Join us Sept 26-27 and Sept 28 For Masterclasses in Vancouver
Game UX Summit Kick Off - Celia Hodent and Veronica Zammitto
Keynote - Erin Hoffman-John, Research and Development at Google, Chief Designer at Sense of Wonder
Keynote - Margaret Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, KijiCo & Co-Founder, Playmatics
Overview of the Fair Play Alliance’s Work and Positive Systems in Games
Carlos Figueiredo, Director, Community Trust & Safety, Two Hat Security/ Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Fair Play Alliance
Tales From the Other Side: Lessons Learned in Teaching UX
Vanessa Hemovich, Associate Professor of Psychology, DigiPen Institute of Technology; Jenn Ash, UX Designer, Bungie; Jami Lukins, Technical UI Designer, Bungie; Mike Ambinder, Principal Experimental Psychologist, Valve
The VR Machine
Stephan Dube: Lead UI/UX Artist, Survios
Understanding Comes First: Mixing Research Methods for Instant Games
Aleksandar Dimitrijevic: Game UX Researcher, Nordeus
How and When to Make Your Procedurality Player-Legible
Tanya X. Short: Creative Director, Kitfox Games
Finding & Exploiting UX details in Game Development tools
Robin-Yann Storm, Tools Designer, previously at Guerrila and lo-Interactive
More than just pictures: Creating accessible iconography for games
Rachel Leiker: Lead UI/UX Designer, Hardsuit Labs
UX Strategy for Greater UX Maturity
Melissa Canseliet: UX Strategist at Ubisoft
Evolution of a Role: UX and UI Tech Design
Orvar Halldorsson, UI/UX Director, Bungie; Jennifer Ash,UX Designer, Bungie; Jami Lukins, Technical UI Designer, Bungie
The UX of Post-Game Statistics in PvP Mobile Games
Shao-Yu Chen, Associate UX Researcher; Eugene Santiago, VP of Research, Key Lime Interactive
We don’t Have Time for UX - Developing Tools in a Fast Paced Environment
Laura Teeples: Workflow UX Designer, 343 Industries
From Funnel to Megaphone: 5 Lessons Learned for Broader Impact Through Strategic Thinking in UX
Tom Lorusso, Sr. UX Research Lead, Microsoft
Everybody Needs UX-Design Skills on the Team! 6 Design and Management Techniques to Ease Work as a Team on the User Experience While Increasing Creativity
Nicolas Eypert, Creative Director, The GameDesign Trust
Shaking Up Gambling with VR, Video Game Design, UX, & Player Health
Juliette Link & Ian Christy, Senior Content Innovation Specialists, BCLC
The Importance of Good User Experience Design for Mobility Accessibility Across the Spectrum
Peter Smith, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Game Design Lead Limbitless Solutions; Matt Dombrowski, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Art Lead, Limbitless Solutions; Milad Haji Hassan, Hardware Developer, Neil Squire Society; Keith Knight, AKA Aieron, Game Accessibility Advocate and User; Karen Stevens, EA Sports Accessibility Lead
Using User Experience Research Tools for Educational Games
George Kalmpourtzis, Principal Designer, Infinitivity Design Labs
Game UX Summit Info
Keynote Speaker: Margaret Wallace – Chief Executive Officer, KijiCo & Co-Founder, Playmatics
Keynote Speaker: Erin Hoffman-John - Research and Development at Google, Chief Designer at Sense of Wonder
Speakers:
Aleksandar Dimitrijevic - Game UX Researcher, Nordeus
Ania Rodriguez – CEO, Key Lime Interactive
Carlos Figueiredo - Director, Community Trust & Safety, Two Hat Security and Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Fair Play Alliance
George Kalmpourtzis – Principal Designer, Infinitivity Design Labs
Ian Christy – Senior Content Innovation Specialist, BCLC
Jami Lukins – UI Artist, Bungie
Jennifer Ash – UI/UX Designer, Bungie
Juliette Link – Senior Content Innovation Specialist, BCLC
Keith Knight - AKA Aieron, Game Accessibility Advocate and User
Laura Teeples - Workflow UX Designer, 343 Industries
Matt Dombrowski - Assistant Professor SVAD UCF & Affiliate Faculty/Art Lead at Limbitless Solutions
Melissa Canseliet - UX Strategist, Ubisoft
Milad Haji Hassan - Hardware and Software developer, Neil Squire Society
Mike Ambinder - Principal Experimental Psychologist, Valve
Nicolas Eypert – Creative Director, The GameDesign Trust
Orvar Halldorsson - UI/UX Director, Bungie
Peter Smith - Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Game Design Lead Limbitless Solutions
Rachel Leiker - Lead UI/UX Designer, Hardsuit Labs
Robin-Yann Storm – Tools Designer, previously at Guerrilla & Io-Interactive
Shao-Yu Chen - Associate UX Researcher and Ania Rodriguez, CEO, Key Lime Interactive
Stephan Dube – Lead UI/UX Artist, Survios
Tanya Short - Creative Director, Kitfox Games
Tom Lorusso – Sr. UX Research Lead, Microsoft
Vanessa Hemovich Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Psychology, DigiPen Institute of Technology
More speakers will be announced soon!
