Jon Labrie, Weta CTO, at San Jose
Tehanu @ 3:47 am EST

Thanks to Holbytla for this press release from the Game Developers' Conference which has news about Jon LeBrie, WETA CTO, speaking at the Game Developers' Conference in March in San Jose.

Gollum Comes to the 2003 Game Developers Conference

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Jon LeBrie, CTO, Weta Digital has been announced as keynote of CMP Media's 17th annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 4 - 8, 2003, San Jose, California. LeBrie is the principal architect of the digital infrastructure used to create the Academy Award-winning digital visual effects in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. LeBrie's keynote, "Fleshing out Middle Earth: Weta Digital Creatures" discusses specific approaches to crowd animation, creature setups, digital doubles, Ents, the specific challenges involved in bringing Gollum to the screen, and how the concept of 'creative iteration' informed the development of one of the world's largest digital visual effects infrastructures. The GDC offers more than 300 sessions, which provide valuable information, diverse perspectives and inspiration to all game developers. Attracting more than 10,000 attendees annually, the GDC provides an independent forum for developers from around the world to set the agenda for the next generation of games. "With revenues at $10 billion, video game development is serious business," said Alan Yu, director, Game Developers Conference. "This industry is changing at an incredibly rapid pace. Developers are facing serious issues and challenges from within and outside, making the GDC more important than ever to the health of the game industry." Other notable speakers include:

-- Will Wright, co-founder, Maxis, driving force behind "Sim City" and recipient of the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, in a discussion titled: "Dynamics for Designers" -- Paul Debevec, lead graphics researcher, University of Southern California, whose techniques were used to create the Academy Award-winning virtual background for the "bullet time" shots in the film "The Matrix," lecturing on "High Dynamic Range Imagery and Image-Based Lighting" -- Rich Vogel, executive producer, Sony Online Entertainment, who produced "Meridian 59" and "Ultima Online," and Raph Koster, creative director, Sony Online Entertainment, whose credits include "Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided," "Ultima Online" and "Ultima Online: The Second Age," leading "How to Manage a Large Scale Online Gaming Community" -- Rick Giolito, Electronic Arts, speaking about "Creating a Cinematic Game Experience" -- Robert Garriott, CEO, NCsoft Austin; J.C. Herz, professor, New York University, former New York Times editor; Won Il Sue, director of business development, Nexon Corporation; Cindy Armstrong; and Seung Hoon Choi; discussing "Korea, Where Multiplayer Gaming is King" -- Jaime Griesemer, Mat Noguchi and Marty O'Donnell, Bungie Software, covering the development of "Halo" from the design, engineering and audio sides in "Halo: Development Evolved" -- Mia Consalvo, assistant professor, Ohio University; Sheri Graner Ray, 10-year veteran of game writing, design and production; Clarinda Merripen, human resource manager, Cyberlore Studios; and Sheri Pocilujko, product support administrator, Incredible Technologies; speaking on "Profiling the Female Gamer: A Look at How She Buys and Plays" -- Jonathan Blow, designer, programmer and writer of Game Developer Magazine's "The Inner Product" column, covering 3D manipulation, interactive mixing and other issues in "Experimental Gameplay Workshop" -- Kenji Kaido and Fumito Ueda, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., recipient of a 2002 Game Developers Choice Award for game innovation, lecturing on "Game Design Methods for ICO" -- Masaki Kawase, presenting "Frame Buffer Postprocessing Effects in Double-S.T.E.A.L. (Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions)"

The GDC's seven content tracks cover the following disciplines: visual arts, production, business and legal, game design, audio, programming and the IGDA track. For the complete list of presenters, schedules and event information, visit GDConf.com .

About the Gama Network Providing resources for game development for more than 10 years, the Gama Network is where professional creators of interactive entertainment come for information, interaction and inspiration. The Gama Network includes the Game Developers Conference, the Independent Games Festival, Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com. For more information, please visit GamaNetwork.com About CMP Media LLC CMP Media LLC CMP Media LLC is a leading integrated media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum, including the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, and custom publishing.

CONTACT: Sibel Sunar or Stacy Schwartz, +1-310-785-0515, ext. 271/276, or sibel@bohle.com/stacy@bohle.com, both of The Bohle Company for Gama Network; or Jennifer McLean of Gama Network, +1-415-947-6219, or jmclean@cmp.com