GDC 2024 Session Viewer

Bethea, Chase

Title: Composer / Technical Music Designer

Company: Independent

Chase Bethea is a Video Game Composer/Technical Music Designer known in the industry as the "swiss army knife of video game composition." Chase has received many accolades throughout his career for his diverse collection of compositions that can be described as a fusion of texture and complexity which allows the player to become immersed in the experience. His soundtrack for "Cubic Climber" earned a Noteworthy on Destructoid. In 2016, Chase was nominated for Artists of the Year – Independent Composer by VGMO in the entire industry for his "I Can't Escape:Darkness" score. In 2021, he won an award for the AGROUND soundtrack from the NYX Game Awards. Chase has also scored Aztec Ride, a highly addictive fun mobile game that shipped on Google Play in October 2020 and was nominated for a Pocket Gamer Mobile Award. Chase was selected to perform live at Indiecade 2019 and selections of his game compositions have also been performed live by the Virtual Video Game Orchestral at MAGWest 2022. More of Chase's accomplishments include being Game Revolution's first team streamer as well as first video game composer to be featured on a gaming website for his behind the scene composing series. Chase has also been a guest speaker at many conferences such as 2022 Global Game Jam (Keynote Speaker), GDC (Game Developers Conference (3x), PAX, Audiokinetic, MAGWEST (3x), IGDA, GameSound Con (2x), Berklee College of Music (2x), Game Devs of Color (2x), ADC (Audio Developers Conference), A2IM, Indie Game Business and EPOS Gaming.

Bevier, Alexander

Title: Game Production and Developer Support

Company: Independent

Alexander Bevier is a game industry freelancer, working with many companies in a wide variety of roles. He's worked as a producer on AAA and Indie titles, written for adventure games, audio-based trivia games, and most recently on a board game. Most recently, he's served as a QA at Very Very Spaceship in Seattle, WA.

Alexander has been an IGDA Game Writing SIG Committee member for the past decade, and recently became a Committee member for the Gencon Writers' Symposium. He also teaches and writes journalism when the opportunity arises.

Bucher, Will

Title: Managing Partner

Company: Bucher Law PLLC & Chair of IGDA Business & Legal SIG

Will Bucher is a lawyer specializing in in intellectual property law, antitrust, and video games. He was the top-rated speaker at GDC in his debut GDC talk in 2018. He has worked on a range of video game matters, including defending Take-Two Interactive against a lawsuit by Lindsay Lohan over the advertising for Grand Theft Auto 5. Currently, Will serves as chair of the IGDA's Business & Legal Special Interest Group and the American Bar Association's Digital Games and New Media Committee.

Cannon, Nessa

Title: Game Writer/Narrative Designer

Company: Independent

Nessa Cannon is a game writer and narrative designer with three years of experience on over a dozen games, primarily as a freelancer in the indie space. She has worked on indie hits OnlyCans: Thirst Date, Endoparasitic, and Waves of Steel, and is currently a lead writer on upcoming Raw Fury-published Star Trucker. She is a consultant on Annapurna's Forever Ago and wrote for a currently unannounced AAA project. She has spoken at PAX Online, Narrascope, and as a guest lecturer for CSU Los Angeles and Northeastern University. Nessa has been the recipient of several awards such as IGDA Velocity and Amplifying New Voices 2023.

Cheng, Mei

Title: Game Designer

Company: Independent

Mei is a games UX designer with 5 years of experience. Mei has been a board organizer on IGDA San Diego for 5 years, hosting talks, panels, and events for the community.

Cherbak, Fiona

Title: Lead Talent Program Manager

Company: Xbox Game Studios

Fiona designs and drives inclusive hiring initiatives across Xbox first-party studios. Fiona was previously Talent Acquisition Lead, Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment. Fiona is former chairperson of IGDA Women in Games SIG, co-founder of Women in Games International, co-creator of GameMentorOnline and prior advisor to Women in Games Jobs U.K. Fiona is co-founder and prior executive producer of Boston Festival of Indie Games, now in its 12^th year. Fiona participated in a women in games roundtable at the U.S. White House in 2015.

