GDC 2024 Session Viewer

Durden, Tyler

Title: Head of Projects

Company: Animoca Brands

Tyler Durden heads Animoca Brands projects initiative and Mocaverse. With a history in the tech startup sphere, Tyler has cofounded and managed a variety of ventures, including those in renewable energy, cross-border eCommerce, and AI. His fervent dedication to fostering the widespread adoption of innovative technologies has elevated him to a pivotal role in championing AI and Web3 integration for Fortune 500 companies. Tyler's deep exploration of NFTs, DeFi, and ReFi has led him to his role as Head of Projects at Animoca Brands, a prominent name in the blockchain gaming industry. His visionary leadership is set to propel Animoca brands into new territories within the rapidly evolving Web3 domain.

Fiedor, Stan

Title: GM of Wemade EU

Company: WEMADE

Stanislaw Fiedor is the General Manager Europe at WeMade, a prominent Korean game developer and a pioneer of web3 gaming. He is also the Founder of FueroGames, an award-winning game development studio based in Poland. As a founder deeply committed to the gaming community, Stan actively mentors emerging industry leaders, helping them transform initial concepts into thriving studios and businesses. His extensive expertise in securing investor and VC funding, obtaining grants, and negotiating publishing deals has been pivotal in elevating early-stage founders. He is intensely focused on the evolving roles of Generative AI, web3, blockchain, and AR, and their transformative potential in the future of gaming.

Fulks, Lucas

Title: CPO

Company: Helika

Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Helika, is a veteran executive with almost a decade of experience in gaming analytics at top web2 & web3 studios including Zynga, SciPlay, and Artie where he served critical roles building vital data infrastructure. Additionally, Luke has 4x exits as a startup founder and core team member

Harding, Russ

Title: Chief Gaming Officer

Company: Saltwater Games

Russ Harding, holding the position of Chief Gaming Officer at Saltwater Games, Maze Theory, and Nexus Labs, has dedicated nearly three decades to the gaming industry. His work focuses on leveraging emerging technologies like VR, AR, MR, AI, and Web3 to create engaging gaming experiences. Russ's experience spans various game genres, catering to different audiences. His collaborative efforts with notable brands such as LEGO, PlayStation, Harry Potter, Sony Music, Doctor Who, and Peaky Blinders reflect his broad industry involvement with leading intellectual properties.
As Chief Gaming Officer, Russ primarily engages in guiding the creative strategic direction, nurturing initial concepts, and overseeing prototype development. He also plays a critical role in maintaining the quality of the studio's game portfolio. As a custodian of the studio's creative development process, he ensures it stays relevant with evolving market trends and technological advancements.
Currently, Russ is leading several notable projects. "The Infinite Inside" is an MR/VR puzzle game that explores the possibilities of immersive gaming, while "Resurgence" is a crafting/survival game that delves into the applications of AI and Web3 in gaming, and “Celeros,” Formula One for the skies, based on the new real-world motorsport Airspeeder.

Hursthouse, James

Title: Business Development

Company: WEMADE

James Hursthouse brings over 20 years of experience as a leader in the interactive digital media sector. Starting his career in games in Japan with a front-row seat for the earliest days of MMORPG, James was a contributing author to "The Metaverse Roadmap" white paper in 2007 and has maintained a consistent focus on activities that have led up to current Web3 frameworks ever since. His leadership roles at companies such as Roadhouse Interactive, Cooper's New Reality Garage, and Departure Lounge underscore his adeptness in establishing and steering businesses through technological evolutions and market strategies. With a rich background spanning music, gaming, Web3, and digital innovation, James is currently pleased to be working with WEMADE to help develop and evangelize its powerful WEMIX Play platform.

