Amanda Wallace | Vector

08 Apr 2020

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements Permalink

Vector 2020 Speaker Announcement: Maxwell Kunze

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 8, 2020

We are looking to create a truly interesting, all digital event this year! To do so we’re bringing in some really interesting speakers and talks, and we’re excited to show them to you this year. Our next speaker is Maxwell Kunze! A quick bio:

MaxwellKunze

Max Kunze is currently a Junior Computer Design & Animation Student at Kent State University. Max has always loved video games and their surrounding culture. His passion for making his own games was sparked in the summer of 2014 when he debuted “Go Fast: A Sanic Adventure”, a rage inducing video game based on the “Sanic” meme. In all seriousness, he made the game in less than 24 hours, to entertain himself while on the road home from Northern Tier. While it started off as a joke, the game gained a fairly significant amount of attention. Ever since, Max has worked towards a career in game development and he still believes that memes serve an important purpose in video games.

07 Apr 2020

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Sponsor Permalink

Sponsor Announcement: I Need Diverse Games

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 7, 2020

For our special online year, we are pleased to once again have I Need Diverse Games as a sponsor.

I Need Diverse Games seeks to bring projects, works and research by marginalized folks to light. We also seek to discuss, analyze and critique identity and culture in video games through a multi-faceted lens rooted in intersectionality. To check out more information about this sponsor, please go to their website.

If you’d like to become a sponsor for this years conference, you can do so by contacting us at vecctor@runjumpdev.org.

06 Apr 2020

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2020 Permalink

Vector 2020 Speaker Announcement: Becca Hallstedt

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 6, 2020

I don’t have to tell you that this year has been a bit different than previous years. There’s no way you could have escaped that information – but we are still committed to bringing you a wonderful line up of speakers and maintaining the quality of Vector that you’ve come to expect. We are looking towards making an all-digital event this year, and we’ll have more news to drop as the weeks progress.

With that in mind, we’re incredibly pleased to announce our first speaker for Vector 2020, Becca Hallstedt. A little info:

Becca stands with a wry smile, glasses, and a thick scarf. Becca Hallstedt (they/them) is a worker-owner with Wild Blue Studios. Based out of Chicago, they have worked with clients including Blizzard, Riot, Netherrealm, Phoenix Labs, and more as a concept artist and illustrator. In their spare time, they regularly work as a mentor and organizer in the games industry.

We are very excited to continue the tradition we’ve fostered over the years of having really incredible speakers and we look forward to the excellent talk that Becca is going to give to this years (virtual) attendees!

We’ll post more information about our digital home in future updates, but for now, keep an eye out on our social media (@vectorconf on Twitter) as well as this blog page!

29 Jan 2020

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Vector 2020 Permalink

Speaker and Roundtable Submission Form Now Live

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On January 29, 2020

Vector is a game conference held at Eastern Kentucky University on April 24-25, 2020 in collaboration with the EKU Gaming Institute and RunJumpDev. Vector is a celebration of local developers, a well as a chance to network with leaders and peers in the field of game design and development.

Vector features networking, talks from industry leaders, workshops and round table discussions.

For this upcoming event we are issuing a call for two types of talks: round table discussions and presentation talks. Round table discussions are informal, where the person submitting wants to lead a discussion about the submitted talk either with a selected panel or with attendees. Talks are more formal presentations. We will look over the submitted talks and make a decision in the coming year depending on submissions and interest.

Important Dates:
March 2 – Deadline to Apply
March 18 – Notification Deadline
April 24-25 – Event
Read more

29 Jan 2020

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Vector 2020 Permalink

Student Showcase Form for 2020 is now Live

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On January 29, 2020

This is the fifth year of Vector, the premiere game design conference in Kentucky. Held at Eastern Kentucky University in collaboration with EKU Gaming Institute and RunJumpDev, Vector is a celebration of developers from the Midwest and Southeast United States, and is designed to facilitate networking with leaders and peers in the field of game design and development.

Last year, over 200 developers attended the event from places as far afield as Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, as well as a generous attendance from local developers. This year we are hoping to grow attendance even further, and have expanded the conference to two days.

Important Dates
Application Deadline: April 10, 2020
Notification Deadline: April 20, 2020
Event Deadline: April 24-25, 2020
Read more

16 Apr 2019

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2019 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2019: Leanthony “AJ” Edwards

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 16, 2019

This year we are super excited to have Leanthony “AJ” Edwards come and speak to our folks at Vector this year! Leanthony is a lawyer out of Cincinnati and will be talking about how to protect yourself and your game from an IP standpoint at the outset in order to save time and money.