Clewes-Boyne, Adam

Title: Director

Company: BetaJester, Playing Attention

Adam is a talented games programmer and designer, and is a co-founder of BetaJester Ltd, an indie games and work-for-hire studio based in the UK. Alongside his extensive experience building innovative and engaging games across all genres, in his spare time he also reaches out to the industry by supporting and mentoring upcoming developers and students on their journey. He is a co-founder of Game Dev London, a game dev podcast with a community of over 3500 creators, and the founder of Playing Attention, the first group dedicated to supporting and raising awareness of ADHD in the UK games industry. Alongside these roles, he is also an ambassador for Safe In Our World, a mentor for Limit Break, and a co-founder of the IGDA Neurodivergent in Games SIG.

Clough, Michelle

Title: Game Writer / Narrative Designer

Company: Talespinners, Co-founder/Chair of FERIM (Forum for Erotic and Romantic Interactive Media)

Michelle Clough is a freelance game writer, editor, and partner in the game writing co-op Talespinners; her credits include Purrfect Date, Choices, Destruction All-Stars, and Destiny 2. She is also co-founder and chair of the IGDA Romance and Sexuality Special Interest Group, and regularly gives highly-acclaimed lectures and panels about romance, sex, and diverse sex appeal at PAX West and GDC; her book "Passion and Play: A Guide to Designing Sexual Content in Games" is available through CRC Press.

Crawford, Damien

Title: Head of Operations

Company: Cannibal Interactive/ IGDA Neurodivergent in Games SIG

Della Rocca, Jason

Title: Co-Founder

Company: Execution Labs

Jason Della Rocca is a game business consultant, investor, funding advisor, and ecosystem strategist. He currently spends the bulk of his time advising game studio founders on funding and product strategy, and advising governments around the world how to better grow/support the success of their regional game development ecosystem. As the co-founder of Execution Labs, he was a hands-on early stage investor to 25 independent game studios from North America and Europe. In parallel Jason helped launch GamePlay Space, a non-profit hub to support indies and guide them toward business success, whose alumni have generated over $300m in game sales and funding. Between 2000-09 he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and was honored for his industry building efforts with the inaugural Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Conference. In 2009, Jason was named to Game Developer Magazine’s “Power50,” a list which profiles 50 of the most important contributors to the state of the game industry. As a sought after expert on the game industry, Jason has lectured at conferences and universities worldwide.

Edwards, Kate

Title: CEO

Company: Geogrify

Kate Edwards is an award-winning 30+ year veteran of the game industry, and the CEO and principal consultant of Geogrify, a consultancy which innovated content culturalization, as well as the CXO and Co-Founder of SetJetters, a film tourism app. She is also the former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and the Global Game Jam. In addition to serving in several board and advisory roles, she is a geographer, writer, and corporate strategist. In 2021, she was included in the Forbes' "50 Over 50" Vision List and was also inducted into the Women in Games Hall of Fame.

Fan, Monica

Title: Game Designer

Company: Pipworks Studio

Monica Fan (She/They) is a Game Designer at Pipework Studio. Professionally they are system and gameplay designer who is passionate about inclusive and accessibility design. Personally, they spend their free time helping diversify as the mod of Save Point Gathering and Ferim (formally IGDA Sex and Romance). Monica is undeniably neurodivergent and is the co-founder of IGDA Neurodivergent In Game Development SIG. They are not so secretly a lover of cats and bubble tea.

