Pac-Man creator to keynote Festival of Games

The 2010 NLGD Festival of Games will open with a keynote speech from Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani.

Iwatani, now a professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University, will also be teaching a workshop for a group of game design students at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

“Iwatani-san delivering the opening keynote continues a tradition that began with Ralph Baer’s speech on a previous Festival,” said Stichtig Nederlandse Gamedagen chairman Seth van der Meer.

“These industry legends show our devotion and dedication to this remarkable industry.”

Other events involved in the 2010 festival include a series of talks from prominent industry figures such as

Amoung the speakers confirmed for the event are David Perry (GAIKAI), Ian Livingstone (Eidos/Square-Enix), Allan Yu (ngmoco), Kellee Santiago (thatgamecompany) and Martin de Ronde (OneBigGame).

“We are very proud of this line-up, and expect to add even more important people to this list,” said event co-programmer Eric Bartelson.

Other events will include an international matchmaking event, an exposition and a career fair.

The festival will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands from June 3-4.

www.festivalofgames.org.