Weekly video games events agenda: Triangle Games Conference, Inside Social Apps, MCV Awards

(All rights reserved - Triangle Game Conference / Triangle Game Initiative)

Among the video game events, expos and conferences of March, April, and May 2010: The Triangle Business Park in Raleigh, North Carolina hosts a conference for professionals and students alike, the first Inside Social Apps conference for Facebook-focussed games studios and businesses takes place in San Francisco, and MCV's trade awards are in London, England.

Triangle Games Conference
April 7-8
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

The Triangle Games Conference takes place in an area known as the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, eastern USA, and this two-day Triangle Games Conference is intended for both professionals and students. The Park is home to notable video gaming companies such as Insomniac Games (the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series), Ubisoft Red Storm ( Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six series), Epic Games (the Unreal game engine, Gears of War), and Emergent Game Technologies (the Gamebryo engine), all of whom have staff present on this years list of speakers. Also giving talks on aspects including development, business, and business use of gaming are staff from Fallen Earth LLC, Curious Sense, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Electronic Arts, TriplePointPR, The Republic of Fun, and Themis Media.
http://www.trianglegameconference.com

Game Design Expo
April 10-11
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Hosted by the Vancouver Film School, the Games Design Expo is intended to act as both conference and mixer for students and professionals alike with talks from industry insiders. Speakers for Saturday's presentation and panel schedule include staff from BioWare ( Dragon Age, Mass Effect), Obsidian ( Fallout: New Vegas), United Front ( ModNation Racers), and Blue Castle ( Dead Rising 2). Sunday's event is an open house for the Film School's game development course.
http://www.gamedesignexpo.com

Inside Social Apps
April 20
San Francisco, California, USA

The first conference run by the Inside Network, a group of websites dedicated to highlighting and analyzing trends in the social media industry, features talks from many of the business' leaders, including those at Zynga ( FarmVille), Playfish ( Pet Society), Playdom ( Tiki Farm), CrowdStar ( Happy Aquarium), and RockYou! ( Zoo World). There is also significant presence from digital commerce companies (eBay, Offerpal) and venture capitalists.
http://www.insidesocialapps.com

MCV Awards 2010
April 22
London, UK

MCV, a UK-based video games trade magazine and website, host these annual industry accolades with awards available in nineteen categories including online, high street, and supermarket retailers; sales, publishing, PR and marketing team excellence, best gaming accessories, and advertisments. Dom Joly, British comedian and columnist for The Independent newspaper, will be master of ceremonies. Surprise Wii success Just Dance is surely now odds-on favorite to win the 'Sales Triumph' award at the very least.
http://www.mcvuk.com/events/264/MCV-Awards-2010

Nordic Game Conference
April 27-30
Malmö, Sweden

Part of the Nordic Game Program, a co-operative project set up by the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish governments, the NGC includes an awards ceremony for Nordic games and developers, talks from staff at BioWare, DICE, Funcom, Playfish, and a night for Nordic independent game developers. With DICE riding high from the success of Bad Company 2, Avalanche having released Just Cause 2 mid-March, and Remedy preparing to launch the long-awaited Alan Wake, there should be some interesting presentations to say the least.
http://www.nordicgame.com

Game Developers Conference Canada
May 6-7
Vancouver, British Columbia,, Canada

No sooner than one GDC ends than the countdown to the next one begins. Eager ears will be listening out for talks on the rise of 'social' or mainstream gaming and any tidbits regarding the new motion controllers for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as Sony and Microsoft play catchup to Nintendo's Wii. Talks from bosses at Activision Blizzard ( Aliens vs Predator), Capcom ( Resident Evil 5), EA ( The Sims), IUGO ( Zombie Attack), Obsidian ( Fallout: New Vegas), Telltale ( Tales of Monkey Island), Turn 10 ( Forza 3), and Zynga ( Farmville) are confirmed.
http://www.gdc-canada.com

LOGIN Conference
May 10-13
Seattle, Washington, USA

Aimed at company chiefs, vice-presidents, and directors, LOGIN's schedule is a mixture of development sessions, seminars, conferences and workshops and intends to provide an environment for those looking to make the most of networking opportunities. There are also 75 speakers confirmed.
http://www.loginconference.com

DreamHack Skellefteå V
May 13-15
Skellefteå, Sweden

DreamHack's main event is a summer gathering of gamers in Jönköping, Sweden, a mass celebration of PC-playing enthusiasm that started in a secondary school back in the 1990s and grew to become one of Europe's largest and best known video gaming parties. Now with a winter event complementing the summer meet since 2002, Skellefteå is the newest and smallest of the three, taking place in the remote and scenic northern Swedish city of the same name. Those intending to participate fully pay 399 SEK (€40) for a desk and access to a power outlet, net connection, sleeping area, tournaments and competitions, and even money off at the local swimming baths.
http://www.dreamhack.se/dhskv