Fayolle, Arnaud

Title: Art Director

Company: Ubisoft, Positive Play

Arnaud Fayolle is Art Director at Ubisoft Positive Play, a team dedicated to demonstrating and amplifying the positive impact of videogames on our players and our planet. Over the past 15 years he has contributed to diverse AAA games such as Forza Horizon 3 & 4, The Division 2, The Last of Us, Deus Ex Mankind Divided and many more. He developed a holistic approach to Game Art, merging the complex elements of Aesthetics, Narrative, Gameplay, and Technology to create “Art that plays great”. A nature lover since childhood, Arnaud turned eco-anxiety into a driving force for the evolution of his work, channelling the power of games to influence a cultural shift that can solve the climate crisis. Always on the frontline of game environmentalism, you can also find him in the IGDA Climate Special Interest Group and the Playing 4 the Planet Alliance, pushing the boundaries of what video games can do for our planet.

Finley, Toiya Kristen

Title: Game Designer, Narrative Designer, Editor, Consultant

Company: Schnoodle Media, LLC

Nashville native Toiya Kristen Finley, Ph.D., has been a freelancing writer and editor her entire adult life. She earned a doctorate in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University. In video games, she has worked as a game designer, narrative designer, game writer, editor, and diversity/narrative consultant (or some combination of the five) on everything from AAA titles to mobile games to games for children to small indie projects. Recent work includes writing visual novel Siren Song (Stardust Works), copyediting for Destiny 2 (Bungie), consulting and writing on Destruction AllStars (Lucid Games), and developmental editing on Insecure: The Come Up Game (Glow Up Games). A presenter at conferences throughout the year, she has lectured on freelancing and storytelling and led workshops on narrative design and game design. She is a member of the IGDA Game Writing Special Interest Group's Executive Board. The Game Narrative Toolbox (CRC Press), a book on narrative design she coauthored with Jennifer Brandes Hepler, Ann Lemay, and Tobias Heussner, was published in 2015, with a second edition published in 2023. Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-Sized Storytelling (CRC Press), which she edited and contributed to, was published in 2019. Her latest books are Freelance Video Game Writing: The Life & Business of the Digital Mercenary for Hire (2022) and Branching Story, Unlocked Dialogue: Designing and Writing Visual Novels (2023) both from CRC Press. Of late, she has been working on her own visual novel series, beginning with Incarnō: Everything Is Written.

Gittins, Renee

Title: CEO / Creative Director

Company: Stumbling Cat

Renee leads Stumbling Cat, an indie studio based in Seattle, and is a multi-disciplinary leader with expertise in business operations, software engineering, and creative direction. Previously, she was the General Manager of Phoenix Lab - Vancouver and the Executive Director of the IGDA. She is a passionate advocate and connector for developers and diversity in the game industry. She is also the Chair of the IGDA Alumni Board, consults for numerous organizations, and is outspoken about initiatives to increase diversity both within the game industry and gaming overall to help the game industry grow and improve for everyone.

Golden, Katie

Title: Executive Producer

Company: Monolith Productions

Katie Golden is senior leader in game development industry who has worked primarily on AAA titles such as Forza Horizon 3, Forza Horizon 4, Forza Horizon 5, Destiny 2, Sonic Colors Ultimate, and Sonic Origins. She serves as the Treasurer of the IGDA Game Credits SIG, a special interest group providing guidance on game accreditation policies. She also co-founded SavePoint Industry Gathering, a community for game industry professionals from gender underrepresented groups. She is employed at Riot Games as a Senior Product Manager, focused on driving alignment, facilitating communication, elevating marginalized voices, and helping game developers from all walks of life do their best work to create games they love.

Gstoettner, Julia

Title: Localization Specialist and Project Manager

Company: Independent, Co-Chair Localization SIG

Julia Gstoettner is a trilingual localization professional and project manager based in Vienna, with expertise in film, television, literature, and video games. She also has a background in game studies and academia, in which she specializes in game localization and cultural sensitivity. She is the current co-chair of the IGDA Localization SIG with a focus on shaping industry best practices.

Hayes, Shayne

Title: Associate Director

Company: Atlantic Council

Shayne Hayes is the Associate Director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center’s Video Game Initiative and Co-Chair of the International Game Developers Association Climate Special Interest Group (IGDA Climate SIG). Shayne works with AAA game companies and indie developers to build resilience to the impacts of climate change through games.