Leanthony’s bio:

A smiling African American man in a blue buttoned up shirt against a brick wall. Leanthony (“AJ”) Edwards is a Cincinnati based attorney who helps developers, entertainers and content developers navigate all legal issues related to intellectual property, advertising, licensing, data privacy/cybersecurity, and other tech related transactions. He is passionate about the gaming community so you might spot him at various local conferences in addition to GDC or Gamesforum. As an avid Gamer, he swears by Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn as the best game of all time and will articulate the elements that make the game great if pressed.

If you’re interested in Leanthony’s talk on Saturday, check out our event this year! Be sure to check out our ticket page and pick up your tickets for this years event! Vector 2019 is April 26-27!

09 Apr 2019

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2019 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2019: Phil Profitt

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 9, 2019

This year we’re incredibly psyched to have Phil Profitt, an Xbox Account Manager with Microsoft and Kentucky Native, to speak at Vector 2019!

A white man with a beard and black glasses, holding a small duck.

Phil Profitt is currently a developer account manager for Xbox at Microsoft, and has been working in the games industry for 10 years now. He grew up in the middle of nowhere in Bourbon County, KY. After graduating from University of Kentucky as an electrical engineering major he made his way to Tokyo, Japan to work in the games industry as a software engineer.

Recently becoming a father, in his ample free time Phil loves playing anything developed by FROM Software, and enjoys all the amazing Pacific Northwestern outdoor activities. In his profile picture you can see him spending time on his childhood friend’s farm in the Seattle area.

Again, we’re super excited to have Phil attend this years event! Be sure to check out our ticket page and pick up your tickets for this years event! Vector 2019 is April 26-27!

08 Apr 2019

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2019 Permalink

Speaker Announcement Christopher Totten

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 8, 2019

This year we’re pleased to announce that Christopher Totten will be joining our speaker list! Christopher will be speaking on Level Design and Architecture, and we’re excited to have him this year.

Christopher Totten is an Assistant Professor in the Modeling, Animation, and Game Creation program at Kent State University. He is the founder of Pie For Breakfast Studios, an award-winning Northeast Ohio independent game company, and has done work as an artist, animator, level designer, and project manager in the game industry. He holds a Masters Degree in Architecture with a concentration in Digital Media from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Chris is an executive organizer for the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) Arcade and lifetime member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Chris has written articles featured on Gamasutra, Game Career Guide, and other publications and is a frequent speaker at game industry conferences such as GDC, East Coast Game Conference, GDEX, and others. He is the author of An Architectural Approach to Level Design, published in its second edition in 2019 and Game Character Creation in Blender and Unity, released by Wiley Publishing in 2012. He is also the editor of the collected volume, Level Design: Processes and Experiences.

Interested in this talk and others like it? Be sure to check out our ticket page and pick up your tickets for this years event! Vector 2019 is April 26-27!

27 Mar 2019

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2019 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2019: Christian Allen

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On March 27, 2019

This year we’re pleased to announced the involvement of Epic Games, and specifically Unreal Engine Evangelist Christian Allen! Christian will continue with the fantastic workshops and talks about the Unreal Engine.

Allen_headshot_FN Christian’s bio:

Christian Allen is an experienced and BAFTA award winning AAA game designer and creative director. Prior to joining Epic Games as the Unreal Engine Evangelist for North America, Christian served as Lead Designer, Creative Director, and Design Director of several AAA game projects for Ubisoft, Red Storm Entertainment, Microsoft, Bungie, and Warner Bros. Games; as well as running his own indie development studio, Serellan LLC, which shipped multiple titles on console, PC, and VR.

Interested in this talk and others like it? Be sure to check out our ticket page and pick up your tickets for this years event! Vector 2019 is April 26-27!

21 Mar 2019

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Vector 2019 Permalink

Hotel Block Available for Vector 2019!

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On March 21, 2019

For this years event we have two potential blocks of hotel rooms that conference attendees can book at a different rate, and they have guaranteed block of rooms available for attendees.

Guests will need to secure their rooms with a credit card upon booking; however, it is not charged. Guests will have until April 5th to book their reservations.

Here are the two ways they can book:

A picture of a hotel.