Roundtable Sessions

Curated Roundtable Discussions with Industry Experts 

New to D.I.C.E. 2016 will be the inclusion of focused roundtable, break-out sessions. Each year, the AIAS is challenged to find ways to facilitate new networking opportunities that will enrich the attendee experience. Based on the overwhelming success of our roundtable experience at the 2015 D.I.C.E. Europe event in Barcelona, AIAS will extend this concept to the Vegas Summit. 

Register for the 2016 D.I.C.E. Summit now!

Roundtables at D.I.C.E. Europe 2015 Barcelona
Roundtables at D.I.C.E. Europe 2015 Barcelona

Roundtable break-out sessions are intimate, moderated group discourses where attendees can discuss amongst peers a variety of topics important to the interactive entertainment industry.  The roundtables will take place over several rooms with multiple roundtables in each room, seating 10 per table including the table leader. 

The Academy envisions the table leader briefly introducing the topic. Afterwards, the discussion becomes free form with the leader’s only obligation to serve as a moderator to keep things moving along with a few questions if conversations begin to stall as well as making sure that everyone at the table is getting a fair chance to speak and engage with others.  The objective is not to necessarily solve a problem or come to a conclusion – it is to trade ideas/thoughts with other engaged individuals with similar interests and questions. 

PLEASE NOTE: Roundtable sessions will be closed events for D.I.C.E. attendees only. 

Roundtable session leaders and topics will be added soon, so please check back for details.  If you would like to submit a roundtable topic, please email Debby Chen at [email protected]

Wednesday Topics

Aladin Ben
Michael Capps,   Ph.D.

Aladin Ben
VP Business Development & Growth Sponsorships
Hitbox
Entering eSports as a brand
Hitbox will lead a discussion about the right way for brands to enter this specific market. How important is it to pick the right game? Do you need a dedicated eSports Manager? Should you rather focus on teams or go for individual athletes? How do you create the right cult around your brand? These and many more topics about how to successfully launch your brand into eSports will make one hell of a round table.

 

Michael Capps, Ph.D.
AIAS Board of Directors
Virtual Reality: the Future of our Artform?
It's the 80 billion dollar gorilla in the room -- widely-available VR is launching right now. Let's chat about the impact on the game industry, and the platform, publisher, developer, and regulatory landscape. Over good scotch, let's talk immersive storytelling, new interaction paradigms, true social connection, and the user-experience challenges of bringing a complex technology to an over-hyped mass audience. (And let's don't talk about FOV and FPS and OLEDs!)

s

Michael Condrey
Kate Edwards

Michael Condrey
Studio Head & Co-founder
Sledgehammer Games
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Increasing the State of Developer Diversity in the Games Industry
The videogame industry is an amazing place to work, yet we have a huge opportunity to grow our game appeal and studio draw by increasing the diversity within our development community. How do we become better at hiring and attracting a more diverse team? Join me to discuss tips for hiring more women and minorities, as well as hiring candidates from outside the game sector – in effort to broaden our talent pool.

 

Kate Edwards
Executive Director
IGDA
New Worlds and New Territories - Considering the International Challenges to Game Technology and Content
Global expansion of the game industry is a simple reality, particularly when localized versions of games represent almost half of the industry's total revenue and emerging markets are seeing year-over-year double-digit growth. But how simple is that reality? While both game play and game development are rapidly becoming ubiquitous, significant challenges remain to continue expansion - from technology infrastructure to socio-economic conditions, from government intervention to cultural and geopolitical issues. This round table will explore what both companies and the industry as a whole can do to help minimize the barriers and maximize the opportunities for growth.

 

Daniel Fiden
TJ Galda

Daniel Fiden
Chief Strategy Officer
FunPlus
Small Studio Financing
It’s tough out there. 2016 is shaping up to be a more challenging macro-economic environment. Mobile is maturing, VR realities are setting in, and China is slowing down. So what financing options are available to developers today, and what structures can you expect from them? Join Dan Fiden, CSO of FunPlus and co-founder of Signia Venture Partners, and Asher Vollmer, founder of Sirvo and creator of Threes! to share experiences and learn.

 

TJ Galda
Senior Product Manager for AAA Games Solutions
Autodesk
AAA Unite! Engaging an Industry
TJ will explore the benefits of sharing beyond your studio and how to use collaboration to push the industry forward. Common problems become common ground as we move toward the future path of success.

