Think Services, organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) have announced that Mel Guymon, product manager for Google Lively, will be presenting the opening keynote to the Worlds in Motion Summit taking place at the Austin GDC from September 16-September 17 at the Austin Convention Center.
In his keynote, Guymon will provide a full overview of Lively, including the team’s vision for this product as a tool to enrich social interaction on the web. Guymon will also offer a historical perspective on how the Lively online world evolved from inception to its recent launch.
As a co-founder of the IMVU, the 3D avatar-driven instant messenger and chat experience, and as an early director of online 3D world There.com, Guymon is an authority on virtual world development. Guymon earned a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering and has served as both a submarine officer in the US Navy and a contributing editor for Game Developer Magazine.
His multitude of experience lends a unique voice to the lineup of speakers for Worlds in Motion Summit, which also includes Stephen Andrade, NBC.com's Digital Entertainment general manager, who alongside Bunchball founder and CEO Rajat Paharia is providing a talk on The Office's 'Dunder Mifflin Infinity' gaming-influenced social networking site.
Other topics being addressed at the Worlds in Motion Summit include the future of the metaverse, in-world advertising, and kids' virtual worlds -- with notable participants from Gaia Online, Three Rings, Electric Sheep, Samsung Electronics, Cartoon Network, Rebel Monkey, Sulake Labs, Intel and many more.
The Worlds in Motion Summit is a two day event taking place at the Austin GDC on September 16-17 at the Austin Convention Center. The emphasis of the summit is the careful integration of content and brands into interactive worlds by companies both large and small. The summit marks the intersection of games, business, and entertainment, and seeks to mark the path towards the future.
For more information on the Worlds in Motion Summit at Austin GDC including a list of confirmed speakers and sessions, please see the official website.
