ECGC Sessions & Expo: April 19-21; ECGC Summits: April 22
Location: Raleigh Convention Center, downtown Raleigh, NC
Media Contact: Sue Bohle, 310.721.9083
RALEIGH, N.C. – March 30, 2016 – This year brings the first-ever VR Village, an innovative educational workshop, ECGC Summits and more to the East Coast Game Conference (ECGC), the largest gathering of games industry professionals on the East Coast, held annually at the Raleigh Convention Center.
VR IS HERE, AND IT’S HUGE
With this week’s consumer launch of the Oculus Rift, virtual reality (VR) has landed in the hands (and on the faces) of thousands of people who are ready to be immersed in this emergent form of entertainment and storytelling. VR is a new frontier with its success hinging on the influx of talented developers who are shaping new methodologies and mechanics. ECGC 2016 offers everyone the chance to explore VR and pursue opportunities in making games and experiences for the new medium.
VR Village is a new a dedicated space on the show floor where creators will demo their latest VR content. In addition, tool providers and developers will share their thoughts on the challenges of developing for VR as part of the conference. Senior staff from Epic Games, creators of Unreal Engine technology, which powers many of the best interactive, real-time VR experiences, will be on hand for open conversations about how to build great VR content.
“The excitement of VR continues to grow, and technology is finally catching up to the dreams and expectations of what it can do,” says Jason Jerald, a leading VR expert who is local to the region. “Much of the VR research that has led to what is now becoming available to consumers was developed right here in North Carolina, so ECGC is the ideal place for showing the world what has been done, what continues to be done, and what the future holds for VR.”
VR pioneers including Dr. Michael Capps (former president of Epic Games), Henry Fuchs of UNC-Chapel Hill and David A. Smith of Triangle-based Wearality will be speaking at ECGC 2016, along with VR heavy-hitters such as Sensics CEO Yuval Boger and Cubicle Ninjas CEO Josh Farkas.
“EDUCATION 3.0”
Those interested in how technology is transforming the education market are encouraged to attend an exclusive workshop on April 20. Dr. Jeff Borden, Chief Innovation Officer at St. Leo University, will explain how to utilize alternate reality for creating learning experiences using open source platforms and readily available tools. In Dr. Borden’s current role at Saint Leo, he is creating a learning innovation incubator and promoting transformational and effective practices, at scale, that are research-driven. These strategies tie back to his platform of “Education 3.0” – the confluence of neuroscience, learning design, and education technology.
ADDITIONAL NEWCOMERS
Playthrough will provide a free-to-play games area as part of the expo April 20-21. Folks are welcome to play and enjoy the entertainment space open to all ECGC attendees. In addition, Amazon Game Studios will present information on their new Lumberyard game engine for the first time locally on April 21.
ECGC NIGHTLIFE
Parties for ECGC attendees make their return to downtown Raleigh again this year. Ubisoft’s Red Storm Entertainment will host the annual ECGC Kickoff Party at Boxcar Bar + Arcade on April 19. Epic Games will throw the official ECGC Unreal Engine Opening Night Party featuring performances by Styles & Complete at Lincoln Theatre on April 20.
LEARNING SUMMITS
All-new to the conference format are ECGC Summits, which will be held on April 22 at the Raleigh Convention Center. These include the Game Narrative Tutorial; MasterClass 3ds Max and Stingray Workflows for Games; VR Summit; Indie Summit; and Multiplayer Tutorial using Unity 3D.
As 2016 marks the launch of ECGC Summits, conference organizers are offering this high-quality content for only $49, a fraction of the price other events would charge. These summits are expected to be highly popular, and seating is limited. ECGC Summits require a separate registration: http://ecgconf.com/home/attend/bootcamps-and-tutorials/
More announcements for ECGC 2016 are coming soon.
