Montreal International Games Summit 2016 is mere days away and the list of speakers, sessions and master classes are looking more and more interesting as they appear in the program. With 100+ speakers on the roster, attendees are going to be bursting with video game industry knowledge after their 3 day experience. It’s always hard to choose which session to sit in, so we figured we should highlight some of the amazing women in games that will be passing on their learnings to those in the crowd.
Susan O’Connor
Class Name: How To Create Great Stories For A Changing Medium
Date: Monday November 14th @ 9am – 5pm
Master classes at MIGS are a great way to get an extra long session with some of the greatest minds in video games. Award winning writer Susan O’Connor will be giving a day long session on November 14th that will explore why traditional narratives don’t work in the video game medium, how to know you’ve picked your best story concept, the one skill every interactive storyteller has to have, and more. Her accolades include working on BioShock, Far Cry 2, Tomb Raider, Star Wars 1313, and the titles she has worked on have sold over 30 million titles to date, so you know you are going to be learning from a pro.
Aleissia Laidacker
Class Name: MIGS Brain Dump 2016: What No One Tells You
Date: Tuesday November 15th @ 5pm-6pm in 517b
We’ve have had the chance to speak with Aleissia on the GoGCast and know that she is an amazing woman doing great things in the game industry. Being lead gameplay and AI programmer at Ubisoft has given Aleissa a wealth of knowledge, which she will be passing on along with 4 other speakers during the MIGS Brain Dump 2016. Aleissa has been in the industry for over 16 years, working on many games, including the Assassin’s Creed series. She is also part of the Diversity Committee at Ubisoft, mentors children and gives talks at schools and universities to inspire young girls to get involved into the video game and tech industry.
Jill Murray
Class Name: MIGS Brain Dump 2016: What No One Tells You
Date: Tuesday November 15th @ 5pm-6pm in 517b
Also part of the Brain Dump 2016 session, Jill Murray, president and writer for Discoglobe Interactive, is another woman high on our must see list. Winning the 2013 Writer’s Guild of America Award for Outstanding Video Game Writing for Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation shows that she has some amazing writing chops. She has since jumped into the world of VR through her company Discoglobe Interactive, writing for games such as Fated and Time Machine VR. She hasn’t left the traditional game experience behind though, also working on mobile game LongStory, the RPG Moon Hunters and multiplayer first person shooter Lawbreakers. The MIGS Brain Dump 2016 is turning into a must see panel!
Whitney Clayton
Class Name: Art Direction of We Happy Few: Depth and Character in a Procedural World
Date: Monday November 14th @ 5pm-6pm in 518c
We Happy Few has been high up on our anticipated games list ever since it was announced in 2015. Whitney will be taking us on a journey through art direction and showing how the 1960’s Britain inspired the dystopian atmosphere that makes up We Happy Few. Those intrigued by the evolution of concept art to in-game visuals should definitely mark this panel down on their list.
Anna Kipnis
Class Name: Dialogue Systems in Double Fine Games
Date: Monday November 14th @ 3:45pm – 4:45pm in 519b
Senior gameplay programmer Anna Kipnis is going to give us the downlow on how recorded dialogue makes its way from paper to game. Since starting at Double Fine Games in 2002, she has worked on well known titles Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, Costume Quest, Once Upon a Monster, The Cave, Dear Leader and Broken Age. She currently has her fingers in Headlander and Psychonauts: Rhombus of Ruin. Anna will be giving us some insight on how Double Fine approaches bringing full-voiced characters into the design and development of its games. Food for thought for sure.
This is but a short list of the speakers who will be presenting at MIGS16. Trust me, there is a lot to see and experience! To see the full list of speakers, sessions and master classes, go check out the MIGS16 website!