About Game UX Summit 2018
The Game UX Summit debuted in 2016, hosted by Epic Games, as the first UX conference dedicated to the game industry and it attracted over 250 attendees. It is now an anticipated annual event in North America, as well as in Europe, covering all aspects of UX, from design to research to strategy. In 2017, the Game UX Summit was hosted by Ubisoft Toronto and welcomed over 350 attendees from all over the world coming to see 20 speakers from AAA studios as well as indie studios. The Game UX Summit is a unique event to network with UX professionals and UX advocates in the game industry and will likely going to get bigger given the increasing focus on UX in video game development."
The Game UX Summit is the first professional UX event dedicated to the video game industry. Its purpose is to allow game user experience professionals and advocates to discuss the current state of UX in our industry, share best practices, and spread our love for science and compelling experiences. This summit brings together renowned speakers from various UX-related disciplines: Human Factors, Human-Computer Interaction, Design, Art, User Research, Analytics, Business Intelligence, and more.
Celia Hodent, Summit Chair
Everyone involved in game development can agree that seeing players actually play our games is the most rewarding aspect of our process. From the excitement of players playing a game for the first time, through to the right level of challenge as they play it again and again. From players embarking on individual gaming adventures to connecting and building a community with others through play.
At EA, we think Player First. In other words, we think user-centered design. We invite all game user experience professionals to join us as we host the Game UX Summit 2018 to continue fostering the game industry and its growth towards UX. We welcome you to come and share the latest trends on creating an amazing player experience, discuss current best practices, and collaborate on how to keep raising the bar on creating amazing UX for the world’s players.
Looking forward to seeing you all in Vancouver!
Veronica Zammitto, Director of UX Research at Electronic Arts
Read our Code of Conduct here.
Electronic Arts is proud to carry the Game UX Summit torch after Epic Games in 2016 and Ubisoft Toronto in 2017.
Please visit gameuxsummit.com for information on previous Game UX Summit events.
Keynote Speaker
Margaret Wallace – Chief Executive Officer, KijiCo & Co-Founder, Playmatics
Margaret Wallace is Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-based KijiCo (www.kijico.com) and Co-Founder of Brooklyn-based Playmatics. She’s an award-winning entrepreneur and creator of digital and real-world games, products and other interactive experiences. An inventor and innovator, her games-related achievements have spanned a variety of industry sectors, ranging from entertainment to banking, healthcare, education, art, and neurogaming. Wallace was named one of Forbes “12 Women in Gaming to Watch” and was previously highlighted by Fortune as one of “10 Powerful Women in Video Games.“ In 2017, she founded KijiCo and works with companies and teams of all sizes to help drive their efforts in scaling around product, design thinking, innovation, brands and business development. When she's not playing games, you can find her on Twitter (@margaretwallace) or podcasting.
Keynote Speaker
Erin Hoffman-John – Research and Development at Google, Chief Designer at Sense of Wonder
Erin Hoffman-John is a game designer, author, and speaker. She is currently a Lead Prototyper and Game Designer at Google on unannounced projects, and creative lead at Sense of Wonder, an independent maker of digital games with a social good mission. Erin began her design career as an Assistant Worldbuilder for Simutronics on Dragonrealms in 1999, and has worked in a series of game sub-industries in their emerging technology phases, including free-to-play virtual worlds, international MMOs, social games, handheld games, virtual worlds for kids, and games for education. More recently she led design at GlassLab, a three-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation with the mission of bringing AAA development to educational games, and to pioneer realtime game data analysis for learning. After GlassLab she was an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the ETC program. Select game credits include Kung Fu Panda World, SimCity EDU, Mars Generation One, and Doki-Doki Universe. She is also an author of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction, with the Chaos Knight fantasy series published by Pyr Books, and short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry at an assortment of other markets. You can read more at erinhoffman.com or makingwonder.com.