Kieltyka, Peter

Title: CEO

Company: Sequence

Web3/Blockchain Technology Game Changers award by GamesBeat and Lightspeed.\r\n\r\nPeter has two successful exits, is a major open source contributor, a leading web3 and blockchain architect, and was named one of Canada’s top 10 gaming tycoons by Maclean’s"}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":5053,"3":{"1":0},"5":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"6":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"7":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"8":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"10":2,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"Arial"}">Peter Kieltyka is Co-founder & CEO at Horizon, creators of Sequence, the leading development platform for integrating web3 into games. Sequence was awarded 2024’s Best Web3/Blockchain Technology Game Changers award by GamesBeat and Lightspeed. Peter has two successful exits, is a major open source contributor, a leading web3 and blockchain architect, and was named one of Canada’s top 10 gaming tycoons by Maclean’s

Koh, Elisha

Title: COO

Company: Web3Auth

Lee, Jack

Title: Head of Business Development Dept.

Company: WEMADE

Jack serves as the Head of Business Development Department at Wemade.With over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, he has consistently been a pioneer, establishing strategic partnerships in various capacities. Driven by his enthusiasm for Web3 and blockchain technologies, he is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Web3 gaming.

Jack is committed and convinced of its power to revolutionize the gaming landscape through Wemix Play platform (wemixplay.com), aiming to deliver the highest quality Web3 gaming experiences globally.

Mantegna, Micaela

Title: Abogamer

Company: Berkman Klein Center Harvard University (Affiliate), TED Fellow

Known as the 'Abogamer', Micaela stands as an international authority on digital ethics, XR policy, and the intertwining of generative AI with creativity and copyright. With an unique intersection of expertise, she is recognized as a videogame scholar and activist who brings a powerful voice to the frontier of digital realities. As a TED Fellow, she challenged the world with the question, "How to stop the metaverse from becoming the internet's bad sequel?" in a TED talk that garnered over 1.5 million views worldwide. A very sought after speaker, she has presented in conferences like GDC, TED, GamesBeat Summit, Ada Lovelace Festival, More Than Just a Game, RightsCon and many more, reaching audiences in over 28 countries. Micaela currently serves on Chatham House's AI Taskforce, and as a member of the World Economic Forum's 'Global Council on the Future of the Metaverse'. As an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, she started and is co-leading the "Video Game and XR Policy Working Group". Result of over 6 years of research, her debut book, "ARTficial: Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, and Copyright" (2022) is a deep dive into the intricate world of AI, art, ethics, and copyright law, which accurately predicted a lot of the current questions and problems posed by the rise of Generative AI. Her forthcoming book, "Braindancing in the Metaverse : a capitalism of cognitive surveillance" (2024), unpacks the trajectory of the metaverse as an evolution of digital capitalism, -as opposed to the post-scarcity future promised by generative AI and web3 ideals-; connecting the dots between neurotechnology, XR, AI and the role of intellectual property in regulating digital ownership, to paint the picture of a dystopian future that challenges human agency, mental privacy and dignity. Her work and insights echo across global platforms, having been featured in prestigious outlets like The Verge, WIRED, GamesBeat, IGN, DW, Gamernet Japan, and Le Monde. Micaela holds a Master's degree in Intellectual Property from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and San Andres University, where she also teaches AI Governance and Ethics at San Andres' Center for Technology and Society (CETyS). She has been recognized for her research on algorithmic governance, with the 2017 Google Policy Fellowship. Micaela's unique blend of expertise is frequently sought after by institutions and governments, being the lead drafter of Argentina's National AI Plan's "Ethics and regulation" chapter in 2019. She has also contributed to OpenAI's DALL·E 2 external red teaming process in March 2022. A passionate advocate for inclusion, she founded Women In Games Argentina (WIGAr), aiming for a more equitable gaming industry. For her trailblazing career, she was honored by Women in Games International (WIGJ) as their 2021 "Outstanding Individual Ambassador of the Year", being also spotlighted as a 2021 "Gamechanger" by GamesIndustry.biz. Proving the transformative impact of video games on her journey and her profound connection with 'Mass Effect' , one of the highlights of her career as the Abogamer is being featured by EA Games in their 'Legendary Edition Community Tribute'. The game's exploration of synthetic life and the profound quote 'Does this unit have a soul?', has been the catalyst for her pursuit of AI ethics, guiding her academic and professional trajectory. Aligned with her admiration for the ethos of Star Trek, Micaela advocates for a future where artificial intelligence can lead us towards a post-scarcity society. She underscores the need for diligent governance and ethical practices now to steer our path towards such an equitable future, a message she passionately communicates through her work.

