Serious Play Conference

The Serious Play Conference, taking place August 23-25 at DigiPen Institute of Technology, has announced the International Serious Play Awards, a program to recognize and certify exemplary products for training or learning in the education, corporate, government/military, healthcare and consumer markets.

In addition to being eligible for the competition, all titles entered into the 2011 Awards Program will be eligible for Serious Play Certification. This program is designed to offer customer assurance that a serious game offers a high standard of performance, having passed a rigorous examination by an advisory panel of experts. All games certified will be given a Serious Play Certification certificate and 2011 Seal of Approval. The certification will be valid for three years.

Top Analysts, Authors, Project Directors To Speak at Serious Games Event

Practical Sessions for Decision-Makers Scheduled in August at DigiPen

SEATTLE – May 23, 2011 – The leading serious game developers, analysts covering serious games, authors of the latest books on game design and senior project directors already leveraging games for corporate and military training, healthcare and education are heading to Serious Play Conference Tuesday – Thursday, Aug. 23 – 25, 2011 at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash.

Sessions at Serious Play, a high-level, practical conference already drawing an international list of speakers, will provide advice on every step of the development path, from design and production to measurement and assessment. Attendees will also see presentations on market size for each serious games segment, including the growing importance of the mobile platform.

Developers will be introduced to new technologies allowing faster, more effective game creation and hear lessons learned from mature studios.

“We plan to elevate the discussion on serious games to the productive, practical level,” Clark Aldrich, conference director, said. “We want attendees at the conference to walk out with actionable strategies they can use to start a development program at their organization or helpful input to improve their business plan.”

Confirmed speakers include:

• Tom Grant, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
  
• Alicia Sanchez, Games Czar, Defense Acquisition University
• Claude Comair, Founder and President, DigiPen Institute of Technology
• David Edery, CEO, Fuzbi, Author, Changing the Game
• Randy Hinrichs, CEO, 2b3d; Author of  Engaging the Avatar and Transforming Virtual World Learning, coming out this fall
• Tyson Greer, CEO, Ambient Insight
• Brayden Olsen, CEO, Novel
• Julián Alberto Martín Alonso, Commercial Director, One Click, Spain

• Alan Gershenfeld, Founder, President, E-Line Media
• Jon Aleckson, CEO, Web Courseworks; Author of MindMeld
• Sharon Sloane, CEO, WILL Interactive
• Jon Twing, PhD, EVP and Chief Measurement Officer, Assessment & Information Group, Pearson
• David Metcalf, Researcher, Institute for Simulation Training, UCF
• Jim Hadley, Instructional Designer, Boeing
• Lilli Thompson, Game Developer Advocate, Google
• Patti Phillips, CEO, ROI Institute
• Chuck Hamilton, Learning and New Media Program Manager, IBM
• Ashraf Ahmad, Chair, Computer Graphics, PSUT, Jordan
• Donald Brinkman, Program Manager, Microsoft Research, and Games for Learning Institute
• Brock Dubbels, Project Manager, Computer Based Training at United Health Group;
• Robert Hone, Creative Director, Red Hill Studios
• Raymond de Villiers, CEO, Wisdom Games
• Volker Kunze, Learning Consultant, Munich, Germany
• Robert Bell, Multimedia Coursewriter, Enspire Learning