Press Release

2nd Annual Game Writers Conference to Take Place on
September 6 and 7 in Austin, Texas

Industry Leaders Guide Writing to New Levels of Emotion

Austin, Texas - August 17, 2006 - The Game Initiative, the leading producer of conferences and events for professionals in the computer and video game industry, today announced the dates for the 2006 Game Writers Conference. The event will take place September 6 and 7 at the Austin Convention Center. The event is designed to give game developers and writers a glimpse into the future of this new storytelling medium. Early registration for professionals is just $395, a discount of $100 off the onsite registration price of $495, and $250 for students. Conference details and registration information are available at http://www.GameWritersConference.com/

The event will bring working game writers together with other game developers and writers from other industries who are eager to enter this new arena. Game developers who want to provide a stronger connection with the player will gain tools to achieve the most emotionally engaging games. The event is an excellent opportunity to build the game-writing community.

This year's speakers contributed to these recent/upcoming titles: Mass Effect, Psychonauts, Jade Empire, Destroy All Humans, NeverwinterNights 2, God of War, Leisure Suit Larry, Rainbow Six: Lockdown and Splinter Cell: Double Agent. They are some of the best writers working in the industry today. The conference's intimate setting will provide opportunities for one-on-one interaction with the speakers.

"Game developers and players alike are clamoring for more emotionally inspiring gameplay," said conference chair Susan O'Connor, who recently developed the script for the Xbox360 shooter Gears of War. "Games already look great, play great and sound great. We need to combine those elements into products that are highly emotional and more compelling. Game writers are in a great position to play a leadership role in that arena."

This year's conference sessions include: Narrative Design: Writing Stories With Gameplay In Mind; Creating Characters For Games; Inside the Voice Actor's Studio: Writing Dialogue for Actors; Improv for Writers; Finding New Models for Game Stories; Writing Comedy for Games; The Imago Effect: Avatar Psychology; Screen/Play: Story Documentation. Speakers include Erik Wolpaw (Valve), Harvey Smith (Midway Austin), Chris Avellone (Obsidian Entertainment), and Marianne Krawcyzk (God of War).

The advisory board is comprised of O'Connor, Dana Fos (User Experience Manager, Microsoft) Clint Hocking (Creative Director, Ubisoft) Chris Klug (Creative Director, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment), and Mary De Marle (Narrative Designer, Ubisoft). They have donated many hours of their time to put together this outstanding conference schedule.

Other Game Initiative Events Include:

- Austin Game Conference, September 6, 7 and 8, 2006, Austin, TX
- Game Writers Conference, September 6 and 7, Austin, TX
- Casual Games Conference, September 6, 7 and 8, 2006, Austin, TX
- Game Audio Conference, September 6 and 7, Austin, TX

About The Game Initiative

The Game Writers Conference is produced by The Game Initiative, the leading producer of conferences and events for game industry professionals. Game Initiative events attracted almost 4,000 game industry professionals from around the world as speakers, attendees, sponsors and exhibitors in 2005. The Game Initiative serves the needs of companies and people involved in producing interactive entertainment software and hardware for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. Game Initiative events include the Austin Game Conference, the Mobile Game Conference, the Game Writers Conference, the Advertising In Games Forum, the Casual Games Conference, Game Technology Association Meetings and the How to Break into the Game Industry national conference series. More information about The Game Initiative can be found at http://www.GameConferences.com.

Media Contact:
Tim Williams