Speakers
Aleksandar Dimitrijevic
Game UX Researcher, Nordeus
Following his passion, Aleksandar joined Nordeus 2 year ago to make a difference in the mobilegaming industry. Alongside his team, his mission is to understand players’ behavior to providethe best experience for all Nordeus games.
Ania Rodriguez
CEO, Key Lime interactive
Ania has served as a UX advisor for two decades on UI Design, User Research & Gaming.
Carlos Figueiredo
Director, Community Trust & Safety, Two Hat Security, Co-Founder & Steering Committee Member, Fair Play Alliance
Committed to cultivating industry collaboration and fostering strong communities around digital citizenship and online safety, Carlos spent the last ten years (including six years at Disney Interactive Studios) keeping online gaming communities healthy. One of the founding members of the Fair Play Alliance, he currently works alongside brilliant people at Two Hat Security and partner organizations to tackle the big online behaviour challenges of our connected times. Carlos has moderated a panel at GDC 2018, spoken at a panel at LA Games Conference 2018 and was a speaker at RovioCon 2018.
Twitter: @Online_Citizen
George Kalmpourtzis
Principal Designer, Infinitivity Design Labs
George Kalmpourtzis is an award-winning game designer and educator. Working on both game design and UX, he has been founder, director and board member of several European design studios.
Ian Christy
Senior Content Innovation Specialist, BCLC
Veteran video game designer that joined BCLC’s Content Innovation team a couple years ago to help discover, flesh out, and validate w/ customers an assortment of new game concepts & MVP game prototypes.
Jami Lukins
Technical UI Designer, Bungie
Jami Lukins is a UI Tech Designer at Bungie, working on Destiny 2. She's shipped over a dozen titles on various platforms during her time as a UI Designer at her previous studios. Jami is also an adjunct senior lecturer at DigiPen Institute of Technology, teaching UX courses.
Jennifer Ash
UX Designer, Bungie
Jenn Ash is a UX Designer at Bungie, working on Destiny 2. Previously she was a User Researcher on Destiny, and outside of games, UXD at IBM. Jenn is also an adjunct lecturer at DigiPen Insitute of Technology, focusing on User Research topics.
Juliette Link
Senior Content Innovation Specialist, BCLC
Juliette is responsible for identifying and applying customer insights to the innovation process at BCLC. She has worked in User Research at BlackBerry, Autodesk, EA and BCLC.
Keith Knight
AKA Aieron, Game Accessibility Advocate and User
Keith goes by the gamertag Aieron. He is Captain of Canada’s first National Powersoccer team. As an avid gamer he has used his passion for gaming and streaming to advocate accessibility in games.
Laura Teeples
Workflow UX Designer, 343 Industries
Laura Teeples is a UX designer with a background in hardware and software development. In 2014 Laura joined the AAA game industry and is currently working in tools development at 343 Industries.
Matt Dombrowski
Assistant Professor SVAD UCF & Affiliate Faculty/Art Lead at Limbitless Solutions
Matt is a digital artist and professor at UCF that works with Limbitless Solutions both in the training games for prosthetic arm use, and in the design of the arms themselves.
Melissa Canseliet
UX Strategist, Ubisoft
With a background in Neuroscience (University of Oxford) and business (HEC Paris), Melissa started at Ubisoft to work in innovation and focused on UX 4 years ago. She is now Ubisoft UX strategist.
Milad Haji Hassan
Hardware and Software developer, Neil Squire Society
Milad is currently a software developer for the Neil Squire Society specializing in embedded hardware design and programming applications for accessibility, including a gaming interface for himself.
Mike Ambinder
Principal Experimental Psychologist, Valve
Mike Ambinder is a principal experimental psychologist at Valve who joined the company in 2008. He has a PhD in Experimental Psychology (with an emphasis on visual cognition) from the University of Illinois, and a BA in Computer Science and Psychology from Yale University. His work at Valve focuses on the application of knowledge and methodologies from psychology to game design as well as statistical analysis. Throughout his time at Valve, he has worked on DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Artifact, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Alien Swarm
Nicolas Eypert
Creative Director, The GameDesign Trust
25+ years of industry experience, from 3d programmer, up to Creative Director at Ubisoft Montreal. I specialize in games conceptions processes that align: design, players and production teams.
