The
Social Gaming Summit is a one day conference focused on the intersection of gaming, immersive worlds, and social networking. Games are becoming one of the most popular activities within social networks and game developers are spending more energy figuring out how to build compelling social interaction into the games they are developing. The conference will bring together leaders in the social networking and gaming spaces to share insights into the convergence of these two worlds.
Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds
Many so-called "casual MMOs" and immersive worlds are casual only in the sense that the point of the game is not to bash gruesome looking monsters or the game isn't set in a sci-fi fantasy world. The engagement story around existing and upcoming casual MMOs is real and very compelling. This panel will discuss what it takes to build a successful casual MMO that users love to play.
Asynchronous Games on Social Networks
There are a lot of interesting asynchronous activities happening on social networks. Some of them are traditional games, others are games in disguise. Join us and hear from some of the leading voices in this space share their views on how to build great gameplay characteristics into social networking applications and what opportunities exist for gameplay to take advantage of the social graph.
Building Communities and Social Interaction In and Around Games
Social networking and games go hand in hand. Whether it's taking advantage of the relationship data in social networks to build novel gameplay or building community among people who play games, game developers are discovering clever ways to build real communities around the games they're developing. Hear from our panel of thought leaders about what it takes to successfully integrate community and social interaction into the next generation of games.
What Makes Games Fun?
We all like to have fun, right? What is it about games that makes them so fun? Is it gameplay? Social interaction? Achievements and accomplishments? Our panel of thought leaders will share their perspectives on what it takes to build a fun game and why building fun into games is more difficult than it looks.
Monetization and Business Models for Social Games
There are a handful of viable (proven) business models for social games. How should game developers go about choosing the best business model for their games? Our panel of experts will share their thoughts on the various business models and how to think through the right one for a given game.
Speakers at Social Gaming Summit include:

Dave Williams SVP, Shockwave, AddictingGames |

Craig Sherman CEO, Gaia Online |

Amy Jo Kim CEO, ShuffleBrain |

Jim Greer CEO, Kongregate |

Blake Commagere Founder and VP of Engineering, Mogad |

Brandon Sheffield Senior Editor, Game Developer Magazine; Senior Contributing Editor, Gamasutra |

Cary Rosenzweig President and CEO, IMVU |

Daniel James CEO, Three Rings |

David Perry CCO, Acclaim |

Dean Takahashi Writer, Venture Beat |

Erik Bethke CEO, Go Pets |

Ian Bogost Founding Partner, Persuasive Games |

Jeremy Liew Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners |

Jeremy Monroe Director of Business Development, Sports & Entertainment, North America, Sulake Inc. |

Jameson Hsu Co-Founder and CEO, Mochi Media |

John Welch Co-Founder, President and CEO, PlayFirst |

Joey Seiler Editor, Virtual Worlds News |

Kyra Reppen SVP and GM, Neopets |

Mark Pincus Founder and CEO, Zynga Game Network |

Matt Mihaly CEO and Creative Director, Sparkplay Media |

Mattias Miksche CEO, Stardoll |

Mike Sego Developer, (fluff)Friends |

Min Kim VP of Marketing, Nexon America |

Nicole Lazzaro President, XEODesign, Inc. |

Patrick Ford VP of Marketing & Community Development, K2 Network |

Shervin Pishevar CEO, Social Gaming Network |

Siqi Chen Founder, Serious Business (Friends for Sale) |

Ted Rheingold Founder, Dogster and Catster |
We look forward to seeing you at the event.
For more information, please contact Charles Hudson at
charles@socialgamingsummit.com or (650) 249-0905.