2010 Advisory Board
These distinguished industry professionals volunteer their time to help develop the numerous sessions at GDC Online. They work to ensure that the quality of the content provided to attendees is high-level, relevant, and timely. Their dedication is critical to the success of the conference.
Cindy Armstrong |
Thomas Bidaux |
Matt Firor |
Sheri Graner Ray |
John Blakely |
Mike Goslin |
Richard Vogel |
Sebastien de Halleux |
Min Kim |
Gordon Walton |
Eugene Evans |
Raph Koster |
Cindy Armstrong
President and CEO, Electric Bat Interactive
Cindy Armstrong brings a wealth of over 20 years of experience in operations, business development, and finance to the team at Electric Bat Interactive. As President and CEO for EBI, Cindy Armstrong is responsible for all strategic planning, overseas development and publishing operations. She has been with the company since the beginning, working on the development of two online experiences that showcase the proprietary layered reality gaming (LRG) technology; WebLords, the browser-based, free-to-play fantasy game that turns the Web itself into social entertainment, and Weblings, a fantasy world of colorful critters living within the Internet.
Her background includes serving as the CEO of Webzen America, Vice President of Business Development at Sony Online Entertainment, and Director of Sales Analysis and Planning at Nintendo of America. Previous responsibilities included strategic planning, international publishing operations, developing licensing opportunities, scouting new products, and exploring innovative business models.
Thomas Bidaux
CEO, ICO Partners
Thomas Bidaux started his career at France Telecom, within the GOA team. In 1999 he grew the activity from a one-man team in charge of the first French MMORPG La 4eme Prophetie to the European organization in charge of successful MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot.
In 2004, he left France Telecom, to set up the European subsidiary of the online game giant NCsoft. Acting as the development director for the company, he managed the teams who brought many online games to the European market, including Guild Wars and City of Heroes.
In April 2008, he founded the consulting agency ICO Partners. ICO guides independent developers seeking to enter the online games market, and provides local expertise to foreign online games publishers entering the European market.
John Blakely
Vice President of Development, Sony Online Entertainment
John Blakely is the Vice President of Development for Sony Online Entertainment LLC, where he serves as the executive leader for the company’s studios in Austin, Denver, Seattle and Tucson, Ariz. Based in SOE’s Austin studio, Blakely is responsible for developing and deploying the upcoming DC UNIVERSE ONLINE and THE AGENCY games. He also oversees the STAR WARS GALAXIES live service and other titles including LEGENDS OF NORRATH, STAR WARS GALAXIES Trading Card Game, POXNORA and others. Blakely was hired at Sony in 2002 as a senior producer on EVERQUEST II. His previously industry work includes online titles including as FIGHTER ACE and ULTRACORPS. Blakely lives in Austin with his wife and four sons. If he wasn’t making games, Blakely would be trying to figure out a way to get us back to the moon or to another planet.
Sebastien de Halleux
Vice President Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, EA Interactive
Sebastien de Halleux, co-founder of Playfish, is vice president business development & strategic partnerships, EA Interactive. In his role within EA Interactive, Sebastien drives distribution, monetization, business development, and relationships with key partners across the division’s three business units, Playfish, Pogo and EA Mobile. He was chief operating officer of Playfish leading up to the company’s acquisition by Electronic Arts in November 2009.
Prior to Playfish, Sebastien was part of the team that incubated Nokia Ad Service, a business unit aimed at monetizing mobile traffic across Nokia's 850 million mobile devices worldwide.
Sebastien also was an early team member of Macrospace Ltd., a company which merged with Sorrent Inc. to become Glu Mobile, where he was instrumental in building the sales and marketing functions of the organization. He later expanded Glu's distribution footprint in Europe, forged key partnerships with network operators Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange, and reorganized the company's financial planning and sales operations in preparation for its IPO on NASDAQ.
Sebastien holds a Master's in Civil Engineering with honors from Imperial College London. He has resided in Brussels, Bangkok and London, and presently lives in San Francisco.
Eugene Evans
General Manager, Mythic Entertainment- an EA Studio
Eugene Evans is the general manager of Mythic Entertainment the studio that created MMO role-playing games including WARHAMMER ONLINE, ULTIMA ONLINE and DARK AGE OF CAMELOT. Electronic Arts acquired Mythic Entertainment in 2006. From 1997 through the acquisition Eugene was a consultant and then Vice President, Marketing and Business Development. During that time Eugene was responsible for the launch of DARK AGE OF CAMELOT and all subsequent expansions. He managed relationships with Mythic's worldwide distributors and licensors, including Vivendi Universal Games in North America and others in Europe and Asia. As a 25 year veteran of the gaming industry, Eugene has worked for small startup developers, and large publishing and media companies in both Europe and North America. Before joining Mythic he founded Infinite Ventures a licensing and production company that created one of the first interactive DVD games, and licensed and produced versions of SHADOWGATE, the award winning adventure game, for Game Boy Color, Pocket PC, PalmOS and mobile phones. Infinite Ventures was also a consultant to several leading developers including Zipper Interactive (acquired by Sony in 2006) and Mythic Entertainment.
