If you attend Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5 you’ll gain practical insight into game design from successful indies and world class writers, discover business marketing tips from the biggest AAA companies, and learn about company culture from all around the world. It’s all included with your ticket, which also grants access to the exclusive meeting platform.
The leading games industry conference is live from February 8th to 12th 2021, and we’re delighted to announce more speakers joining the lineup!
Taking place completely online, over 1,500 virtual attendees from all around the world will hear from more than 250 expert speakers of the games industry across 14 conference tracks. Those topic areas include industry visions and values, esports, monetisation and more, and the speakers are genuinely world class.
Each talk, panel, keynote and seminars will be streamed live, recorded and made available on demand, so with a ticket you can interact with our speakers during their talks through our Q&As or catch up at a later time if you’re unavailable for the stream.
We’ve already announced our first set of speakers in case you missed it, but today we’re thrilled to be able to reveal more speakers who will share their insights with you at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5.
The speakers at Pocket Gamer Connects share a broad range of advice, experiences, insight, analysis and lessons. King’s associate business performance manager Luke Jackson takes his time to share the lessons learned from nearly two years at King’s London studio, which consists of a deep analysis of some operational best practices and reflections on different strategies you can take when delivering live events to players in casual titles.
Meanwhile, Smilegate’s product manager Jiwon Kim shares his experiences of working as a product manager.
Imperia Online’s marketing and business development specialist Aleksandar Ivanov takes a dive into the key elements of live ops and why they’re crucial for sustainability and longevity of your game, with Imperia Online’s own experiences as a case study. DECA Games’ head of business development Stephen Lee and a panel of other speakers discuss making smart decisions in live ops.
The international business of games publishing
Wizards of the Coast’s creative lead Lynn Hogan focuses her session on the world of art and publishing. Those Awesome Guys’ publishing director Christopher Wulf, Eaton Smith Solicitors’ partner Chris Taylor and Koch Media’s business developer Thomas Glenn discuss some of the important points to keep in mind when choosing a publisher.
James Dobrowski hosts a session which looks at building a company from the ground up
OYUNDER Game Designers Developers Producers & Publishers Association chairman Tansu Kendirli provides a deep analysis of the latest developments and opportunities in the Turkish games market.
Brand Authors’ marketing, social media and influencers Shawn Silverman leads his own session on community building and management.
Sharkmob’s managing director James Dobrowski hosts a session which looks at building a company from the ground up. Dobrowski is also joined by a panel of other expert speakers on the topic of making lasting changes in your company culture.
We are also excited to hear from JoyPac’s senior publishing manager Falko Boecker who shares his expertise in the hypercasual games space.
2020 has been a year full of uncertainties due to the current global situation. Paladin Studios’ CEO Kay Gruenwoldt is joined by other panelists as they take a look at what 2020 has taught us and what to expect now. Housemarque’s business development and marketing director Mikael Haveri also features on a panel to discuss what to expect in the PC and console game market after the vaccine.
The truth about competitive gaming
Cheating in video games and in esports has been prevalent since the inception of the industry. ESIC’s commissioner Ian Smith focuses his session on keeping competitive integrity and regulating cheating.
Team Queso’s VP strategy development/investor relations Almudena Berzosa Peñaranda reveals some of the skills required to work in esports.
DOINGSOON’s founder/CEO Shina Memud dives into the esports growth opportunity in Nigeria and the African market in general.
Build Esports’ director of marketing and brand Danny Lopez, Akolyte’s founder Tyler Bond and British Esports Association head of content Dominic Sacco discuss whether 2021 is the year of esports.
Practical development insights
Microsoft’s game accessibility program manager Tara Voelker hosts a session on creating accessible gameplay in PC and console games.
Tara Voelker hosts a session on creating accessible gameplay in PC and console games.
East Side Games’ CEO Josh Nilson discusses with a panel of other speakers what are some of the challenges and advantages of creating a game remotely.
Sakura Games’ co-founder Jana Al Bdour features on a panel which looks at the realities indie developers should always keep in mind. Meanwhile, fellow co-founder Sham Al Bdour also features on a panel alongside Exedra Games’ CEO and head of community Oren Bennett and others on how to create games that make a real difference.
Creature Bionics’ founding director Ace Ruele shares the step by step process on developing a character’s movement and how to give it purpose.
Paranoid Productions owner and creative director Richard Rouse III takes a dive into how to build your game to both create a setting, world or fantasy that players will be attracted to, and how to live up to that setting once players start playing your game. Independent game urbanist and consultant Konstantinos Dimopoulos hosts a seminar on breathing life in games through urban environments.
MI-CLOS Studio’s artistic director Mado Holvoët discusses the narrative process to prepare your game production.
BITKRAFT Esports Ventures’ founding partner Malte Barth discusses with a panel whether 2021 will see another boom in game investments. Meanwhile, CVCapital’s managing director Jim Ying lists some of the key points you should know before making a big decision for your company regarding M&A with a panel.
Lessons from beyond the world of games
Top comic book writer, novelist and dramatist Cavan Scott, who writes for Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm amongst others, will share his experiences of creating stories for some of the world’s biggest brands.
After a popular talk at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4, writer Antony Johnston returns. He’s the author of many amazing comics, games and novels (and the writer of the hugely popular Dead Space game) and in February he will join a panel looking at the intersection of different art forms, and whether transmedia is the way to go for all game developers.
Alongside the seminars, panel discussions, keynotes and workshops, we’ve incorporated roundtables into our conference series. One such roundtable features Genuine Entertainment’s CEO and creative director Joe LeFavi as he is joined by industry colleagues to discuss how you can unlock the potential of your brand and fandom.
But wait, there’s more!
We’re also thrilled to reveal what we’ll be joined by:
- mixi, Langer Lee, Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy | Business Development Division Digital Entertainment Operations
- Forbes, John Koetsier, Journalist
- Geogrify / Global Game Jam, Kate Edwards, CEO / Executive Director
- Mighty Bear Games, Clarissa Goh, Chief of Staff
As we lead up to the event, we’ll reveal more of the incredible speakers joining us for our fifth digital conference.
Book now and save $395
Hear from all these amazing speakers and more at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5! Book now and save up to $395 with our Super Early Bird prices.
We’re also allocating a limited amount of free passes solely for small indie developers, enabling them to meet with investors and publishers, and learn from the industry’s biggest names. If you think you qualify, sign up here.
