Mike Acton - Engine Director - Insomniac Games

Mike Acton has more than 10 years experience in game development and is an expert in Cell Development Best Practices. He leads three specialties as Technical Director, Senior Engine Programmer and R&D Engineer.

He is a visionary leader with a proven history of developing high-performance software and collaborating with artists, designers and producers to create compelling content. Mike is a recognized industry leader who is passionate about game development and an active member of the development community.
His platform experience includes PS3, PS2, PS1, XBox, GameBoy Color and more.

Since January 2007, Mile Acton is Engine Director for Insomniac Games, as accountable for managing a team of highly qualified, experienced engine programmers through the continued development of PS3 technology.

Master Class : Multi-core and multi-threaded design optimization patterns

Master Class : Using environment design to tell the story

Kyle Balda - Freelance
Kyle studied traditional animation at The California Institute of the Arts in 1991. Kyle worked at Pixar as an animator on A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc. and as directing animator of Toy Story 2. Presently living in Paris, Kyle now works as both director and animation director/consultant at a number of European and Asian studios.

Master class : acting

Master Class: Conceive, Improve and Animate the production pipeline

Cédric Bermond - Sr Software Engineer, Core/Graphics lead - Electronic Arts

Cedric Bermond has over 15 years of experience in the video game industry. He started at Adeline Software (France) as an engine programmer. Two years later, he joined Electronic Arts, then LucasArts & Activision (California, USA). He is now back at Electronic Arts and is working on the upcoming 'Dante's Inferno' video game.

Over the years, he had the opportunity to work on a wide range of titles and platforms, and in various positions (engineer, lead, technical director).

Master Classes: Core Library and Engine Framework

Thomas Bidaux - CEO - ICO Partners

Thomas Bidaux's career started at France Telecom, within the GOA team where in 1999, he was recruited to manage their online games. He grew the activity from a one-man team in charge of the first French MMORPG La 4eme Prophetie, to the European organisation in charge of the most successful MMORPG at the time in this market, Dark Age of Camelot. In 2004, he left France Telecom and Paris, to set up the European subsiduary of the Online Game giant NCsoft. Acting as the Director development for the company, he managed the team who brought many online games to the European market, including Guild Wars and City of Heroes. Participating to the NCsoft Global Portfolio Steering Committee, he led the company's efforts to expand its game portfolio with European-based development, through various 3rd party deals and the creation of a Brighton-based studio as well heading the European team evaluating the group global projects. In late 2008-2009, he created the consulting agency ICO Partners with other NCsoft veterans, focusing his efforts in taking independent developers further and help them reach their full potential across the globe.

Master Class: Monetisation increase your game revenue

Olivier Carrère - Senior Developer - Microsoft Game Studios Europe
After promising start in France, Olivier moved to United kingdom to specialize in Networks Solutions in several devlopment studios: Kuju Entertainment, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Lionhead, Ncsoft.
Olivier just joined Microsoft Games Studios Europe where he manages the online development of all European studios.

Master class : Network architecture

Heather Desurvire - consultant - Behavioristics

Heather Desurvire has been working in the industry for over a decade on several games (as well as software and websites). She has worked for Fortune 100/500 companies such as Microsoft, LucasArts (Star Wars, Indy), Electronic Arts (Lord of the Rings, CnC), AOL, THQ (Full Spectrum Warrior, Tak, Dawn of War, Cars, Wall-E and many other titles), Disney (Girlfriends, Friends), Sega (Medieval, Universe At War), Fandango, Citibank, Symantec, the department of Defense (Strategy Game), Activision (Game Interface) among many others.

Master class : Game Usability / Playability; how to make games more fun!

Noah Falstein - Creative Director - The Inspiracy

Noah Falstein has been a professional game developer since 1980. He began by working at The Milton Bradley Company, designing and programming Atari VCS games, a voice controlled robot, and other game software.

He went on to Williams Electronics (now part of Midway) where he was the co-designer and project leader on the arcade title Sinistar.

