Eastern Kentucky University will host the first-ever game design conference in the Commonwealth on Saturday, April 30.
The EKU Gaming Institute is partnering with the Richmond office of the Kentucky Innovation Network, RunJumpDev of Lexington and Tech Base 10 to present Vector, a celebration of developers from the Midwest and southeastern U.S. and an opportunity for them to network with leaders and peers in the field of game design and development.
“We believe this event will expand awareness of our program beyond eastern and central
Kentucky and cement EKU’s standing as the premier game design school in the state and region,” said Dr. George Landon, director of the EKU Gaming Institute. “It will also provide our students and alumni and working game developers with a local conference that has many of the benefits of larger west coast game conferences and create a better network for our graduating students by connecting industry with our campus.”
The day-long event, in the Perkins Building, will feature:
· multiple workshops, hosted by Unity Technologies and geared to various skill levels.
· roundtable discussions on topics submitted from the gaming community (topics may still be submitted tohttp://goo.gl/forms/4NSQCOS104.)
· live demo stations for on-site game play and critique of games in development.
· student games showcase for high school and college students in Kentucky. Submissions will be judged and students will receive feedback from a panel of industry representatives. Entrants whose games are accepted will receive free admission and exhibition space to demo their game during the entire event. Students should submit their games by March 20 via http://goo.gl/forms/07ov0p4xiQ.
· Expert speakers such as Dan “Shoe” Hsu, senior manager, partner alliance, Department of Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America and an 18-year veteran of the gaming press; Lisa Brown, independent developer and game designer at Harrisburg University and a former game designer at Insomniac Games; and Jerry Belich, alternative game designer, creator of the award-winning “Choosatron” and the 2016 Vernon Wilson Endowed Chair and visiting game design scholar at EKU.
More than 100 attended a regional game exhibition at EKU last spring, and Landon expects approximately 300 from across the U.S. to attend Vector, making it “the largest gathering of game developers ever in our state.”
Early-bird general admission tickets are available online for a discounted rate of $25 through Feb. 15. The regular admission price through April 23 is $30. Late ticket sales (April 24-29) and tickets purchased at the door will be $40. Students will receive a discount. To purchase tickets or learn more about the conference, visit www.vectorconf.com.
Multiple sponsorship levels, including admission, exhibit booth space and additional advertising opportunities, are also available. For more information, contact Landon at george.landon@eku.edu.
To keep up with latest developments surrounding Vector, follow on Twitter (@vectorconf) or Facebook (runjumpdev).