speaker announcement | Vector

10 Apr 2018

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2018 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2018: Wes Keltner

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 10, 2018

Wes, a bald man with an impressive moustache and a red and blue check shirt, sits in a crowded office overlooking an urban environment. We are very excited to announce one of our keynote speakers, Wes Keltner! Wes will be joining us Friday afternoon for a fireside chat about indie game development and his title Friday the 13th.

Wes Keltner is the CEO of Gun Media, a game design concept team, based in Lexington, KY. Their most recent project, Friday the 13th: The Game, sold 2M units and garnered a loyal fanbase and won a Golden Joystick award. Gun focuses on paper design, meta game, gameplay mechanics and features, music and foley, motion capture direction, marketing, PR and building communities alongside streamers. Wes is passionate about creativity and pushes his team to be innovative in all aspects of production. He also knows a lot about horror, naturally.

While Wes is a Kentucky based developer, it is always exciting to have him come out and join us for events and to talk about the things that he’s passionate about. It’s really fantastic that he’ll be joining us this year for Vector 2018!

Nicholas Cage, in what seems to be archival footage on a television show, high kicks to show his excitement.

Vector 2018 is coming April 20-21, 2018! Our first day is a student day focused on education and learning for new developers, and our second day is focused on more learned developers. Tickets are available for purchase at Eventbrite now so be sure to get yours.

02 Apr 2018

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2018 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2018: Chris Charla

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 2, 2018

We are super excited to welcome this years keynote speaker, Chris Charla! Chris will join our already amazing line up of speakers for Vector 2018 and were incredibly glad that he can come to see us.

Chris Charla is senior director for ID@Xbox at Microsoft. ID@Xbox enables independent developers to self-publish their games on Xbox One and Windows 10 with Xbox Live. He launched the program after working with developers for several years as portfolio director for Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360 at Microsoft Studios. Prior to joining Microsoft, Chris worked at an independent developer doing everything from design and production, to helping create, pitch and produce original IPs. A million years ago, he was the launch editor of IGN.com, and the editor-in-chief of Next Generation magazine. He also edits the fanzines Incredibly Strange Games and Wallingford Skate Report.

We are incredibly pleased that Chris will be joining us for this event!

Vector 2018 is coming April 20-21, 2018! Our first day is a student day focused on education and learning for new developers, and our second day is focused on more learned developers. Tickets are available for purchase at Eventbrite now so be sure to get yours.

27 Mar 2018

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2018 Permalink

Speaker Announcement 2018: Lena Raine

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On March 27, 2018

With Vector 2018 just a month away (oh geez) we’re continuing to announce our amazing line-up of keynote and local speakers. With that in mind, we are really excited to announce another of our keynote speakers, Lena Raine!

Lena Raine is a composer and producer of original music and game soundtracks. Best known for her work on the games Celeste, Guild Wars 2 and hackmud, she has also released electronic music under the name Kuraine including her debut EP Singularity. Her soundtrack for Celeste was nominated for the IGF 2018 “Excellence in Audio” award. Lena is also an avid writer, having published her first novel City of Tigers, several short stories, and her upcoming interactive novel ESC. Lena lives in Seattle with her succulents and stuffed animals.

Vector 2018 is coming April 20-21, 2018! Our first day is a student day focused on education and learning for new developers, and our second day is focused on more learned developers.

Tickets are available for purchase at Eventbrite now so be sure to get yours.

11 Apr 2016

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements Permalink

Speaker Announcement Jake Elliott

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On April 11, 2016

Hey folks! We’re coming up on the date and super excited to announce another speaker: Jake Elliot! Elliot will be talking on a panel about the Future of Game Development. We’re especially glad that Jake is joining us this year as he was with us for our inaugural event last year, and was a pretty fantastic addition.

jake

Jake makes games, music & artware. He is currently working with Tamas Kemenczy and Ben Babbitt on Kentucky Route Zero, a magical realist
adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky. With jonCates, he runs the internet radio station NUMBERS.FM. He lives in Elizabethtown, KY. (website: http://dai5ychain.net)

Again, we’re pretty psyched that Jake is joining us for this year!

thatsrad There’s still time to purchase your tickets for the upcoming Vector Conference! They’re selling out pretty quickly (which is awesome). You can buy your tickets here. Be sure to contact us for academic and other scholarships!

27 Jan 2016

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2016 Permalink

Speaker Announcement: Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On January 27, 2016

We are pleased to announce our newest addition to our industry speakers, Dan “Shoe” Hsu.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu is an 18-year veteran of the gaming press. He’s appeared in or on Electronic Gaming Monthly, 1UP, G4, CNN, NPR, Bitmob, VentureBeat, CNBC, ABC Radio, and more. During that time, Shoe has seen and coordinated every type of pitch, from the desperate pleas of a one-man indie developer to a worldwide exclusive debut of a triple-A, monster-budget sequel. Currently, he manages the Partner Alliance, Developer Relations department at Sony Computer Entertainment America, helping to support indie and free-to-play PlayStation developers through co-marketing.

We’re pleased that Dan will be bringing his years of experience, both in independent and AAA games, as well as industry press to the developers at Vector.
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Remember, you can buy your tickets still for early bird pricing until February 15!

25 Jan 2016

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace Posted in Speaker Announcements, Vector 2016 Permalink

Speaker Announcement : Jerry Belich

Sticky Post By Amanda Wallace On January 25, 2016

Vector is pleased to announce that independent game designer Jerry Belich will be one of our keynote speakers! Jerry will also be working this semester as the Vernon Wilson Endowed Chair of Game Design at Eastern Kentucky Universities Gaming Institute. You can read more about that on the EKU Gaming Institute’s blog post.

Jerry Belich is an alternative game designer, using hardware, electronics, and software to create immersive interactive and storytelling experiences. He went independent in 2013 after a decade of professional software development, now consulting for other indies and companies in game design, narrative writing, and installation work. His first hardware project, the award winning Choosatron, has traveled all over the world, featured at dozens of events, and sparked imaginations all along the way! He plans on continuing creating his own inventions and games, and hopes to help many others to do the same through his talks, workshops, and through openness of his own work.

We are very pleased that Jerry will be joining us at our April 30th event, and are incredibly excited that he will be spending time with the students at EKU!

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