Austin, Texas - The Game Developers Conference Online (GDC Online, formerly GDC Austin) concluded on Oct. 13 with record attendance numbers of 3,350 game development professionals-an increase of 12 percent over last year.
The event, which took place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, featured four days of sessions, and business and networking opportunities, spotlighting the evolving connected gaming industry. GDC Online will be returning to Austin, Texas, on October 8-11, 2012.
This year's GDC Online featured more than 145 lectures, panels, keynotes, and roundtable discussions presented by 226 speakers and a bustling expo floor with more than 100 exhibitors and sponsors. The week kicked off with focused summits that covered topics and emerging themes in Game Narrative, Smartphone & Tablet Games, and Virtual Items. The summits and main conference tracks created a forum for attendees to gain and share knowledge on the connected gaming space, all in a community-based setting.
The second annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards, a special event honoring excellence in the online game development space, saw Trion Worlds' Rift honored with the top award as Best New Online Game; the title also took home the award for Best Online Technology. In addition, breakout sandbox building game Minecraft, developed by Mojang, won the prestigious Best Live Game award, along with the award for Best Community Relations.
Special Award honorees John Taylor and Kelton Flinn were celebrated for their work on the major genre forerunners Island of Kesmai and Air Warrior. EverQuest, the breakout 3D MMO title and beloved fantasy game, was inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony. For the full list of Choice Online Awards winners, visit: www.gdconlineawards.com.
"As host to many key industry leaders who provided quality talks that covered current or future online game development issues and exhibited breakthrough tools and technologies, we can truly say that the conference was a huge success--the event's record-breaking attendee numbers reflect that," says Izora de Lillard, event director for GDC Online. "The energy throughout the event was incredible and we're excited to return to Austin in October 2012."