Previously, Shayne developed content for Minecraft: Education Edition that has reached millions of students, including the platform’s flagship series, Hour of Code. Alongside other members of the IGDA Climate SIG, Shayne co-authored the Environmental Game Design Playbook, a groundbreaking publication that equips game developers with the resources they need to integrate effective climate messaging into their games and advance climate mitigation and resilience. 

Huffman, Brandon

Title: Founding Partner

Company: Odin Law & Media

Brandon is an attorney focused on representing technology and media clients in business, intellectual property, content clearance, privacy, commercial contracts, employment and internet regulatory matters. Why? Because of a passion for creativity and technology. Brandon is a so-so visual artist, a lousy programmer and a pretty-okay film editor, but he is a great lawyer. He keeps an old comic by Barbara Smaller that features a little boy in a cowboy outfit telling his father “Well if I can’t be a cowboy, I’ll be a lawyer for cowboys.” The creative and innovative clients Brandon serves are his cowboys. Brandon volunteers as general counsel to the International Game Developers’ Association, the largest trade organization focused on supporting individual game developers. In early 2017, he was awarded the IGDA’s MVP award. When he is not working, Brandon spends time with his wife, kids and their dogs. He also accompanies his wife on her pilgrimages to Walt Disney World, attends various digital media user groups and industry events, draws, paints and tinkers in the family garage. Oh, and sometimes there is time leftover to play a video game or two.

Kirby, Neil

Title: Senior Lecturer

Company: The Ohio State University

Neil Kirby is a Senior Lecturer in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the Ohio State University where he recently won the College of Engineering’s Charles F. MacQuigg award for outstanding teaching. At OSU he teaches the Design, Development, and Documentation of Interactive Systems class as well as the introductory database and systems classes. Before he returned to OSU, Neil was a Member of Technical Staff at Nokia, home of Bell Laboratories. There he developed .NET + database solutions used extensively in the Wireless business unit. Prior assignments included architecture consulting, speech recognition, and operations and support systems. Neil co-founded the IGDA Foundation and serves as secretary on its board. There he also assists in the selection of the Eric Dybsand AI Memorial Scholar. He also assists with the Scholars, Next Generation Leaders, and Velocity programs. Neil is a section editor in the Game AI Pro series of books. He is the author of An Introduction to game AI. His other publications include articles in volumes I, II, and IV of AI Game Programming Wisdom. He co-wrote “Effective Requirements Traceability: Models, Tools and Practices” for the Bell Labs Technical Journal. His 1991 paper, "Artificial Intelligence Without AI: An evolutionary Approach" may well show the first use of what is now known as "circle strafing" in a game.

Lau, JC

Title: Senior Advanced Producer

Company: ProbablyMonsters

In addition to being a senior advanced producer at ProbablyMonsters, with experience developing multiple award-winning video games, Dr. JC Lau (she/they) is a speaker and advocate for diversity, inclusion, equity, and representation in the games industry. She is the 2022 recipient of the Individual Diversity Advocate award at the Women in Games Global Awards, and a member of both the 2022 IGDA Foundation's Next Gen Leaders and The Game Awards Future Class. JC was also featured as one of 2021's Game Changers by GamesIndustry.biz, and is a member of the #ShePlaysGames list and inaugural #QueerInGames list. JC is the creator of #WhatAGameDevLooksLike, an online movement to celebrate and amplify diversity in game development and challenge stereotypes about game developers, and aspires to build a sustainable games industry where everyone regardless of their background or experience can have a fulfilling and healthy career. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Global Game Jam.

Lee, Michael

Title: Senior Engineering Manager

Company: Schell Games

Michael is a senior engineer at Schell Games and a co-founder of Ludoko Studios. He is also a lead organizer of Bit Bridge Indies in Pittsburgh, PA. He has also been a long time GGJ Site organizer, a GGJ Regional Organizer and a leader of the IGDA Pittsburgh chapter.

