Develop conference countdown begins

Brighton is readying itself for Europe’s biggest gathering of development talent later this month, when the Develop Conference and Expo opens its doors on July 24th.

The three-day event will take in some 75 sessions from nearly 90 speakers and cover topics as diverse as ‘Textures and Shaders in the HD Era’ through to ‘Their Money, Your Life’.

The latest confirmed speaker is Tsutomo Kouno from the Japanese arm of Sony Worldwide Studios, who will be talking about the creation of LocoRoco.

Meanwhile Tommy Tallarico has confirmed to deliver the audio track keynote on the future of game audio.

There will also be a number of more light-hearted sessions, which include development luminaries facing off on stage in Buzz: The Video Game. The session will feature questions specially written by Develop magazine editor Michael French.

Other sessions set to entertain include the soapbox-driven Opinion Jam which lets industry heavyweights get their frustrations off their chest, and a similar Open Mike session on the audio track.

“We’ve been able to build on our initial success from last year – attracting more speakers from further afield as well as more senior talent,” said event director Andy Lane.

“This is a world class conference programme and one which will provide delegates with sessions that will make a real difference.”

The Develop Conference and Expo runs from July 24th to 26th at the Brighton Hilton Metropole. The Develop Industry Excellence Awards take place on the evening of July 25th.