GDC 2023 is coming up soon, and we wanted to bring your attention to the newest sponsor developer summit to join the Game Developers Conference: the Web3 Forum.
At GDC 2023, you’ll have the chance to attend several sessions about the latest innovations in the metaverse, blockchain, NFTs, and more—brought to you by our wonderful sponsors, including Horizon Blockchain Games, Immutable, and NEXON. These sessions are available for every pass level, including Expo Pass holders.
In addition, Horizon Blockchain Games will be hosting a Lobby Lounge on the Second Floor of West Hall during the week of GDC 2023, and Immutable and NEXON will be hosting mixers following the Web3 forum sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
Here are several of the sessions happening at our two-day Web3 Forum—organized chronologically, for ease of scheduling. You can see more in the full schedule here.
Web3 Forum: The Future of Gaming: Announcing Exclusive Updates, Premiering Breakout Games and New Partnerships on Immutable (Presented by Immutable)
Robbie Ferguson (Co-Founder & President, Immutable)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 10:50 am - 11:50 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing, Production & Team Leadership
Web3 Forum: Digital Ownership and the Gaming Revolution (Presented by Gala Games)
Jason Brink (President of Blockchain, Gala Games)
Patrick Bergman (Head of Business Development , Gala Games)
John Osvald (President of Games, Gala Games)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 1:20 pm - 1:50 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing
Description: "Monetization in games has often been a one-way street. Microtransaction and subscription culture takes in billions from gamers each year, but gaming giants continue to insist that these purchases create no real ownership for the player. The Web3 Revolution represents a way to escape from draconian RMT efforts, finally allowing players real ownership over the content they engage with. This next step in the world of mainstream gaming allows a myriad of new possibilities; such as cross-title content, targeted community rewards, and simply more freedom for gamers."
Web3 Forum: MARBLEX: Metaverse Ecosystem for Gamers (Netmarble - Meta World: My City) (Presented by Netmarble - MARBLEX)
Sean Hwang (Global Business Development Lead, Netmarble- MARBLEX)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing
Description: "The current web 3 game market is facing difficulties due to various factors. MARBLEX is building its services to overcome these hardships and create a true metaverse ecosystem. They have built the foundation for the ecosystem in 2022, and will focus on expanding this in 2023. This talk will explain the blockchain services and games MARBLEX has launched in 2022, some notable KPIs for them, and their general business direction in 2023 in creating a metaverse ecosystem for gamers. They will also be introducing new information about their upcoming game: Meta World: My City, which is published by Netmarble, and will be the first game to be on MARBLEX's ecosystem in 2023."
Web3 Forum: DAOs for Game Developers (Presented by Dacoco GmbH (Alien Worlds))
Dallas Johnson (Chief Engineer, Dacoco (Alien Worlds))
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 20
Time: 4:40 pm - 5:10 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Programming
Description: "Software development for a blockchain-based dapp/game is all about providing security through decentralisation. This is usually achieved through immutable code in a smart contract. But, as every software dev knows, code will eventually need changes, upgrades and bug fixes. Rather than leaving a security backdoor for software upgrades, we can use the blockchain to host a governing system to control these changes without losing the security provided intrinsically by the blockchain. That system would be a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). This session explores the goals and challenges from both technical and human perspectives that contribute to building a successful DAO system and how they are utilised as core game components in the Alien Worlds Metaverse to complement existing NFT game mechanics and mining activities within the game."
Web3 Forum: How to Build Web3 Games That Are Actually Fun (Presented by Horizon)
Peter Kieltyka (CEO and Co-Founder, Horizon)
Michael Sanders (Co-founder & Chief Storyteller, Horizon Blockchain Games)
Roby John (CEO and CoFounder, SuperGaming)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Design
Web3 Forum: 'MapleStory Universe': Perfecting the Core MMORPG Experience with Blockchain (Presented by NEXON)
Sunyoung Hwang (Production Director, NEXON)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 10:50 am - 11:50 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing
Description: "The key to a successful game is simple: give users what they want, and keep giving it to them. Yet the challenge always lies in knowing how; how do companies discern what users truly want, and how do they create a boundless, self-perpetuating platform to continue providing? This session will outline NEXON's answers to those questions through its knowledge of user behavior accumulated over the past 20 years of MapleStory live service. Combined with blockchain technology, MapleStory Universe offers an expansive ecosystem that enables users to fulfill their needs for self-actualization. Sunyoung Hwang, the former Director of MapleStory and current Production Director for MapleStory Universe, will share the radical steps NEXON is taking as it embarks on a whole new quest to set an unprecedented model for MMORPGs."
Web3 Forum: Building Great web3 Game Experiences with HyperPlay (Presented by HyperPlay)
Jacobc.eth - (Founder, HyperPlay)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 1:20 pm - 1:50 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing, Programming
Description: "Web3 gaming is more than secondary markets for in-game items. Diablo 3 had that over a decade ago, and it didn't need a blockchain to accomplish it. This talk will explore web3 game worlds based on principles of interoperability where assets can be permissionlessly carried across the decentralized web and where gaming universes can be extended by the community."
Web3 Forum: How to Unlock the Multi-billion Dollar Asset Trading Market - Without Turning Gamers into Gamblers (Presented by Freeverse)
Alun Evans (CEO, Freeverse)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing
Description: "The size of the 'grey market' for in-game items - skins, weapons, gold and so on, traded on sites like SkinBaron, Gamerflip, PlayerAuctions - is estimated to be above $40Bn. None of this revenue goes to the game creators. While blockchain technology can legitimize this trading, 2022 showed us that speculating on the price of NFT collectibles in games isn't really much fun - and games, more than anything, should be fun. In this talk, we'll discuss the best ways of unlocking that market, without falling into the trap of speculative NFTs. Permitting in-game items to be legally traded not only gives gamers what they clearly want, but it also increases retention and opens up new long-tail revenue streams for the game itself."
Web3 Forum: Gaming Experiences Enabled by Blockchain: Build the Future with Polygon Labs (Presented by Polygon Labs)
Parth Pathak (General Manager, Polygon Supernets, Polygon)
Location: Room 3009, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 3:50 pm - 4:20 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Business & Marketing
Description: "The world's leading gaming giants are building ecosystems powered by blockchains, but why? Join Parth Pathak from Polygon as he breaks down how Web3-enabled gaming is being built for the global gaming market, and how studios can leverage blockchain tech to create connected game ecosystems and economies."
There’s even more sessions to see in the full list of Sponsor Developer Summits—give them a look and start planning your schedule for the upcoming show! Of course, the only way to experience them all is to sign up today.
Register for GDC 2023 Here
GDC returns to San Francisco this March 20-24, 2023, and registration is now open! For more information, be sure to visit our website and follow the #GDC23 hashtag on social media.
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