer-reviewed international conference papers and she has served as program committee member in several international conferences.

Ijaz Naeem Ahmad

Chief Technology Officer - PNI Therapeutics

TITLE: " Altered States in VR "


ABSTRACT:

Our senses are dynamic and the world as we know it is in a constant state of flux. If properly attenuated; light and sound carefully controlled to map patterns and frequencies may in turn influence the sense-making apparatus of the brain-mind-body. We can do this most effectively when highly correlated with sensual immersion, inducing altered states via virtual reality. I will show you some methodologies in this matter.


ABOUT IJAZ:

I've been developing virtual reality experiences since 2016. This revolutionary medium continues to rapidly evolve, changing the landscape of society. Rapidly prototyping: learning and building novel applications with emerging tech is my passion and forte. See more on my portfolio work below.

Sriya Chintalapalli

Developer

TITLE: " Building The Next Ubiquitous Interface "


ABSTRACT:

Our devices have become an external limb - we carry them everywhere. Now that portable PCs and smartphones are within reach, for billions. What’s next? Perhaps a world where hardware devices will disappear, and we will have access to all the information we need in thin air. Sriya will discuss her vision for the future of our interface evolution, breaking down the technologies required: brain computer interfaces and extended reality. She’ll also share her projects leveraging both, from building a brain-controlled AR Web Browser to building personalized VR environments using non-invasive brain signal analysis. Game design can become tricky when you have many moving parts like the detection of brain signals, interpretation using machine learning, and then adaption of VR games according to the analysis, so we’ll discuss challenges, possible solutions, and the greater potential for this too. Progress is being made to make the next ubiquitous interface a reality - here you’ll learn where we’re at and what it takes to get to where we want to be.


ABOUT SRIYA:

Sriya Chintalapalli is a machine learning, extended reality, & brain computer interface developer. She has developed various neurotech devices like brain-controlled virtual reality games, a brain-controlled AR Web Browser, and a system that allows you to type using your thoughts (hands-free) with sponsorship from OpenBCI. She’s also spoken about her vision at WEEXPO India and the Zappos All Hands. She just finished building a recommendation for the United Nations on how to increase female employment in the digital economy by 2026. Now, she’s building the next ubiquitous interface.

Andrej Korubov

Unity Developer (PaperSeven)

TITLE: " From Student to Expert Game Developer "


ABSTRACT:

Since day one of Uni it is important to think about your future and the career you’re getting yourself into. I will be sharing the real world experience in the GameDev field, what’s needed and how to get hired. I will go in depth about games I have behind me and what I am working on nowadays. I will try to answer big and small questions: What are the perks and the drawbacks? What tools do you want to know? Do you get paid? (Well kinda…) (just kidding)


ABOUT ANDREJ:

I have been making games since 2011. Mainly a C# programmer with expert level knowledge of Unity3D. I have all the skills required to see through a full game production life cycle. Here are some finished games I was working on:

Milos Kojic

Software Engineer / Lecturer (The Lab of Dreams / University of Westminster)

TITLE: " Applications of AR and VR in Training and Education "


ABSTRACT:

Remembering text and numbers is not easy and as humans we are much better at memorizing spaces and experiences. Learning complex subjects from a textbook is not as engaging and interesting as visualizing the structure of the subject in a virtual space. Interactivity within virtual environments boosts creativity, improves engagement, and helps with memorizing huge amounts of information in short periods of time. Some jobs require many hours of training to achieve proficiency and often real-world practice is either expensive or dangerous. With VR and AR software for simulations and training we can simulate read-word environments and learn faster and more easily.


ABOUT MILOS:

Milos Kojic is a software engineer and lecturer interested in Cloud Computing, Distributed Systems, Games programming, VR/AR, AI, Web and Mobile development. He has built many applications in the field of education and training for different AR and VR devices. One of the most notable is “Munx VR” - a platform for building memory palaces in VR which enables users to learn complex subjects by creating spaces and filling them with mnemonic images and 3d models. It was featured on BBC, Wired and UploadVR. He is a co-founder of The Lab of Dreams Ltd - a software development company where he has developed Claw Machine, an award-winning mobile game.


Gregory W. Grimsby

Assistant Professor (George Mason University)

TITLE: " Building your Own Board Game "


ABSTRACT:

Board games are a multi-billion dollar industry, with games typically made by 2 or 3 people teams. Creating board games uses similar processes and skills as digital games. This talk summarizes these processes from initial ideation through testing and manufacturing, making many connections with digital game development and highlighting transferable skills. We will cover resources, tools, and research areas to help aspiring board game designers.


ABOUT GREGORY:

Gregory Grimsby, Assistant Professor in Computer Game Design, earned his MFA in painting from George Mason University. He has been teaching 3D modeling and animation at Mason since 2010 and he was bestowed Mason’s Teaching Excellence award in 2014. Grimsby has over 20 years of experience in computer game development including 6 years as Art Director for Electronic Arts. He contributed to games such as Air Warrior II, Aliens Online, Multiplayer Battletech: 3025, Dark Age of Camelot, and Warhammer Online. His research interests include ludology and board game design.


Don Balanzat

Researcher/Physics Educator (Embodied Games Lab/Arizona State University)

TITLE: " Immersive Technologies and STEM Education "


ABSTRACT:

STEM education will define the workforce of the future. There is an ever-growing need for students to be able to understand and visualize STEM concepts, and the technology to do this more effectively is starting to become more accessible and scalable. Virtual and augmented reality experiences can help students learn difficult visual and spatial concepts, and the data that we can get from user experience can inform educators on how to create better learning modules and teach more effectively. This talk will cover current XR projects in STEM education at Arizona State University (ASU).


ABOUT DON:

Don Balanzat is a physics educator and XR researcher at Arizona State University. His interests lie at the intersection of physical science, education, data visualization, and user experience in extended reality. He has worked on several NSF and NASA projects and currently conducts research and development with the Embodied Games Lab and the ASU/Dreamscape Immersive partnership, Dreamscape Learn.