Lee, Matthew

Title: Chair

Company: IGDA Serious Games SIG

As a pioneer of network culture research, an early explorer of VR, and a longtime community advocate, Matthew Lee uses the power of games to change the world and improve people's lives. He serves as Chair of the IGDA Serious Games SIG, which promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration, connects serious game communities around the world through events and meetups, and advocates for greater awareness about serious games in the general game education curriculum. Additionally, he consults on serious games projects for the healthcare industry, works on integrating design and innovation curricula into healthcare education, and designs games and environments that promote well-being.

Long, Sebastian

Title: MD

Company: Player Research

Sebastian Long is MD of Player Research (a Keywords Studio), the leading agency for insight into players and play. As a gameplay researcher Seb has led design-improving playtest studies for hundreds of games, spanning all genres, audiences and platforms - including for beloved IPs Sniper Elite, FIFA, World of Tanks, LittleBigPlanet, Talking Tom, Hungry Shark, LEGO, Life is Strange and games including Control and Elden Ring - and influencing the development direction of international projects for businesses including EA, Sony, Xbox, Tencent Games, and hundreds more. As Managing Director Seb leads a 20-person consultancy based in the UK and Canada, providing research that drives game development decision-making, as both a consultant research strategist and the company Director. Seb is a member of BAFTA, community leader within the IGDA Games User Research and UX SIG, prolific speaker and educator, and is based in Brighton on the UK south coast.

Mathur, Gaurav

Title: Business Development

Company: DeepWell DTx

Michaels, Sonia

Title: Career Development Coach / Consultant

Company: Independent

Sonia Michaels is a game industry educator, speaker, and career coach who has spent the majority of her 30+ year career working at the intersection of the Liberal Arts and Game Development education. She is deeply committed to preparing game developers at all levels to build longer, healthier careers, avoid burnout, push back against crunch and toxicity, and change the industry from within. Sonia has presented at GDC (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023), PaxDev (2015, 2016, 2019), PAX (2023), GeekGirlCon (2017), and the New Directions in the Humanities International Conference (2018, 2019), among others. (Her GDC 2023 talk was the highest-ranked career focused talk of the conference!) In April 2023, she completed a three-year elected term on the Board of Directors of the IGDA (International Game Developers Association), and in June 2023, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at the IndieCade Horizons Showcase (a partnership between IndieCade and HEVGA, the Higher Education Video Game Alliance).

Rohrl, Dave

Title: Chairman

Company: Mobile Game Doctor

Dave Rohrl is a 30-year industry veteran with extenstive experience in game design, production, and studio leadership. After beginning his career in edutainment, Dave was an early mover in online casual games and PC downloadables as a producer/designer at Pogo and PopCap (where he was immortalized as Crazy Dave in Plants vs. Zombies). He then became fascinated with social and games and free-to-play with director-level roles at Zynga and Playdom before joining HTML5 startup Goko. In 2014, Dave founded Mobile Game Doctor, a global network of dozens of experts that helps game developers worldwide improve their free-to-play games and game businesses. Dave is the former chair and white paper editor of the IGDA Casual Games SIG and a regular speaker at GDC and other conferences. He lives in the Bay Area with his partner, two dogs, and 600 board games.

Ryan, Chantal

Title: Director

Company: We Have Always Lived In The Forest

Chantal Ryan (she/they) is an anthropologist, game designer and founder of the studio We Have Always Lived In The Forest. She founded the Women Leaders In Games network and is in the process of launching ‘elsewhere’, the not-for-profit aimed at boosting marginalised leaders in the games industry. Her research and design specialties include identity, personhood, digital humanities, AI, natural language processing, cultural development and counter-colonialism. She is recipient of the 2022 Humble Bundle Game Creator of Color Award, an inductee of The Game Awards Future Class of 2022, an IGDA Foundation International Scholar and was honoured as one of South Australia’s 40 Under 40 in 2023. Chantal is Tamil-Australian, holds a B.A.(Advanced) in Anthropology and English, and holds multiple scholar’s titles such as the Vera May Swift Prize and the Edward Rychter Scholarship.

