- 5th Annual Event Brings Industry Leaders from Crytek, Double Fine, King, Tencent, Ubisoft, Vlambeer and More to Congress-Centrum Ost Koelnmesse Through August 21

BERLIN, Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2013 Game Developers Conference™ Europe (GDC Europe) kicks off today at the Congress-Centrum Ost of the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. GDC Europe is the continent's preeminent game development event and is produced by UBM Tech Game Network, organizers of the leading Game Developers Conference® series. GDC Europe takes place in Cologne, Germany from August 19-21, 2013. For additional information on GDC Europe, please visit www.gdceurope.com.

Celebrating its fifth year, GDC Europe continues to be a vital and influential platform for educating and inspiring developers across the continent. The conference features more than 90 lectures and panels on game development across five Main Conference tracks (Business, Marketing & Management, Design, Production, Programming, and Visual Arts) and three summits (Free to Play Design & Business Summit, Smartphone & Tablet Games Summit and Independent Games Summit), with each one providing a holistic content of the business and craftsmanship of making games.

GDC Europe opens Cologne's Games Week held in conjunction with gamescom, the leading European interactive entertainment consumer trade show, taking place from August 22-25, 2013. GDC Europe welcomes nearly 130 national and international speakers, over 75 exhibitors and sponsors and more than 200 members of the press to the 2013 conference.

The robust roster of speakers at the 2013 conference will address topics that showcase the significance of business logic, forward thinking, and technical knowledge when marketing and producing successful video games.  The Main Conference tracks will feature talks from leading industry voices, including Steven Masters, Lead Game Designer at Ubisoft Montreal and one of the creative minds behind Assassin's Creed III; Double Fine Productions' Senior Programmer, Oliver Franzke; and Warface Lead Artist, Konstantin Molchanov of Crytek.

In the various summits, featured talks include a postmortem presentation by King's Games Guru Tommy Palm on the hugely successful Candy Crush Saga; Tencent's Peng Lu will give a talk on how developers can adapt their mobile games for the Chinese market; indie developer Tale of Tales will present three sneak peek previews of their current projects; and Ridiculous Fishing developer Vlambeer, will be giving a postmortem talk on the challenges and opportunities in creating the hit iOS title.

The Classic Game Postmortem series also returns this year, the popular series across many of the GDC events around the globe that showcases the videogame industry's most groundbreaking and iconic titles. The series aims to deconstruct and analyze the lessons learned during the development process, giving the audience a perspective on the artistry behind the creation and its impact. This year, GDC Europe welcomes Dino Dini to present on the admired arcade soccer games Kick Off 1 & 2, and breaks down the design evolution of the original game, including the "kick ahead" mechanic that made the game successful.

"We're thrilled to bring back GDC Europe for a fifth year; the conference is expanding in all aspects, from the number of attendees and speakers to its high quality content. It's very exciting to watch this event grow and become the premier platform for European and international developers to share insights and fine-tune their craft," said Meggan Scavio, General Manager of the Game Developers Conference events. "GDC Europe aims to adapt to an ever-changing industry and with a wide variety of talks covering best practices being given, attendees will unquestionably benefit from the conference."

In addition to the session and summit content, GDC Europe provides several opportunities for networking, creative exchange and business development, with venues including the GDC Europe Expo Floor, VIP Lounge, and the GDC Europe Business Lounge at gamescom, plus a host of industry parties and events.  More than 50 exhibitors  from a host of regions across Europe and worldwide across Europe and worldwide are present on the GDC Europe Expo Floor.

For up to the moment details on GDC Europe, including a schedule of all conference events and parties, plus a complete exhibitor list, please visit http://www.gdceurope.com/.

About the UBM Tech Game Network               
A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the UBM Tech Game Network offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and research products and services. These include the Game Developers Conference®, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com and network of sites, the Game Advertising Online ad network, the App Developers Conference™, the Game Developers Conference® Next, the Game Developers Conference™ Europe, the Game Developers Conference™ China, the Game Career Seminars and GameCareerGuide.com, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. Visit: www.jointhegamenetwork.com

About UBM Tech          
UBM Tech, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its three core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and paid content – UBM Tech produces the most respected and consumed brands and media applications in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs and IT managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software Developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively engage in UBM Tech's communities and information resources monthly. UBM Tech brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and Enterprise Connect; award-winning online resources such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Network Computing; and market-leading magazines InformationWeek, Wall Street & Technology, and Advanced Trading. UBM Tech is a UBM plc company, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.  Visit: tech.ubm.com 

SOURCE UBM Tech Game Network