Fable 2 - The Big Three Features Revealed
Company: Lionhead Studios
Speaker/s: Peter Molyneux

What they say: Peter Molyneux's stated ambition as a designer is to make FABLE 2 a landmark game. In order to achieve this three big design features have been added. The inspiration and rational behind these features will be discussed along with their evolution throughout the development process. The wider context of their impact and influence on the RPG genre with also be examined as the ambition is also to evolve the genre itself. The talk will be supported by retrospective videos as well as live game examples.

Why we're excited: Huge ambition from Peter Molyneux? Mark us down as shocked. Fable 2 made an appearance at last year's GDC, but this year it sounds like Molyneux has a couple of bombs to drop. Should be interesting--in theory.

Development - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Company: Sora Ltd.
Speaker/s: Masahiro Sakurai

What they say: One of the strengths of Nintendo is its great number of character franchises. SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL builds on this legacy by providing a unique experience for Wii, leveraging many popular characters from the history of Nintendo and beyond. However, integrating so many different characters, each with its own personality, is no easy task, especially when characters from other publishers are willing to join the brawl. The man behind SMASH BROS., Masahiro Sakurai, discusses how he has approached this unique game series.

Why we're excited: It's basically a post-mortem on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, made all the more notable because it's taking place before the title's North American release. Series creator Sakurai has pretty much mastered the art of mixing and matching classic game franchises, so he should have some amusing anecdotes to pass along.

Surprises from the Hellgate London launch Sponsored by IBM
Company: IBM/Flagship
Speaker/s: Dave Laux

What they say: Join Flagship studios, IBM & GNi for a frank discussion on the recent launch of HELLGATE LONDON as we address what worked well, what didn't and what surprises taught us some very valuable lessons.

Why we're excited: We couldn't believe our eyes when this one showed up on the schedule. A frank discussion indeed; Flagship has some real cajones to stand up and talk about what went wrong with Hellgate: London's launch.

Unreal Tournament 3 Postmortem: ULTRA KILL!
Company: Epic Games
Speaker/s: Michael Capps (President, Epic Games Inc), Jeff Morris (Producer, Epic Games, Inc.)

What they say: A postmortem look at UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 and the challenges that Epic Games faced in releasing both a console and PC version of the game simultaneously.

Why we're excited: Unreal Tournament 3 is another PC release that didn't make as big of a splash as was expected. The Epic duo may sidestep that fact altogether, but even so, to hear some of PC development's biggest supporters talk on the topic of PC/console dual development will make for a solid chat.

A Future Wide Open: Unleashing the Creative Community
Company: Microsoft
Speaker/s: (Corporate Vice President LIVE, Software, Microsoft)

What they say: Learn how Microsoft plans to enable a wellspring of talent and innovation from the broader development community, driving the expansion of development and distribution, benefiting game developers and players everywhere.

Why we're excited: After wading through all of the corporate-ese, we'll surely be rewarded with some kind of announcement at the Microsoft keynote. Hopefully.

Future of MMOs
Speaker/s: Mark Jacobs (Studio GM, EA Mythic), Rob Pardo (VP, Blizzard Entertainment), Jack Emmert (Chief Creative Officer, Cryptic Studios), Ray Muzyka (General Manager, BioWare Corp.), Min Kim (Director of Game Operations, Nexon America Inc.), Jon Wood (Managing Editor, MMORPG.com)

What they say: As the popularity of the MMO genre continues to soar, veteran gamers and potential initiates alike are looking beyond WoW for a new experience that breaks through the boundaries of traditional online gaming. Several experienced MMO developers will discuss their respective visions for the future, offering insights on game design, community involvement, and the challenges facing developers of MOGs in the next several years. The majority of this panel session is reserved for the combination of audience questions and for the panelists to discuss how they see the future unfolding; specifically where is this medium going and how is it going to get there.

Why we're excited: I always thought the future of MMOs was relegated to World of Warcraft 2, but some of the heavy hitters on this panel might not agree. BioWare's presence on the panel is a particularly significant note, with the company's unannounced MMO project garnering increasing attention as one potential challenger to Blizzard's domination of the market.

How to Create an Industry: The Making of the Brown Box and PONG
Speaker/s: Allan Alcorn, Ralph H. Baer

What they say: The year was 1966. Television had a huge installed user base, but only featured a single, passive application with only a few channels. Ralph Baer decided there needed to be something more. He created the Brown Box, the world's first electronic console that enabled people to not just watch, but play Ping Pong on screen using connected controllers. In 1972, Magnavox launched it to retail as the Odyssey. Later that year, Atari and designer Allan Alcorn separately released PONG as a stand-up coin operated arcade unit. The success of both directly created this industry. Join Ralph and Allan as they describe what went right and what went wrong in engineering, designing, and championing their vision--and our reality--of interactive games.

Why we're excited: The history of the first popular video game has always been a little sticky. Ralph Baer may have come up with the idea, but Allan Alcorn and Nolan Bushnell capitalized on it with Pong. To have the two engineers responsible for both the conception and realization of the video game industry in one room should make for a fascinating hour.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED: How LucasArts is Building a Game, a Development Team and a Technology Pipeline... At the Same Time
Speaker/s: Haden Blackman (Project Lead, Lucasarts Entertainment Co), Matt Omernick (Art Director, Lucasarts), Cedric Collomb (LucasArts)

What they say: Project lead Haden Blackman will discuss how LucasArts addressed and overcame the combined challenges the company faced while creating STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED. In 2004, Blackman and his team began the process of creating a new game, a new team, a new game engine (with all new development tools), and a new development pipeline shared with sister company Industrial Light & Magic, all the while integrating breakthrough new technology like euphoria artificial intelligence and Digital Molecular Matter materials simulation. The cherry on top of this sundae? They were creating a game on two entirely new platforms: Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. See how Blackman and LucasArts tackled these challenges and what they've learned.

Why we're excited: Any game with Star Wars attached to it is going to receive a lot of attention, and The Force Unleashed is no exception. Promising to deliver plenty of physics-powered force-pushing shenanigans, it will be nice to get a handle on just what LucasArts has been planning with this beast.