Jason Della Rocca DIG Keynote and Blog

Jason Della Rocca taught game developers the importance of failure at the DIG 2010 Game Developers Dinner.  Aptly timed, Della Rocca gave his speech following dinner and a few glasses of wine giving his presentation an air of authenticity as he struggled with drawing straight lines on his tabloid.  The audience appreciated his casual candor and ability to relate the game development process to broader processes of innovation. 

Check out Jason's blog and photos of DIG2010
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Sponsor Profile: Tech Alliance

Tech Alliance are a company aimed to empower London and Southwestern Ontario's technology sector. They prepare today's entrepreneurs to launch new ventures, provide education and networking opportunities to accelerate business growth for small-to-medium enterprises, and serve over 150 members as advocates for Southwestern Ontario's thriving technology, life-sciences, and advanced manufacturing companies. Working in conjunction with the prestigious Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, Tech Alliance offers a host of innovative programs to get local minds both informed and motivated, including in depth entrepreneurial workshops, their Speaker Series of seminars, their Breakfast Club, and their annual 60 second pitch contest. Tech Alliance represents an invaluable resource to furthering the growth of digital media locally and we are elated to have them participate in this years DIG Conference! Pin It

Speaker Profile: Vikas Gupta

Vikas Gupta is the CEO and President of TransGaming Technologies. Vikas leads TransGaming's strategic endeavours and has negotiated some of the company's most strategic agreements with customers such as Electronic Arts, Activision, Turner Broadcasting, Ubisoft. TransGaming Inc. is a leader in the development of unique software products that facilitate the deployment and distribution of games across multiple platforms. 

TransGaming's continued success is fueled by: Cider, a product that enables PC games on the exploding Mac market; Cedega, a product that enables PC games for the Linux market; GameTree, TransGaming's comprehensive suite of Mac gaming products and services for retail and online game releases; SwiftShader, a proprietary ultra high-speed software 3D rendering product which exploits the move to multi-core CPUs and the convergence of CPU and GPU technologies; TransGaming's Development Studio, creating original video game content. 

TransGaming's customers include some of the largest and most influential content creators around the world ranging from EA, Ubisoft, Activision, NCSoft, CCP, Oberon Media, just to name a few. TransGaming also has strong partnerships with Apple, Intel, AMD, Nvidia. With an undeniable passion for video games and unsurpassed technologies, TransGaming has worked on some of the biggest video game franchises on the planet ranging from The Sims 3, SPORE, Prince of Persia, Shaun White Snowboarding, Kung Fu Panda, City of Heroes, and many more. 

In addition to his passion for TransGaming, Vikas enjoys immersing himself in the advisory and mentoring of emerging organizations. Vikas is the Chair of the non-profit organization, The McLuhan Festival of the Future, and sits on the Board of Directors of Interactive Ontario. He is also an advisor to N4 Systems, Interscope Directories, and was a Director on the Board of Simply Audio Books. Vikas is a frequent speaker and lecturer at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Business and Ryerson University's Business and Technology program. In 2008, Vikas was the recipient of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year Award and has also been featured in a broad range of print and television media. Vikas is a graduate of the University of Waterloo, Canada's premier high-tech educational institution.

Here's video of Vikas giving a keynote at the Intel Developer Forum last year, an example of the awesome content that he will be providing at this years DIG Conference!

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Sponsor Profile: Fanshawe College

Fanshawe College is one of the premier design colleges in not only Ontario, but Canada. One of their most exciting programs, and one that would primarily interest DIG attendees is the Multi Media Design and Production program. According to their website "If you like movies, websites, and games that blow you away with special effects and animation, you'll be right at home in the Multi-Media Design and Production program. Take your creative skills to the next level and gain experience in computer-based web design and programming, 3-D, special effects, animation, game design, effects for film and video design for print. You'll get hands on, practical training from industry professionals and have the freedom to create you own visual and audio masterpieces."

Here's a video that gives a first hand account from the students about how Fanshawe was the perfect choice for them

One of these industry professionals, Dan Rickard, will be on hand at this years DIG conference. Having worked on dozens of games including Batman Arkham City and Arkham Asylum, Borderlands, Army of Two 40th Day, Hulk, Wanted, Blacksite, Sacred 2, and most of the Battlefield series, Dan's experience speaks volumes as to the kind of quality instruction and expertise that Fanshawe provides its students.

In his session, Animation Workshop: Character Creation Dan will use game development tools Mudbox, 3ds, and Photoshop for character creation.  Delegates will learn to develop a high poly sculpt, a low poly mesh, map creation and texturing, Lip Sync animation, and full body animation of biped characters interacting in a fight sequence.  The workshop will take place Friday November 19th as part of the DIG 2010 Conference. You can register online for the conference workshop!

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Speaker Profile: Dr. Sam Trosow

Dr. Samuel Trosow is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario teaching in both the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and the Faculty of Law.

Focusing primarily on law relating to the digital environment and copyright issues, professor Trosow is currently the principal investigator on a research project at FIMS titled "Mobilizing User-Generated Content for Canada's Digital Content Advantage" In his presentation at DIG 2010 he will be reporting on the work done in the advantage study and its implications for future public policies.

Dr. Trosow also serves as the Network Investigator and Project Leader of the GRAND-NCE in Vancouver, a comprehensive research program headed by a board of leaders in both business and academics whose goal is to understand the underlying technologies of new media, animation, and games, in order to better understand how these high growth industries can lead to social, legal, economic, and cultural benefits for Canadians.

Here is an example lecture of Dr. Trosow's involving copyright law, an issue sure to be touched on as he speaks at this year's conference!

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Speaker Profile: Tonya Constant

In 2007, Tonya was working as a QA tester for game developer Beanbag Studios when she was promoted to head of the writing department, working on projects such as EA's "For Dummies" series of games fot the PC and Nintendo DS

After leaving Beanbag in 2009, Tonya, along with colleagues Hayley Patterson and Melanie Lagrou, founded The Ant Firm, a video game testing company based in London, Ontario, where she focuses mainly on the business development and marketing of their products. With her background in both QA and game production, Tonya has an appreciation for the "art of games testing".

According to her Ant Firm profile, Tonya is an avid gamer obsessed with zombie franchises, underwater dystopias and the actress Sada Thompson.

Tonya is just one of many local London game developers that will be at this years DIG Conference, sharing their insight on not only the gaming industry, but why they choose to call London home. Pin It

Sponsor Profile: OMDC

OMDC is the Ontario Media Development Corporation, a branch of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture responsible for recognizing and fostering growth in numerous forms of media in Ontario. In recognition of the growth potential in the digital gaming industry, especially for the province of Ontario, OMDC have made available a number of tax incentives and partnership grants all in an effort to support those who are looking to establish Ontario as a leader in the digital and interactive media industry. Their sponsorship of this years DIG conference serves as another example of their commitment to driving Ontario's talent to the forefront of their fields, with DIG acting as a forum for them to gather and share their knowledge and experience. We thank OMDC for their continued support! Pin It