 

David Helgason
Jeff Hilbert

David Helgason
Founder
Unity Technologies
VR: Final Screens, Platform Power, Neural Augmentation
VR and AR. Hardware and software platforms, freedom, and control. Where will value be created, how to be the one to create and capture it.

 

Jeff Hilbert
Founder and Board Member
DDM
Succeeding in Asia
Asia is a polyglot of countries, cultures and distinct markets. During this roundtable we will discuss various strategies that have proven successful in bring products from the West to the East.

 

Michael Pachter
Matthew Pierce

Michael Pachter
Managing Director, Equity Research
Wedbush Securities
Amazon, Apple and Google In the Future of Games
Games are increasingly being played anywhere, and as mobile, tablet, PC and console processors converge in capability, it is clear the some new players are eying entry into the games business. What does that mean for each of the participants in the game value chain?

 

Matthew Pierce
Founder, CEO
Versus
Place Your Bets: eSports and Pay to Play Gaming
eSports is one of the fastest growing segments of the entertainment industry and the laws governing online gambling are still being written. Is real- money gaming a good idea? Is it legal? Will prize based tournaments increase player engagement? Matthew Pierce, CEO of Versus Systems, will detail the domestic and international landscape through open dialog with attendees around what’s available to their players.

 

Randy   Pitchford
Mark Robinson

Randy Pitchford
Founder and President/CEO
Gearbox Software
Cross-Platform, Cross- Media Brand Engagement
As cloud computing, mobile and wearable tech pushes forward alongside traditional platforms, the landscape for customer engagement is more diverse and complicated than ever before. How do we maintain engagement across platforms and across mediums in this new world? What new strategies can we imagine to increase engagement with our brands?

 

Mark Robinson
CEO
deltaDNA
Retention or Revenue? How to Have it All in F2P
Mark will discuss practical steps, referencing real case studies, on how to unlock your game potential. Learn how to understand your player experiences. Discover how to use this insight to design player-centric Ad and IAP monetization strategies that engage your players.

 

Nelson   Rodriguez
Glen Schofield

Nelson Rodriguez
Senior Industry Marketing Manager, Games
Akamai Technologies
Why Players Are Leaving Your Game
User churn is painfully high in our industry. Some estimates show 90% of players leaving a game after the first 30 days. That’s a shame, since some of the leaks are easy to plug. Using analytics and real life examples, we dig into this topic.

 

Glen Schofield
CEO and Co-founder
Sledgehammer Games
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM
The Future of Fun: Innovating Gameplay Mechanics on the Next Gen Consoles
With over 25 years in the game industry I have designed, directed, collaborated on and created hundreds of mechanics for video games. In most cases, we’ve designed the same mechanics over and over – some of the great examples are tanks, mortars, stealth, grenades, flamethrowers, and more. Let’s discuss innovation within gameplay mechanics and the future of fun. How do we keep these fresh and interesting?features and content, it's becoming more and more difficult to decide whether short or long term bets should trump.

 

Christofer Sundberg
Asher Vollmer

Christofer Sundberg
Founder and Chief Creative Officer
Avalanche Studios
Stick to Your Guns
At a certain point being flexible will lie a knot on a game development business or a publisher. Believe me, I’ve been there. In a changing industry being focused might be more important than being flexible to changes and are we prepared to pay the price of flexibility? At some point reinventing yourself must come to a stop.

 

Asher Vollmer
Designer of Threes!
Sirvo
Small Studio Financing
It’s tough out there. 2016 is shaping up to be a more challenging macro-economic environment. Mobile is maturing, VR realities are setting in, and China is slowing down. So what financing options are available to developers today, and what structures can you expect from them? Join Dan Fiden, CSO of FunPlus and co- founder of Signia Venture Partners, and Asher Vollmer, founder of Sirvo and creator of Threes! to share experiences and learn.

 

Alyssa   Walles

Alyssa Walles
General Manager
Hitbox
Entering eSports as a Brand
Hitbox will lead a discussion about the right way for brands to enter this specific market. How important is it to pick the right game? Do you need a dedicated eSports Manager? Should you rather focus on teams or go for individual athletes? How do you create the right cult around your brand? These and many more topics about how to successfully launch your brand into eSports will make one hell of a round table.

