Name: Jen Helms
Bio/linked-in URL: Jen is a co-founder of Playmation Studios. At Playmation Studios we are on a mission to get people to think and play in new ways. We have two game titles so far. Stagecraft is a puzzle game for learning foreign languages in an immersive sandbox style game. Our newest game, Sleep Furiously, is a word game in which players connect words from a jumbled grid in order to form grammatically correct sentences. Jen used to teach science education through real-world games and immersion in Yosemite National Park.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhelmsTalk title: Bridging the gap between game design and educational games
Description: In this talk we’ll take a look at the educational games landscape and examine what makes an educational game great and where most educational games fall short. Next we'll talk about some key questions to ask while designing educational games and the similarities with all great game design.
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Name: Rosstin Murphy
Bio/linked-in URL: rosstinmurphy.com
Talk title: Finish Your Game!
Description: Advice for indies on how to finish and release their first game
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Name: Travlyn (Vaughn) Langendorff
Bio/linked-in URL: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAAFMGNkBGBC4Nzzfy0quhx_A2UIfC_iqkuQ&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profileTalk Title: When Worlds Collide: Incorporating "Hard Core" Mechanics into Casual Games
Description: This talk is a brief overview of how mechanics from Hard Core and Casual Games are cross pollinating with each other. I will review the advantages and challenges of incorporating what are considered hard core mechanics into casual games.
____________________ Bio/linked-in URL: Stephen Sullivan is Director of Product Management at Chartboost, the largest technology platform powering the business of mobile games, In his current role, he oversees new product development, business strategy, and go to market execution. He was previously an Executive Producer and Senior Product Manager at Zynga and founded his own indie gaming startup, Playnomi. Stephen holds an MBA from MIT and a BS in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Seattle University.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenmsullivanTalk title: Why ARPDAU is your most important ad publishing metric
Description: Many developers are thinking about their ad monetization strategy the wrong way. As someone that has run game studios and ad networks, I am going to cover the right way to maximize your studio's chance of success. It's not all about eCPM. Its about maximizing revenue through a combination of fill rate, retention, and eCPM optimization. You can balance player experience with the right monetization strategy for success.
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