Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard will deliver the headline keynote at Develop:Brighton 2020, covering his 26-year career with the renowned studio behind iconic gaming franchises The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
Todd’s comments will open the second day of the conference on Wednesday July 15. At the Develop:Star Awards that evening, Todd will also receive the 2020 Develop Star, recognising his outstanding achievements and contribution to the industry.
“It’s an incredible honour to be recognised by the Develop conference and the UK gaming community that has supported our games for so long,” said Todd Howard. “However, it’s really an acknowledgement of everyone at Bethesda. It’s one of my life’s great blessings that I get to work with them and represent the work they do.”
During the keynote fireside chat Todd will discuss the highs and lows of his time in the industry, from his earliest days through to directing industry-changing titles like Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
“Todd is one of the industry’s leading figures having worked on the some of the most ambitious and successful video games in history,” said Tandem Events managing director Andy Lane. “At Develop:Brighton he will be sharing his extensive experience and expertise, making this keynote a must-see for the UK developer community.”
Event organisers Tandem Events have also revealed the first speakers for Develop:Brighton 2020, including representatives from PlayStation, Media Molecule, Rocksteady Studios, Jagex and ustwo games.
Below are some of the sessions confirmed for Develop:Brighton so far, divided by track:
Audio
Player-Driven Audio Creation in Dreams: A Post-Vivem
Bogdan Vera, Media Molecule
Dialogue Performance and Design for Creatures, Monsters and Demons
Rosalie Wilson, Creative Assembly
Art
Designing Animation
Adam Vincent, Rocksteady Studios
What the Concept Art Doesn’t Tell You: Adding Depth and Believability to Your Characters
Shayleen Hulbert, Freelance Artist
Business
From Roadmaps to Callstacks: A Producer’s Guide to Demystifying Tech
Alexia Christofi, PlayStation London Studio
Building a Better Esport
Rachel Rakowski-Gaskin, Jagex Game Studio
Coding
AI-Demystified: The Present and Future of Artificial Intelligence and Games
Tommy Thompson, AI and Games
GPU Virtualisation: Cloud Gaming Beyond Video Streaming
Jarl Ostensen, Polystream
Design
Lore, Community, and Communication: Narrative Design in Early Access
Nicolette Stewart, Crytek
Leveraging Personal Stories to Create Compelling Games
David Fernandez Huerta, Ustwo Games
Discoverability
Is it Time to Turn Video Games Marketing Upside Down?
Tom Winbow, Ralph
Building Communities That Last. From Scratch
Stevie Ward, Future
Indie
Journalist Insight: Building Better Games for the Press
Guy Cocker, High Score
Nailing the Pitch: Practical Skills for Securing Multi-Million Pound Projects
Natalie Wicks, Double Eleven
Mobile
What Makes a Successful Hyper-Casual Game?
Simon Prytherch, Kwalee
Chat is Where it’s at: Designing for Gaming’s Biggest New Platforms
Kate Killick, Mojiworks
IBC
How to Not Launch a Game on Steam
Aiden Rodgers, Indie Game Developer
The A – Z of Indie Development
Ben Murch, Perchang
Roundtables
LGBTQ+ Roundtable
Ian Masters, Flick Games
Starting, Surviving and Thriving – a Micro Studio Roundtable
Katie Goode, Triangular Pixels
Additional sessions and keynote speakers will be announced in due course.