 

Thursday Topics

Alan Abdine
Matthew Arevalo

Alan Abdine
Senior Vice President, Business Development
Rooster Teeth Productions
Online Influencer Marketing For Games
How can marketing managers best utilize online gamers and influencers to make exciting, meaningful, and engaging content that benefits both the brand and creator? Join a round table hosted by Rooster Teeth Productions, pioneers in the online video field, to discuss best practices for connecting directly with your audience in a meaningful and credible way.

 

Matthew Arevalo
Co-Founder/Chief Experience Officer
Loot Crate
Experience Focused Initiatives to Acquire, Engage and Retain
In this round table we will be sharing best practices focused on activating and growing your community by keeping them engaged through experience based campaigns.

 

Tim Campbell
David Helgason

Tim Campbell
Senior Vice President, Games & Executive Board Member
Gameforge
Publishing Portfolio Diversification
With the speed at which the interactive entertainment market evolves, diversity in genres, platforms, development strategies (e.g. internal vs. external), product acquisition methods, deal structures and talent can be crucial to weathering cyclical trends and executing the right idea at the perfect time. How do you make a portfolio diversification strategy work for you and not lose your mind in the process?

 

David Helgason
Founder
Unity Technologies
Unity, the industry, and you.
Frank conversation with David Helgason for customers, partners, and friends. BYO topics or listen in.

 

Don Karl
Hendrik Lesser

Don Karl
Partner, Co-Chair of Interactive Entertainment Group
Perkin Coie LLP
Game Company M&A
When opportunity knocks – is selling my company a smart move to take it to the next level, a payday for all of that hard work, or selling out? A discussion of the motivations, risks and rewards of selling your company.

 

Hendrik Lesser
Managing Director
Remote Control Productions
Europe, a Galaxy Far, Far Away? Opportunities and Challenges Across the Pond
Hundreds of development studios, an incredibly creative developer scene and government funding – Europe offers many opportunities for game developers. On the other hand there are so many countries, with many different laws, rules and regulations – Europe also offers many challenges for the uninitiated. We’re discussing what it takes to collaborate successfully with teams in Europe, what you need to take into consideration when planning a partnership overseas and how to make the most out of this hugely diverse market for your games.

 

Niccolo Maisto
Laura Naviaux

Niccolo Maisto
Co-Founder and CEO
Faceit
The Influence of eSports on Games' Engagement and Monetization
Publisher and Developers are discovering eSports and its ecosystem with different perspectives, strategies and goals, striving to understand how it can aid their business. What’s the impact of eSports on the acquisition, engagement and monetization of a game? How can games align eSports to business strategy?

 

Laura Naviaux
Chief Publishing Officer
Daybreak Games
Games As A Service: Where To Focus Dev Resources?
In the Games As A Service model ongoing development has many competing priorities...with retention as paramount. How do you decide what to focus precious resources on? The spectrum of options is so wide from game stability and quality to new "marketing worthy" features and content, it's becoming more and more difficult to decide whether short or long term bets should trump.

 

Randy   Pitchford
Mark Robinson

Randy Pitchford
Founder and President/CEO
Gearbox Software
Cross-Platform, Cross- Media Brand Engagement
As cloud computing, mobile and wearable tech pushes forward alongside traditional platforms, the landscape for customer engagement is more diverse and complicated than ever before. How do we maintain engagement across platforms and across mediums in this new world? What new strategies can we imagine to increase engagement with our brands?

 

Mark Robinson
CEO
deltaDNA
Retention or Revenue? How to Have it All in F2P
Mark will discuss practical steps, referencing real case studies, on how to unlock your game potential. Learn how to understand your player experiences. Discover how to use this insight to design player-centric Ad and IAP monetization strategies that engage your players.

 

Nelson   Rodriguez
Hannes Seifert

Nelson Rodriguez
Senior Industry Marketing Manager, Games
Akamai Technologies
Why Players Are Leaving Your Game
User churn is painfully high in our industry. Some estimates show 90% of players leaving a game after the first 30 days. That’s a shame, since some of the leaks are easy to plug. Using analytics and real life examples, we dig into this topic.