Twitter: @nick_eypert
Orvar Halldorsson
UI/UX Director, Bungie
Orvar Halldorsson is the UI/UX Director at Bungie where he leads the UI/UX Org and is directly involved with development of the Destiny franchise. Prior to joining Bungie he was the Game Design Director at CCP Games working on the critically acclaimed MMO Game; EVE Online. Before joining the gaming industry he worked in various creative roles within Web/Mobile, Production and Post Production for Movies and TV and in creative roles at various Design firms. Orvar graduated from Full Sail University in 2001 receiving the Advanced Achievement & Salutatorian Award.
Peter Smith
Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Game Design Lead Limbitless Solutions
Peter is a game designer, who specializes in games for impact. He is a game design professor at UCF, and works with Limbitless Solutions to develop training games to teach kids prosthetic use.
Rachel Leiker
Lead UI/UX Designer, Hardsuit Labs
Rachel Leiker is Lead UI/UX Designer at Hardsuit Labs. She has previously worked on LawBreakers and indie game 404Sight. She is a proponent of accessibility, tacos, and puppies.
Robin-Yann Storm
Tools Designer, previously at Guerrilla & Io-Interactive
Robin-Yann Storm is a Tools Designer, improving game development tools using UX. He has worked at companies such as Io-Interactive and Guerrilla Games, and is now on the road to something new.
Shao-Yu Chen
Associate UX Researcher and Ania Rodriguez, CEO, Key Lime Interactive
Shao-Yu is a UX Researcher at Key Lime. He is also an avid gamer and interested in the UX of gaming.
Stephan Dube
Lead UI/UX Artist, Survios
Stephan Dube is the Lead UI/UX Designer at Survios, a record-breaking virtual reality developer focusing on immersive games and innovative technology.
Tanya Short
Creative Director, Kitfox Games
Tanya X. Short is the Captain of Kitfox Games, a small studio in Montreal. She also co-edited Procedural Generation in Game Design (2017) and co-directs Pixelles, a feminist non-profit.
Twitter: @tanyaxshort
Tom Lorusso
Sr. UX Research Lead, Microsoft
Tom Lorusso is a Principal User Research Lead in Xbox Research. Tom has been working in games for over 9 years, with 17 years in the User Research field. Tom has driven UR insights into over a dozen game titles and several releases of the Xbox Dashboard. Tom and the Xbox Research team tackle a wide variety of features and services for gaming at Microsoft including Windows, Xbox Live, Mixer streaming, Accessibility and cross platform gaming. Tom is currently binge watching “The Flash” and playing way too many hours of Overwatch, Battlefront 2 and Hearthstone.
Twitter: @tomlorusso
Vanessa Hemovich
Associate Professor of Psychology, DigiPen Institute of Technology
Vanessa Hemovich holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the DigiPen Institute of Technology. For the last 15 years, she has successfully taught a wide range of introductory and graduate-level psychology courses across disciplines such as computer science, game design, and UX/UI. Her research and educational training emphasize fMRI and neuroimaging applications to various socio-cognitive phenomena, which has included a visiting fellowship at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Harvard University and more than two dozen peer-reviewed publications and professional conference presentations. She is currently pursuing research on cognitive load as a predictive factor for pro-social behavior in competitive FPS video games.
Game UX Summit Agenda
Game UX Summit 2018 will include 2 packed days of amazing content, showcasing a variety of game UX topics. Please ensure you arrive early to complete registration and grab your seat for two days of networking and sharing knowledge!
Registration: Doors open at 8am (both days)
Session Talks: 9:30am to 5:30pm
Evening Event: Evening Social Event: September 26th at 6pm at “Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar” (200 Burrard Street)
Game UX Summit 2018 Closing: Sep. 27th, 5:30pm - 6pm
*Please note that specific session talk times will be announced closer to the event.