Samuels, Josh

Title: Creative Director

Company: Raindrop Games / Allies SIG

Josh Samuels has been a video game developer and software engineer for over 20 years. They are the Studio Lead for Raindrop Games where they worked on Arrival: Village Kasike, a strategy game about the Taino people of the Caribbean and Fishin' For Permission, a children's game about consent.

In 2015 Josh co-founded the Allies Special Interest Group (SIG) of the IGDA. This group's purpose is to educate people about issues faced by marginalized groups and provide tools to help everyone be a more effective ally.

Saumon, Matthieu

Title: Producer / Level Designer

Company: Raindrop Games / IGDA Unreal Engine SIG Chair

Schecterson, Aviva

Title: Senior Combat Designer

Company: Stoic Studio / Jewish Game Developers SIG

Aviva Schecterson, a Senior Combat Designer at Stoic Studio while living in the greater Seattle area, is a passionate advocate for the gaming community. Beyond her impactful role at Stoic Studio, Aviva dedicates her time to mentor aspiring game developers in various programs and serves as Chair of the IGDA Jewish Game Developers SIG. Her career encompasses roles at Amazon Game Studios as a game designer (Crucible, New World) and Lone Shark Games as a tabletop games developer and editor. A 2016 graduate of DigiPen Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design, she gained valuable experience through internships at Paizo and Signal Studios. When not immersed in the gaming world, Aviva cherishes the company of her two cats, Asher and Pepita, indulges in baking, explores nature through hiking, and maintains a keen interest in fitness.

Schmidt, Brian

Title: Founder

Company: GameSoundCon

Brian Schmidt is one of the early pioneers of the game audio industry. The 2008 recipient of the Game Audio Network Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and 2017 inductee into the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame, Brian has been creating game music, sounds and cutting edge technology for more than 35 years. With a credit list of over 140 games and a client list including Electronic Arts, Zynga, Microsoft, Sony, Capcom, Sega, Data East, Namco and many others. Brian has used his combined expertise and experience in music composition, sound design and his deep technical knowledge to further the state of the art in game audio and his music has been featured in TV, Film and in the CD-set, Legends of Game Music.

Brian began his career in game audio in 1987 as a composer, sound effects designer and music programmer for Williams Electronic Games in Chicago writing music and creating sound effects for pinball machines and coin-operated video games. While there, he was the primary composer of the video game NARC. His main theme from NARC was later recorded and released by The Pixies. In 1989, Brian left Williams and became one of the industry’s first independent game composers, where he worked on such games as John Madden Football, the Desert Strike Series, Mutant League Football and the award winning Crueball. Other credits include Guns and Roses Pinball, where he worked closely with Slash to create a truly interactive Rock and Roll game experience.

In 1998, Brian was recruited by Microsoft to lead the direction of game audio technologies.While there, he joined the then-fledgling Xbox organization as the primary architect for its audio and music system.Brian has been credited with bringing Dolby Digital Surround Sound to interactive gaming through his efforts at Xbox (where he also created the original Xbox startup sound).Through his ten-year tenure at Microsoft, Brian continued to drive and advance game audio technologies through tools such the award-winning “XACT” (Xbox Audio Creation Tool); the first-of-its kind tool to provide interactive mixing for video games.Brian was also responsible for the overall audio system of the Xbox 360 game system, including the XMA audio compression format, winner of the G.A.N.G “Best New Technology award” and finalist in IGDA’s “Best new technology” category.Brian currently works as a consultant to the video game industry working with companies large and small.

Brian is the creator of GameSoundCon, the industry's largest conference dedicated to composing video game music and video game sound design. Brian is a frequent and in-demand speaker on game audio and game audio technologies, having given literally hundreds of educational and inspirational talks at events all over the world.Events such as the Game Developers Conference, Microsoft’s Gamefest, Sega Devcon, and the Audio Engineering Society Conference, SiGraph and esteemed institutions such as Yale University, Northwestern University and Digipen have invited Brian to share his knowledge and insight into the industry.