Markou, Gregory

Title: Co-Founder and CPO

Company: ChainSafe Gaming

Greg is the Chief Product Officer (CPO), and Co-Founder at ChainSafe, one of the leading blockchain R&D firms with a multi-chain perspective specializing in infrastructure development and web3 gaming. ChainSafe is well-known for protocol-level contributions to Ethereum, Polkadot, Filecoin, and more, alongside bleeding-edge solutions in gaming, cross-chain bridging, and decentralized storage. Greg spent his early career focused on Ethereum protocol development and started ChainSafe in 2017 with a vision for creating a positive impact and value in the web3 space. Greg and ChainSafe's open-source and community-driven ethos serves both organizations and developers by fostering relationships that lead to the deployment of mission-critical infrastructure and frameworks for top blockchain protocols. With years of experience, diverse expertise, and building a global team of more than 120+ skilled individuals, Greg currently focuses on improving the UX of game development for web3. His mission is to help ChainSafe onboard the next 1 million builders into the web3 space by providing them with the groundwork, tools, and experience they’ll need to build the next iteration of the internet.

Tucker, Spencer

Title: Chief Gaming Officer

Company: Yuga Labs

Web3-enabled layers focused on player ownership, interoperability, and robust creative ecosystems. Currently Chief Gaming Officer at Yuga Labs, Spencer was previously part of the senior executive teams at Scopely, Gree, Glu, Aeria, and Wells Fargo."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":829,"3":{"1":0},"5":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"6":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"7":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"8":{"1":[{"1":2,"2":0,"5":{"1":2,"2":0}},{"1":0,"2":0,"3":3},{"1":1,"2":0,"4":1}]},"11":4,"12":0}">Spencer Tucker is a gaming and product executive with a passion and focus on building massively multiplayer online and socially powered games with innovative Web3-enabled layers focused on player ownership, interoperability, and robust creative ecosystems. Currently Chief Gaming Officer at Yuga Labs, Spencer was previously part of the senior executive teams at Scopely, Gree, Glu, Aeria, and Wells Fargo.

Zaratsian, Dan

Title: AI/ML Solutions Architect

Company: Google

Dan Zaratsian is a Staff Solutions Architect and Tech Lead, specializing in the design, development, and deployment of innovative gaming solutions that integrate Generative AI and machine learning. His projects and areas of focus span from in-game toxicity detection and AI-powered NPCs and bots to real-time game analytics and matchmaking solutions. Dan also possesses expertise in integrating these technologies with popular game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity, and is actively exploring the potential of web3 gaming solutions.

Zhang, Hazel

Title: Head of Investments

Company: AELF

Hazel Zhang serves as the Head of Investment at aelf, where she brings her extensive investment experience in bulge brackets, big tech and venture capital to the blockchain ecosystem. She is responsible for implementing aelf’s vertical and stage-agnostic investment strategy including sourcing and structuring new investment opportunities around emerging projects and businesses bridging Web2 to Web3. Prior to her role at aelf, Hazel was heading Web3 investments in NetEase Games, driving global investments in the pan-entertainment and blockchain space. Hazel is also an Advisor at Stanford AI & Web3 Research Lab Association and holds a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of Oxford.

van Husen, Carsten

Title: CEO

Company: ELEET.GAMES

Carsten van Husen is a German serial entrepreneur, consultant and lecturer in the domain of digital games.

With a background in Financial Services and an MBA, he trade-sold his 1st games company last century (Web1) and built to beyond 500 million players as CEO at the Gameforge group (Web 2) on the back of early evangelism of the Free-to-Play biz model in the West. Currently, he’s predominantly occupied to contribute toyet another paradigm shift in the industry by bridging the gap between core gaming and crypto with his start-up ELEET GAMES GmbH (Web3).
ELEET’s 1st title MIGHT’N MOW’EM is a Co-op Survivors Online which has proven that Play-and-Earn is actually possible even involving platforms like Steamand Switch. Coming up, the crypto-optional Unreal 5 MMORPG OATHBOUND lends itself nicely to a future NFT launch – so, stay tuned.