Day 1 – Wednesday, Sep. 26th
Time |
|
8:00 |
Registration |
9:30 |
Game UX Summit Kick Off |
9:40 |
Carlos Figueiredo, Director, Community Trust & Safety, Two Hat Security/ Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Fair Play Alliance |
10:15 |
Vanessa Hemovich, Associate Professor of Psychology, DigiPen Institute of Technology; Jenn Ash, UX Designer, Bungie; Jami Lukins, Technical UI Designer, Bungie; Mike Ambinder, Principal Experimental Psychologist, Valve |
11:00 |
Break |
11:25 |
Stephan Dube: Lead UI/UX Artist, Survios |
12:00 |
Aleksandar Dimitrijevic: Game UX Researcher, Nordeus |
12:30 |
Lunch |
13:30 |
Tanya X. Short: Creative Director, Kitfox Games |
14:05 |
Robin-Yann Storm, Tools Designer, previously at Guerrila and lo-Interactive |
14:40 |
Rachel Leiker: Lead UI/UX Designer, Hardsuit Labs |
15:10 |
Break |
15:35 |
Melissa Canseliet: UX Strategist at Ubisoft |
16:10 |
Keynote - Erin Hoffman-John, Research and Development at Google, Chief Designer at Sense of Wonder |
17:10 |
|
Day 2 – Thursday, Sep. 27th |
|
Time |
|
8:00 |
// |
9:30 |
Day Two Introduction |
9:40 |
Orvar Halldorsson, UI/UX Director, Bungie; Jennifer Ash,UX Designer, Bungie; Jami Lukins, Technical UI Designer, Bungie |
10:45 |
Shao-Yu Chen, Associate UX Researcher; Eugene Santiago, VP of Research, Key Lime Interactive |
11:15 |
Break |
11:30 |
Laura Teeples: Workflow UX Designer, 343 Industries |
12:05 |
Tom Lorusso, Sr. UX Research Lead, Microsoft |
12:35 |
Lunch |
13:20 |
Nicolas Eypert, Creative Director, The GameDesign Trust |
13:55 |
Juliette Link & Ian Christy, Senior Content Innovation Specialists, BCLC |
14:30 |
Peter Smith, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Game Design Lead Limbitless Solutions; Matt Dombrowski, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Art Lead, Limbitless Solutions; Milad Haji Hassan, Hardware Developer, Neil Squire Society; Keith Knight, AKA Aieron, Game Accessibility Advocate and User; Karen Stevens, EA Sports Accessibility Lead |
15:15 |
Break |
15:40 |
George Kalmpourtzis, Principal Designer, Infinitivity Design Labs |
16:15 |
Keynote - Margaret Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, KijiCo & Co-Founder, Playmatics |
17:15 |
Game UX Summit Close |
Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Game UX Researcher, Nordeus
Understanding Comes First: Mixing Research Methods for Instant Games
While continuously striving to provide a better experience for users, developers often forget about the basics: how their players play and understand their games? In this talk, we are starting from the hypothesis which state that better understandability could increase game metrics on Golden Boot, one of the most popular games on Facebook Messenger. To prove or overthrow this hypothesis, we used various user research methods to understand problems from the users’ perspective. This talk will walk you through the entire process and give you insights on how to provide better UX by implementing changes derived from mixing different user research methods.
Carlos Figueiredo, Director, Community Trust & Safety, Two Hat Security/ Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Fair Play Alliance
Overview of the Fair Play Alliance’s Work and Positive Systems in Games
This talk will share an overview of the Fair Play Alliance's work, and take a look at systems in games that reinforce positive interactions and reduce disruptive behaviour. We will define disruptive behaviour, share examples from several games, and share learnings for developers to encourage productive and pro-social play in their games.
George Kalmpourtzis, Principal Designer, Infinitivity Design Labs
Using User Experience Research Tools for Educational Games
A common challenge of teams that work on educational gaming is that stakeholders do not share the same objectives, priorities and vision about the final result. Educators tend to focus on learning aspects and evaluation of the delivered games, while game designers, game artists and developers tend to focus on elements that are traditionally addressed by casual game design. This presentation provides practical insights and examples from previous educational gaming projects on how to better target your players as well as draft user journeys that will help specialists from different backgrounds express their perspectives, discuss, co-create and be aligned towards a common educational game vision.
Jami Lukins, Technical UI Designer, Bungie
Jennifer Ash, UX Designer, Bungie
Orvar Halldorsson, UI/UX Director, Bungie
Evolution of a Role: UX and UI Tech Design
Discipline roles within UX have shifted considerably over the last few years. Bungie has not only changed its development process over the last 3 years, but also role responsibilities within the UI/UX organization. The UI Team transitioned from being within the Art discipline to Design. Jenn, currently a UX Designer, started her as a UI/UX Designer in a waterfall development process. Jami, currently a Technical Designer, started her role as a UI Artist as AGILE was adopted by the company. Hear how the roles have changed, what they entail, what has worked and what has room for improvement as development continues to evolve.