Brian received undergraduate degrees in music and computer science from Northwestern University in1985,where he created the first dual degree program between the School of Music and the Technological Institute. He went on to complete his Masters in Computer Applications in Music in 1987, where portions of his thesis work was published in the prestigious Computer Music Journal and presented by invitation to the AES special conference on Audio Technology.

Brian currently serves as President of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), a position he was elected to in 2012, sits on the advisory board of the Game Developer Conference, is a former steering committee member of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (ia-sig) of the MMA, and has been a featured keynote speaker at GDC, Project BBQ and the Montreal Interactive Games Summit (MIGS).

Seavey, Max

Title: Indie Game Developer

Company: snacktime games

Max Seavey (he/they) is the recently appointed Chair of the LGBTQ+ Special Interest Group at the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). As co-founder of an independent game studio, he recognizes the importance of a supportive creative network. He strives to empower other developers within the gaming industry by highlighting underrepresented voices, fostering connections, and sharing valuable resources.

Grant Shonkwiler

Title: Leadership Coach & Consultant

Company: Shonkventures

Grant Shonkwiler first started making games when he was 12 years old, starting with modding and programming. Since then he has filled many different roles in the game industry: programmer, lead designer, technical producer and currently is a leadership coach and production consultant. His career has taken him from casual games at Megatouch Games, to AAA shooters at id Software and to Epic Games to work on Fortnite. Grant currently runs his own leadership coaching & consulting company, and is the co-author of four books including Gear Up: Advanced Game Development Practices. Grant also enjoys building communities within the industry working with the IGDA and the GameDevDrinkup.

Skult, Natasha

Title: CEO & Creative Director

Company: MiTale / IGDA Game Art SIG Co-Chair

Natasha Skult is CEO & Creative Director of MiTale, a game development company from Finland focusing on narrative-driven experiences in mixed reality and gamification. Natasha is an active member of the Finnish and international games industry as Chair of IGDA.org and one of the founders of The Hive –Turku Game Hub. Besides her various industry roles, Natasha is also active in academic research on the topics of interactive storytelling with quantum computing, and teaches courses in game design and game (digital) art production at the University of Turku.

Tan, Philip

Title: Research Scientist

Company: MIT Game Lab

Philip Tan is a research scientist at the MIT Game Lab. He teaches courses in game design and production at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research translates the joy of expert challenge (e.g. in scientific, professional, and competitive fields) into playful forms that are accessible to everybody. For 6 years, he was the executive director for the US operations of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a game research initiative. He also founded a DJ crew at MIT and continues to teach MIT courses in DJ history, technology, and technique. He has served as a member of the steering committee of the Singapore chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and worked closely with Singapore game developers to launch industry-wide initiatives and administer content development grants as an assistant manager in the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore. Before 2005, he produced and designed PC online games at The Education Arcade, a research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that studied and created educational games. He complements a Master's degree in Comparative Media Studies with work in Boston's School of Museum of Fine Arts, the MIT Media Lab, WMBR 88.1FM and the MIT Assassins' Guild, the latter awarding him the title of "Master Assassin" for his live-action roleplaying game designs.

Toole, Anne

Title: Writer

Company: The Write Toole & IGDA WIG SIG

Totten, Christopher

Title: Program Coordinator and Founder

Company: Kent State University & Pie for Breakfast Studios

Christopher Totten is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Animation Game Design program at Kent State University. He is also an award-winning independent game designer, artist, and animator. He holds a master's degree in architecture (M.Arch) with a concentration in digital media from the Catholic University of America. Chris is a co-founder of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Arcade and a lifetime member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He was a member of the inaugural class for the IndieCade Horizons Faculty Excellence Awards, winning the Innovation Award for his work building an appreciation for games in the context of the arts. He has written multiple books on design, including An Architectural Approach to Level Design and the upcoming book World Design in 2D Action-Adventures, he is also the editor of the collected volume, Level Design: Processes and Experiences and the Level Design Practices series.