In 1984 he became the 7th employee at Lucasfilm Games, where he stayed for 8 years as it became LucasArts Entertainment. He was project leader on PHM Pegasus, Strike Fleet, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and also co-designed Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. He contributed to many other LucasArts titles including Battlehawks 1942, Secret of Monkey Island 1 and 2, The Dig, and more. He went on to head the production department at The 3DO Company, and after that was employee #3 as an Executive Producer at Dreamworks Interactive (now EALA).

Since 1996 he has been a freelance game designer/producer working on many entertainment and serious game titles. He has worked on dozens of entertainment titles including Chaos Island, Chase, Empire at War, and the upcoming Alan Wake, and designed many serious games including Hungry Red Planet, Freedom Fighter 56, and most recently the Cisco Mind Share Game. He has worked for clients on all continents except Antarctica.

Master class : How to think like a game designer ?

Slim Ghariani - Senior Visual Effects Artist - Blizzard Entertainment

In 2000, Slim Ghariani worked for Eden Games on the ''Kya, Dark Lineage'' prototype as a programmer and special effects artist.  Then he moved to Widescreen Games where he worked on several games and prototypes edited by Cryo Interactive, Namco, Ubisoft, Eidos. Slim was in charge of the FX pipeline creation as well as the creation of the artistic resources.  When the industry began to specialize its different creative departments, he put the programming aside to become Lead FX, and coordinate the special effects quality on the several projects managed then by WSG.  For the past two years, Slim Ghariani has been working for Blizzard Entertainment where he is in charge of the special effects creation as well as the evolution of the production pipeline on World of Warcraft.

Master class : Special effects, pipeline, visual techniques

Master Class : Animation Techniques and Workflow

Master Class: Playtests and Focus Tests

Jeff Lander - CTO - Darwin 3D

Jeff Lander is founder of Darwin 3D, a company geared toward a higher adaptation of real-time 3D Graphics. Jeff has worked as a programmer for over 20 years in the video game, television, and film arenas. He has worked on many interactive 3D projects for a variety of clients including nVidia, Rhythm & Hues Studios, Sony, Ion Storm, Exakt Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Activision.

He also wrote the monthly Graphic Content column for Game Developer Magazine from 1998-2001, co-founded the Game Technology Seminars, and has edited several game programmer books.

Master Class: Advanced character animation technology

Doug Mealy - President - OMPR

Doug Mealy has managed the PR for over 300 games and has worked with the CEOs of 115 game studios. He has booked over 6,000 media interviews at 156 trade shows and conferences worldwide.

He started in the games industry in 1990 as the first PR Director of The Software Toolworks, then the world’s largest games developer/publisher. In 1993, he formed Online Marketing and Public Relations as the first “games-only” PR agency. In the PC/MMO space, he managed the PR for CCP Games’ EVE Online, Mythic’s Dark Age of Camelot, Interzone’s Interzone Futebol, NP Cubes’ Dark and Light, and, more recently, the U.S. launch of Eversim’s Commander in Chief.

Doug is a columnist for WarCry, contributes articles to The Escapist, Games Creation Magazine, Exhibit Manager Magazine, Military Training and Technology, and has written several business text books.

Master Class: Optimizing studio promotion and Game Launches via PR / Marketing

Master Class : 3ds Max improvement

Sebastien Schertenleib -  SCEE

After completing his PHD in computer graphics at the Swiss Institute of technology in Lausanne during the summer of 2006,  Sebastien Schertenleib has join SCEE to help game developers optimizing their title for the Playstation 3. The position include to provide technical training but also to work directly with game developers with technical on-site visit

Master class : PS3 Programming

Master Class: Multithreading and Code optimisation

Jeremy Vickery - Ex Pixar Animation studios
Jeremy has over 10 years experience in animation, film, video, and concept design. He worked as a lighting artist/technical director for Pixar Animation studios for many years and helped create the films The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and Wall-E. He is currently the owner of Jermilex Inc, a growing studio based in Florida.

Master class : Lighting