Laura Teeples, Workflow UX Designer, 343 Industries
We don’t Have Time for UX - Developing Tools in a Fast Paced Environment
Designing new game development tools with usability in mind can be a challenge, especially when your users always seem to be too busy to work with you. Tight deadlines and packed schedules only further complicate the process of conducting usability investigations. In this talk we will discuss a practical method for achieving maximum results for identifying problems, mental models, expectations, priorities, and potential solutions in only an hour’s time. With some simple office tools and a few well prepared questions, we can prove that even while shipping a game we can still find the time for UX.
Melissa Canseliet, UX Strategist at Ubisoft
Positive Systems in Games
How can we help projects to reach a better UX maturity from the HQ when UX is everyone's job, and the projects all different from each other?
Melissa will share her experience of the last two years as an UX strategist at Ubisoft Editorial team, and bring out some best practices that can apply to an organization as well as to a specific project. By focusing on a collaboration between the Rabbids+Mario Kingdom Battle team and Melissa, we will uncover how some game features iterations manifest the growing of the UX approach, and how we can encourage our teammates to reach greater UX maturity.
Nicolas Eypert, Cretive Director, The GameDesign Trust
Everybody Needs UX-Design Skills on the Team! 6 Design and Management Techniques to Ease Work as a Team on the User Experience While Increasing Creativity
All content creators/designers have an impact on the game User eXperience, so how to be in control? And how as a team can we drive the game UX development in complex modern game productions? I will share 5 easy to grasp mindsets and design tools usable by all trends to help rationalize and organize overall game UX work as a team and become user informed content creators. I will share a simple to implement way to make it happen progressively and have your whole team work together on the game UX while maximizing creativity.
Peter Smith, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Game Design Lead Limbitless Solutions
Matt Dombrowski, Affiliate Faculty, UCF, Art Lead, Limbitless Solutions
Milad Haji Hassan, Hardware Developer, Neil Squire Society
Keith Knight, AKA Aieron, Game Accessibility Advocate and User
The Importance of Good User Experience Design for Mobility Accessibility Across the Spectrum
This panel will be comprised of a variety of members of the accessible gaming community including end users of accessible games and technologies, developers of accessible hardware, developers of accessible games, and artists that help integrate the two. Representatives include Aieron, a gamer that earns money for charity by streaming accessible games; Milad HajiHassan, a developer of accessible hardware and applications for the Neil Squire Society; and Peter Smith and Matt Dombrowski, a team of game design and art professors at Limbitless Solutions. Limbitless Solutions is an organization that creates expressive prosthetic arms for children that integrate with game based training applications. The unique perspectives represented will express the important of good UX design across the whole life cycle of accessible game development.
Rachel Leiker, Lead UI/UX Designer, Hardsuit Labs
More than just pictures: Creating accessible iconography for games
Icons in games can represent a complex array of ideas and concepts that must be quickly interpreted by the player. However, they are often an afterthought in development. This talk will provide tools and strategies to help developers create meaningful iconography that can be read and understood by a diverse amount of players without sacrificing style.
Robin-Yann Storm, Tools Designer, previously at Guerrilla & Io-Interactive
Finding & Exploiting UX details in Game Development tools
In this talk, Tool Designer Robin-Yann Storm will explore why even the smallest details in your game development tools are critical, and how UX methodologies can help improve even something as simple and humble as the transform gizmo.
Shao-Yu Chen, Associate UX Researcher and Ania Rodriguez, CEO, Key Lime Interactive
The UX of Post-Game Statistics in PvP Mobile Games
Does frequent and attentive analysis of post-game statistics have a positive impact on a gamer’s awareness of their skill level and performance? Join us as we share the findings of our usability study that examines post-game statistics of PvP games. We’ll share top 3-5 areas of opportunities for improving the user experience for PvP mobile gamers.
Stephan Dube, Lead UI/UX Artist, Survios
The VR Machine
In this talk, you’ll learn how Survios builds robust UX designs for its triple-A VR titles. Stephan Dube, Lead UI/UX Designer at Survios, developers of chart-topping VR titles Raw Data and Sprint Vector, and the highly anticipated CREED: Rise to Glory, will showcase Survios’ best techniques and processes in achieving high-quality design for intuitive VR experiences that people will love. Takeaways will include: the challenges of building a 3D VR interface, time-saving processes, different types of interactions in the menu system, the best tools for the job, and much more!