Matt Firor
President, ZeniMax Online Studios
Matt Firor is President of Hunt Valley, Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios where he is working on MMORPG projects. Matt is a 20 year veteran of online game development. Prior to ZeniMax Online, he is best known for his work at Mythic Entertainment, where he was one of the founders and worked for over 10 years. At Mythic he was the producer of the world-wide #1 smash hit DARK AGE OF CAMELOT, a MMORPG considered one of the most influential online games of all time. When he left Mythic in 2006, Matt was VP of product development and was responsible for all development projects at the company. In 2006-07, he was a consultant in the online gaming industry as president of Ultra Mega Games, LLC.
Matt is a graduate of George Washington University. He has lectured at the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on game development topics, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Matt has written articles for Game Developer magazine and was a regular columnist covering online game development for the Korean gaming magazine Onplayer.
Mike Goslin
Vice President of Product Development, Hangout Industries
Mike is currently Vice President of product development at Hangout Industries working on an experience that combines the rich immersion of virtual worlds with the powerful community of social networks.
Prior to joining Hangout, Mike was Vice President of virtual world design and development at the Disney Interactive Media Group, where he oversaw the development of a portfolio of virtual worlds including TOONTOWN Online, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Online, PIXIE HOLLOW, and THE WORLD OF CARS.
Prior to developing virtual worlds, Mike led the Walt Disney Imagineering VR Studio in the development of several virtual reality theme park attractions including Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Adventure, Hercules’ Adventure in the Underworld, and the award-winning Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold.
Min Kim
Vice President, Nexon America
As vice president of marketing at Nexon America, Min is responsible for business development initiatives and game operations of Nexon published titles in the US. His current professional and personal goal is the successful introduction and adoption of the microtransaction business model in the US.
Prior to joining Nexon America, Min operated the successful launch of the Global Edition of MAPLESTORY as the Vice President of Global Business Development at Wizet Corp. Today, MAPLESTORY remains one of the world's top online games supported by a microtransaction business model. Min started his career in video games as a senior associate of business development at Nexon Corporation pursuing new business opportunities such as a social networking service, a board game business, and online game licensing.
Before joining the online games space, Min was an investment banking analyst in the media group of Salomon Smith Barney in New York. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics-Statistics from Columbia College.
Raph Koster
VP of Creative Design, Playdom
Raph is a VP of Creative Design at Playdom, which acquired his startup METAPLACE in 2010. In past lives, Raph was the lead designer on the seminal online world ULTIMA ONLINE, which first brought online worlds to the mass market; and Chief Creative Officer for Sony Online Entertainment, makers of EVERQUEST, where he previously led the design of STAR WARS GALAXIES. Raph’s essays and writings have appeared in game design textbooks, books on legal theory, and major newspapers, and his book A THEORY OF FUN FOR GAME DESIGN is considered a classic and is widely used in universities. He is a regular speaker at game, technology, and policy conferences all over the world, and still finds time to write on his popular website, http://www.raphkoster.com.
Sheri Graner Ray
Senior Game Designer, Schell Games
Sheri Graner Ray is a Senior Game Designer with Schell Games in Austin Texas. In the game industry since 1989, she has worked for such companies as Electronic Arts, Origin Systems, Sony Online Entertainment and Cartoon Network, and has worked on such licenses as STAR WARS GALAXIES, ULTIMA, and NANCY DREW. She is author of the book, 'Gender Inclusive Game Design-Expanding the Market' and is the game industry's leading expert on gender and computer games. In 2005 she was awarded the IGDA's Game Developer's Choice award for her work in gender and games. Corporate Board magazine named her one of the 50 most Innovative Women in Technology and Hollywood Reporter has named her one of the 25 most Influential Women in 
Computer Entertainment. She is currently serving as the chair of Women In Games International; an organization she co-founded. While she has worked as everything from a writer/designer to head of her own studio, her first love is game design and she describes herself as a 'hard-core gamer.' She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Tim, their four dogs and three cats.
Richard Vogel
Co-Studio Director, Bioware Austin
Rich Vogel has been doing game development for 15 years. His first five years was doing console development for CD-I, Sega, and PS-1. He started his online career as senior producer of Meridian 59 where he helped launch and run the live service. He left 3DO to join Origin in 1997 as Senior Producer of ULTIMA ONLINE where he helped launch and run the live service for two years. He is currently co-Studio Director at BioWare Austin. Previously he was V.P. of Production at Sony Online Entertainment in Austin, and Executive Producer of Star Wars Galaxies. In 2000, Rich joined Sony Online Entertainment as Executive Producer and founded the Austin Studio. He shipped STAR WARS GALAXIES in 2003 and the first expansion JUMP TO LIGHTSPEED in 2004. Rich speaks frequently on issues of online world design, online development process, and online community management.
Gordon Walton
Vice President, Co-Studio General Manager, Bioware Austin
Gordon Walton has been authoring games and managing game development since 1977. He is currently co-studio director at Bioware Austin. Previously he was VP/Executive Producer and Studio Manager at Sony Online Entertainment in Austin, working on an unannounced product and STAR WARS GALAXIES. Prior to joining Sony Online Entertainment, Gordon was VP/Executive Producer of THE SIMS ONLINE at Electronic Arts/Maxis and in the same role for Origin Systems managing ULTIMA ONLINE™. He also served as Senior VP and General Manager of Kesmai Studios where he oversaw the development several MMOGs including AIR WARRIOR™ and Multiplayer BATTLETECH™. Gordon has owned and managed two development companies and was development manager for both Three-Sixty Pacific and Konami of America, Inc. He has personally developed over thirty games and overseen the development of over 200 games. Gordon is a regular speaker at industry gatherings.