Vela, Jakin

Title: Executive Director

Company: International Game Developers Association

Dr. Jakin Vela (he/him) serves as the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He is a sociologist and researcher focused on socio-technical cultures, minority stress, stigma, and diversity inclusion in tech (especially games and the games industry). His work highlights the effects of marginalization, group solidarity, and inclusion in virtual gaming spaces and organizational structures, especially among underrepresented groups. He also serves as CEO of Astral Interactive, a small indie studio focused on highlighting player empathy in gameplay, as well as MagiTech Management Solutions, a consulting firm on project management and process efficiency.

Vela, Jakin

Title: Executive Director

Company: International Game Developers Association

Dr. Jakin Vela (he/him) serves as the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He is a sociologist and researcher focused on socio-technical cultures, minority stress, stigma, and diversity inclusion in tech (especially games and the games industry). His work highlights the effects of marginalization, group solidarity, and inclusion in virtual gaming spaces and organizational structures, especially among underrepresented groups. He also serves as CEO of Astral Interactive, a small indie studio focused on highlighting player empathy in gameplay, as well as MagiTech Management Solutions, a consulting firm on project management and process efficiency.

Westin, Thomas

Title: Senior Lecturer

Company: Stockholm University and IGDA GA-SIG

Thomas is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden. He has educated and done research and development within game accessibility for more than twenty years. He is a previous chair/co-chair of the IGDA Game Accessibility SIG.

Whaley, Zak

Title: Engineering Director

Company: PlayEveryWare | Engineering SIG Chair

Zak Whaley is a seasoned technology leader and the Engineering Director at PlayEveryWare, a co-development studio which supports titles like Among Us and Fall Guys and partners like Epic Games and Riot Games. He previously helped build an XR platform team at Magic Leap and is known for his steward leadership style. Zak is the IGDA Board Treasurer and also chairs the Engineering SIG of the IGDA, providing support to engineers from various disciplines. He is a passionate technologist committed to developing best practices and tools for teams using cutting-edge technology.

Youichiro, Miyake

Title: Lead AI Researcher

Company: SQUARE ENIX

Youichiro Miyake is a general manager of AI Division, SQUARE ENIX. He is also a project professor of Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), the University of Tokyo. He has been developing AI of digital games in game industry as AI technical director while researching game AI technologies as lead AI researcher in a digital game company in twenty years. He developed the technical design of AI for the following game titles: CHROME HOUNDS (2006, Xbox360), Demon's Souls (2009,PlayStation3), Armored Core V (2012, Xbox360, PlayStation3) developed by FROM SOFTWARE, and FINAL FANTASY XIV, FINAL FANTASY XV, and Kingdom Hearts III developed by SQUARE ENIX. He is also a board member of Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) JAPAN and a chair of SIG-AI in Japan Chapter, International Game Developers Association (IGDA Japan) from 2006 to resent. He researches the technical design of combination of smart city and metaverse by using game AI system “Meta-Character-Spatial AI dynamic cooperative model”. He published more than 10 books of game AI, and many academic papers. He had many lectures in international academic conferences such as SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH ASIA, IEEE Conference On Games, and ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, and international industrial conferences such GDC and CEDEC.

von Lindenberg, Trento

Title: CEO

Company: Mouldbreaker Interactive

As a "People-Producer" with a focus on sustainable production practices and creating safe, accessible, and diverse spaces, Trento believes in protecting his team first and foremost. He has been fortunate to work with several amazing teams and developers, and considers it his privilege to support others in return. He currently serves as the Secretary of the IGDA Game Credits SIG, an ambassador with WIGJ, and the occasional Production Mentor. He is a regular face with the volunteer programs at conferences like GDC, DevCom, GamesCom, and PAX.