Tanya X. Short, Creative Director, Kitfox Games
How and When to Make Your Procedurality Player-Legible
Procedural systems often either look like chaos or, more commonly, like a samey bland mess. Perceptual uniqueness is the design goal, yet is easily lost. Using examples from Kitfox's own projects (Moon Hunters, The Shrouded Isle, etc) and other commercial games (Civilization, Crusader Kings, etc), Tanya will outline design methods and strategies for helping the player de-code your systems correctly. This talk will show ways to increase the legibility of your procedural systems, in pursuit of a simultaneously more systemic and accessible play experience.
Tom Lorusso, Sr. UX Research Lead, Microsoft
From Funnel to Megaphone: 5 Lessons Learned for Broader Impact Through Strategic Thinking in UX
This talk will provide context for why thinking more strategically is important to up-level an individual career and our discipline as a whole. It will offer 5 practical tools: Thinking like a megaphone - not a funnel, packaging up how you work with teams (and how you want them to work with you), crossing the teams, five reasons for doing anything, and having a point of view.
Vanessa Hemovich, Associate Professor of Psychology, DigiPen Institute of Technology
Jenn Ash, U/X Designer, Bungie
Jami Lukins, Technical Designer, Bungie
Mike Ambinder, Principal Experimental Psychologist, Valve
Tales From the Other Side: Lessons Learned in Teaching UX
Attendees will learn how UX is breaking forth into game design education as a relevant domain. The panel will discuss how UX principles translate into classroom learning experiences when introducing fundamental aspects of design flexibility, ease of use, player feedback, and the importance of accessibility and clarity to maximize user experiences. The discussion will address a variety of “do’s and don’ts” in design teaching and learning about UX. The talk will also cover unique barriers and challenges faced attempting to translate real-world UX principles in game design into learning outcomes that target audiences can easily understand and appreciate.
Masterclasses
Delivered by experts in the industry, Masterclasses offer a deeper dive on critical UX topics structured in a workshop setting. This year we are thrilled to cover:
· Accessibility
· Competitive Gaming
· Player Journey Mapping
We are delighted to offer masterclasses that include 6 solid hours of content and hands-on activities, taking place in a more intimate environment. Each masterclass has a maximum capacity of 25 people and includes breakfast, lunch, plus morning and afternoon breaks.
All masterclasses will be held on September 28th from 9am to 5pm at EA Vancouver (4330 Sanderson Way, Burnaby, BC, V5G 4X1)
Masterclasses are open only to Game UX Summit 2018 attendees. Please purchase your Summit Pass prior to purchasing a separate pass to the masterclass you wish to attend. Be sure to get your tickets early as space is very limited.
Eric Hewitt
Competitive Systems Manager, Electronic Arts
Eric has been competing and working in the competitive gaming landscape since the early days of Halo and Counter-Strike – nearly 20 years ago. He is a former National Champion in Halo 2, but he’s also worked on building out the competitive rulesets, tournaments, settings and maps for the Halo franchise, under both Major League Gaming and Microsoft’s 343 Industries. Eric currently resides in California where he works as a Competitive Systems Manager on the Battlefield franchise under EA’s Competitive Gaming Division.
Competitive gaming has exploded through strong player engagement of not only competing against others, but also through experiencing the thrill of being a spectator while rallying behind our favorite players. But what factors make a great competitive game that encourages players to take part, while also holding audience interest as the world watches others battle it out?
This masterclass discusses both the history and future of competitive games by going deeper into competitive game design. Participants will uncover the relationship between sports and video games and explore the rising importance of making competitive games that will appeal to the spectators of esports and streaming games, while looking at current competitive gaming titles offered throughout the industry.
Karen is the EA Sports Accessibility Lead, pushing to improve the user experience of those with interactive differences. She has been in the game industry for over 13 years and has first-hand experience of what it's like living with disabilities. Karen is an experienced conference presenter and has been featured in magazines, television programs, and radio shows.
The ultimate goal for any game team is to make games people can play, yet sometimes users with interactive differences face accidental design roadblocks that prevent play.
Accessibility is the correction of a mismatch between the person and their environment. Not only do 1 in 5 people live with at least one disabling condition, but 60% of people who have no issue will likely still use accessibility settings.
This masterclass will explore the needs of your players and how to better meet those needs. You'll discover how even quick changes can have a large beneficial impact, and how accessibility awareness can create a better gaming experience for all players.
