Call for Submissions 2010
The Game Developers Conference Online focuses on development of connected games including social network titles, free-to-play web games, kid-friendly online titles, large-scale MMOs, and beyond. Conference tracks focus on business and marketing, design, production, programming and how to achieve success going live. GDC Online is the international hub for industry professionals looking to take full advantage of the opportunities of connected gaming in one of America's most creative and independent cities, Austin.
We are now soliciting session proposals from speakers with deep industry expertise and a fresh and unique perspective on the state of the online games industry.
Speaker Expectations | Track & Summit Descriptions | FAQs
The call for submissions closed on May 21, 2010.
Please take a few minutes to read the submission guidelines, track/summit descriptions, and what is expected from you if you are accepted as a GDC Online speaker. We are seeking submissions for the following conference tracks and summits for the 2010 event:
GDC Online Tracks
Business & Marketing
Design
Live – New this year
Production
Programming
GDC Online Summits
3D Stereoscopic Games
Game Narrative
iPhone Games
iPad Gaming
Speaker Expectations
Conference attendees expect excellence from our speakers. They will evaluate your class based on delivery, knowledge on the topic addressed, and the visuals presented. Please consider the following when proposing to speak:
- The proposed outline must match the talk you present at GDC Online.
- We suggest that you commit at least 10 hours to prepare for your session.
- You may be required to submit your presentation slides for review prior to acceptance.
- We strongly encourage that you rehearse the delivery of your session for it to be effective; preferably in front of your peers.
- Your presentation materials must be completed and submitted to us four weeks before the conference.
- Have adequate visual accompaniment to your speech
- Allow GDC Online to record and sell copies of your presentation
- The submitter also agrees to be available to present his/her session during any day of GDC Online.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the submission deadline?
- What makes a good submission?
- What do I need to provide in my submission?
- What are the session formats?
- What is the selection process for speaking proposals?
- What are the benefits of speaking?
- How do I propose a vendor-specific session?
- When will I be notified of the status of my submission?
- How should PR Reps submit for their clients?
- How do I avoid "timing out" while I am submitting?
- Who should I contact with additional questions?
- What session topics are we looking for?
Q: What is the submission deadline?
A: Midnight ET, Wednesday, May 19th 5pm ET, Friday, May 21st
Q: What makes a good submission?
A: To have your proposal reviewed by the Advisory Boards, complete the form and include an extended abstract or outline. Incomplete submissions that are commercial or marketing in nature will not be considered.
Write your session description so that it is easily understood. The Advisory Boards will read several hundred. Get to your point as quickly as possible. Why is it interesting? How is it important to game development? What will game developers get out of the session? Concise language goes a long way. Use of conventional writing standards such as topic and supporting sentences also helps. Please write in third person present tense. For example, "This lecture focuses on 3D graphics." Not, "I want to talk about 3D graphics."
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Q: What do I need to provide in my submission?
A: The submission form will require these seven key items. You may be asked to submit additional materials before a decision is made on your proposal.
- Contact information
Please provide full contact information and include a short biography. - Concise presentation description
A description of your presentation as you would have it appear in the conference program in 100 words or less. - Session takeaway
In 40 words or less, describe what attendees will learn from your session. - Extended abstract/Outline
In 500 words or less, provide a description of your presentation in greater detail. Absolutely no proposal will be considered without it. - Presentation Materials
List the elements you will you use to illustrate your talk, for example: code samples, demos, video clips, etc. - Screenshots or Videos
The Advisors would like to see demos, images, or any documentation that supports your submission. - Past Speaking Engagements
If applicable, list the conferences, the title of the lecture, scores, and references. If you can provide references for these lectures, include a name and contact information.
Q: What are the session formats?
A: Submissions that appear to be advertisements for specific products or services will not be considered. We are seeking sessions in the following categories:
Format |
Duration |
Description |
Lectures |
60 minutes |
Lectures are issue-oriented, provide concrete examples, and contain both practical and theoretical information. One speaker is preferred per lecture. Final time allotment will be determined by the advisory board. |
Panels |
60 minutes |
Panels take many different viewpoints on a topic or issue and combine them in one debate session with a moderator. A very limited number of panels will be accepted. |
Roundtables |
60 minutes |
Roundtables are small peer discussion groups led by one or two moderators and limited to a maximum of 75 attendees. Moderators facilitate conversation and keep the flow of discussion moving. Do not lecture or dictate. Constructive controversy and debate are welcome in roundtables. Topics that are open-ended in nature and promote an exchange of ideas generally work best in this format. |
Tutorials |
One-day |
Tutorials offer in-depth full day sessions on a specific discipline within game development. |
Q: What is the selection process for submissions?
A: We will email you a confirmation when we receive your proposal. If you do not receive this confirmation, contact Jen Steele at jsteele@think-services.com.
The summits and main conference have unique advisory board members. Advisors to the specific program you select will review your proposal. (Example: The Game Narrative advisors will review Game Narrative Submissions, not the iPhone submissions.) The advisors will review submissions in the coming months and you will receive notification in July as to the status of your proposal. A composite rating is drawn from these four categories and then the decisions are made from them.
- Concept: This is the basic idea of your proposal. Is it interesting? Is it relevant? Will it be beneficial for game development professionals to hear? There's room for innovative ideas and the tried and true.
- Depth: Has the idea in your proposal been well considered and fleshed out? To what extent will the audience gain insight? The more in-depth, the better.
- Organization: Are your ideas organized in a fashion conducive to presentation in front of an audience? Will the Advisory Board "follow" what you are trying to say? Organization helps!
- Credentials: How do your credentials qualify you to speak on the topic you've proposed?