 

Hannes Seifert
Studio Head and Executive Producer
Io Interactive
The Digital Age and its Impact on Classic AAA Game Development and Publishing
Hannes will host a discussion on what opportunities and possibilities open up with moving AAA releases further away from physical platforms into the live and online world of today. What are the risks and challenges? How can existing franchises and development teams evolve? How do your publishing teams and your distribution partners fit into this new world? And most of all, what’s in it for the players?

 

Greg Short
Gustavo Solora

Greg Short
President
IEP
Building Better Leadership
This round-table will center around the processes, mentorship, and educational approaches senior executives used to create more effective leadership and talent within their organizations. Participants are also encouraged to present specific challenges they are facing in their organization for peer input.

 

Gus Sorola
Co-Founder
Rooster Teeth Productions
Online Influencer Marketing For Games
How can marketing managers best utilize online gamers and influencers to make exciting, meaningful, and engaging content that benefits both the brand and creator? Join a round table hosted by Rooster Teeth Productions, pioneers in the online video field, to discuss best practices for connecting directly with your audience in a meaningful and credible way.

 

Christian Svensson
Feargus Urquhart

Christian Svensson
Chief Operating Officer
Six Foot
Communities Evolved: The Challenges and Opportunities of Player Engagement
The challenges and opportunities for keeping players engaged and contributing to the development process are more exciting than ever. This panel is meant to be a sharing of knowledge for what has worked and not worked in community development efforts. It will touch upon steaming, eSports, fan events and more.

 

Feargus Urquhart
Chief Executive Officer
Obsidian Entertainment
Re-inventing the Publisher and Developer Relationship
With digital distribution, crowdfunding, boutique publishers, and new forms of funding, the developer and publisher relationship has seen both huge changes and stagnation over the last decade. In 2016, how should publishers and developers work together in ways that benefit both, and also leads to the growth of great game franchises - helping out the industry as a whole?

 

Roundtable Leaders from #DICE2015 Europe

David Helgason
Mike McDonald

The new roundtable format at D.I.C.E is just the best. I loved – and everyone else seems to too – engaging my peers in small and focused, no-nonsense groups, where we could really rip into some of the topics that are critical to our companies as well as our industry.
David Helgason, Founder at Unity Technologies

The D.I.C.E. roundtable format was a very positive change this year. It was great to participate in productive discussions with such an impressive group of people. This truly took industry networking at the conference to a new level.
Mike McDonald, CTO at Wargaming.net

Randy Pitchford
Ted Price

I loved leading the round tables at D.I.C.E. Europe and would love to do it again. I expected to have some engaging discussion with peers but actually ended up not merely stimulated but actually profiting from the experience. I think the format has a LOT of potential for the D.I.C.E. Summit in Vegas and look forward to participating.
Randy Pitchford, President at Gearbox Software

One of my favorite aspects of D.I.C.E. is that everyone brings extensive games industry experience to the conference. And that experience is incredibly varied among attendees. As a result I walked away from my roundtables with a lot of useful advice I would never have found elsewhere.
Ted Price, Founder and CEO at Insomniac Games

Alf Tan

The roundtables were great, interesting topics, more importantly learning from a great group of peers sharing their knowledge and opinion.
Alf Tan, Head of Business Development at Amazon Games

Register for the 2016 D.I.C.E. Summit now!

Roundtable Participants from #DICE2015 Europe

Alyssa Padia Walles
Dave Oshry

The roundtables offered a great opportunity to discover interesting topics through intimate, engaging discussions with colleagues across the video game ecosystem. Our team loved them.
Alyssa Padia Walles, U.S. Managing Director at Hitbox Entertainment

The roundtables at D.I.C.E. Europe were worth the trip alone! How else can you get so up close and personal with so many giants of our industry? I can't wait to see the format take shape at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas.
Dave Oshry, CEO at New Blood Interactive

Lyle Hall
Maria Sayans

I found the roundtables to be a refreshing format for generating real dialog with my peers about our business. There was a palpable circle of trust at each table that fostered genuine conversation about the challenges we all face.
Lyle Hall, President and CEO at Heavy Iron Studios

The roundtables were a huge source of insight and generated exciting discussions. It was a unique opportunity to explore, frankly and openly, with experts, subjects that are mutually interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the candid dialogue. Definitely a highlight of the whole program.
Maria Sayans, Chief Customer Officer at CCP Games

Register for the 2016 D.I.C.E. Summit now!