Karen Stevens
Sports Accessibility Lead, Electronic Arts
Narisa Spaulding & Mara Patton
Sr UX Designer & Game Designer - PopCap
Masterclass on “Player Journey Mapping”.
Narisa Spaulding (Sr. UX Designer) and Mara Patton (Game Designer) are part of PopCap studio within Electronic Arts, playing at the intersection of Game Design and UX. Narisa is a Senior UX Designer with 15+ years creating fun, beautiful and easy-to-use digital experiences. Mara is a Game Designer with a focus on player behavior and satisfaction, with almost a decade of work on PC-based MMOs and mobile games that serve a huge range of demographics and playstyles. Be sure to ask them during a break about their favorite post-it sizes! Their answers are sure to delight and surprise.
As games and our audiences grow and mature, how do we find meaningful ways to empathize with our users and their needs, and predict how well a title will meet those needs? How can we gain more confidence in the games we build earlier, and how do we build a shared language around our users, and the features built to engage them?
In this masterclass, we’ll discuss ways of segmenting your players focusing on their motivations and goals as users, rather than demographics or casual/core descriptions. Using this lens, we’ll explore how to use Player Journey Maps and Story Maps to find empathy for your users, predict their responses and needs to a title, and validate design decisions as early as possible. This approach helps to build shared language and understanding across disciplines of who your users are, what they desire, and how well your project is doing at satisfying their goals and motivations. This is a lightweight approach that can be applied at any stage during development, from the earliest pre-production right up through Games as a Service (GaaS) live updates.
Sponsorship Packages
To inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact vzammitto@ea.com
$5000 USD
3 Available
Featured Logo on the website, program guide, and Eventbrite communications + Lanyard + special thanks during event
Option to include marketing material and/or branded item in attendee take-home bag
2 codes for 40% discount of Summit Pass
Table on-site at the conference, if desired
(you will need to bring your AV, we only provide the table)
Party sponsor: open to all attendees; held evening of September 26, 2018, location TBA
$2000 USD
5 Available
Featured Logo on the website, program guide, and Eventbrite communications +
special thanks during event
Option to include marketing material and/or branded item in attendee take-home bag
1 code for 40% discount of Summit Pass
$500 USD
15 Available
Featured Logo on the website, program guide, and Eventbrite communications +
special thanks during event
Venue
Join Us in Vancouver
The Waterfront Ballroom, located in the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel
The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel
900 Canada Place Way
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V6C 3L5
Located at our host hotel, The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel offers a comfortable and convenient conference experience, and Game UX Summit 2018 will be hosted in their beautiful Waterfront Ballroom. Enjoy the impressive touches that Fairmont Hotels offer within the elegant setting of their conference space, all within steps of your room.
Accomodations
The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel is the official hotel of Game UX Summit 2018 as the Summit takes place at this venue.
We have organized discounted rates and added perks for attendees!
Book online (discounted rates only available via this reservation system)
Enjoy complimentary wi-fi, access to outdoor heated pool, and fitness center.
Address: 900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 3L5
Conveniently located on Vancouver’s harbourfront, the Fairmont Waterfront offers upscale comfort alongside spectacular West Coast views.
Rooms are based on availability, first-come, first-served.
Reservation Cut-off Date: August 25
Easy and direct train public transport from airport to hotel. Train system in Vancouver called “Skytrain”.
The Canada Line Skytrain offers transportation from Vancouver International Airport to Waterfront Station. To walk to the hotel, exit Waterfront Station, turn right at Cordova Street and right again on Howe Street onto Canada Place Way. The Fairmont Waterfront is on your left hand side. Estimated walking time is 5 minutes.
Service Start/Stop Times:
Travel time from Waterfront Station to YVR is 25 minutes.
Waterfront Station - YVR
First train departs 4:50am, arrives 5:15am
Last train departs 1:05am, arrives 1:30am
YVR - Waterfront Station
First train departs 5:10am, arrives 5:30am
Last train departs 12:57am, arrives 1:22am
Early Morning and Evenings: Trains run every 12 minutes
Mid-day and weekend peak hours: Trains run every 8 minutes
Late Evenings: Trains run every 20 minutes
Fare Information
Fare from YVR to Waterfront Station is $8.75.
Fare machines accept Canadian cash, debit cards, Visa and MasterCard and gives change.
Register
Join Us in Vancouver
Click here to register for Game UX Summit 2018 or fill in the info below. Space is limited, so be sure to secure your spot. We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!