Q: What are the benefits to speaking?
A: The benefits to being a speaker include:
- Complimentary All Access Pass
- Extensive exposure: Your name and presentation featured in our conference program and web site
- The opportunity to influence your peers and community
- Invitation to the GDC Online Speaker Party
Q: How do I propose a vendor-specific session?
A: We want our talks to be opportunities for professional game developers to share their ideas and experiences. Proposals that are commercial or marketing in nature will not be considered. In general, content specific to proprietary products and technologies is considered sponsored material. The Advisory Board and conference management reserve the right to exercise their editorial discretion. If you would like to publicize a product, please contact our sales team for information on exhibiting and other vendor opportunities, including sponsored sessions.
Q: When will I be notified of the status of my submission?
A: You will receive an automated email response once your submission is received. We will notify you of the status of your submission in July 2010. If you do not hear from us, please contact Jen Steele at jsteele@think-services.com.
Q: How should PR Reps submit for their clients?
A: If you are a PR representative submitting on behalf of a client, please list the client as the speaker and provide all of their contact information in addition to yours. Without the speaker details, the submission will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.
Q: How do I avoid "timing out" while I am submitting?
A: The online submission page will "time out" if it remains idle for more than 10 minutes, causing an interruption in the process, and an incomplete submission that will not be reviewed. To avoid this, click on "Extend Current Session" (located at the top of this page next to your name) so that you have ample time to complete all the steps of the submission form.
Q: Who should I contact with additional questions?
A: Please contact Jen Steele at jsteele@think-services.com with any additional questions.
Q: What session topics are we looking for?
A: We are seeking submissions in five tracks for the main conference dedicated to online game development. We are also seeking submissions to four Summit programs in specific emerging areas of the game industry.
GDC Online Tracks
- Business & Marketing
The Business & Marketing track will focus on the keys to successful MMO development, monetization successes and pitfalls, viral growth models, the casualization of MMOs, minimizing the damages of fraud, hacking, farming and best practices to growing your game outside of a traditional publisher model. - Live
New for 2010, the Live track will discuss successful strategies post-launch. Industry shifts in the last few years have led to a wide array of new techniques and technologies that can help increase profitability and retention. Topics include metrics-driven Live development including split-testing and funnel optimization, design patterns for viral mechanics and retention features, Live team composition, the balance between customer service and community relations, operations issues, QA in a live environment, and more. - Production
The production track will cover the best practices needed to manage technology and your development team to create a successful online title. How do you make online games? What are the best practices for getting an online-focused title out the door on time and under budget? How do you leverage existing technologies in your organization and apply them to future projects? What management style best fits an online-focused game development project? This track covers all aspects of managing online-game development – from staffing to leveraging middleware to management style and techniques. - Programming
All electronic games use technology to deliver the fun, but online games tend to be the most challenging as they require a diverse set of technologies and technical skills to deliver a multiplayer experience. The programming track will include in-depth technical talks on massive scalability, web and social integration, improving production values and the online user experience, graphics and rendering, microtransactions, online security, and more. - Design
The surge in the popularity of connected gaming has changed the player profile and their game play preferences. This track will uncover best practices for creating sticky game designs with better reward systems, increasing monetization possibilities, addressing the needs for multi-generational game play, understanding your audience, integrating social networks into game design, blurring of distinction between casual and deep games and more.
GDC Online Summits
- 3D Stereoscopic Games Summit
This one day Summit will be the first GDC event to explore the world of 3D stereoscopic gaming in depth. With 3D-capable movies such as Avatar and Alice In Wonderland topping the worldwide box office for multiple weeks, and engine companies and console manufacturers alike touting the rise of 3D in gaming, we'll gather industry experts to explain and demonstrate the latest advances in the area. Should you be building 3D support into your games now? What are the key hardware penetration and technical barriers to 3D becoming a defacto standard in the video game industry? We'll explore these questions and more! - Game Narrative Summit
The 2010 Game Narrative Summit is a vibrant new event dedicated to exploring the state and future of storytelling in video games - across the spectrum from emerging independent and social game experiences to the biggest AAA game titles. The two-day event, taking place on October 5th and 6th, will span all facets of the game narrative development process. It'll bridge the art of writing scripts that seamlessly integrate into major console and online game titles with the new breed of story experiences, centered in anything from ARGs to Facebook games. Evolving in name and scope from the long-running Game Writers Summit, experts from the writing, design and creative game communities will be in Austin this October to showcase what interactive entertainment can do with storytelling - and why it's so vital to the future of video games. - iPhone Games Summit
Continuing a successful series of iPhone-themed programs at GDC events, this third iPhone Games Summit will once again bring together top game developers from around the world to share ideas, best practices and discuss the future of this revolutionary platform. This one-day event, paired with the iPad Summit on the following day, will focus on key business and marketing strategies behind successful iPhone game companies, using the expertise of the leading speakers and advisors in the space. From truly succeeding through microtransactions through the iPhone 4.0 operating system and beyond, the event will be a must-attend for those in the space, or just looking to learn more about it. - iPad Gaming Summit
With Apple's iPad off to a tremendous start in worldwide sales, it's clear that the touchscreen, tablet format is not to be underestimated. But what are the key lessons for developers, underneath the hype? The one-day iPad Gaming Summit will twin with the previous day’s iPhone Games Summit to provide a lexicon of key facts and advice for all those working in the iPhone and iPad game areas. From key business learnings through top technical takeaways, some of the developers who are even now surging to major success on the iPad platform are shaping this inaugural GDC Summit on the subject. The result is a boot camp in what you'll need to know to succeed on what is already an extremely competitive format.
