Develop unveils keynote addresses

The Develop Conference and Expo is starting to shape up--the Brighton, UK-based event has already announced two of the keynote speakers for this year's July event.

Richard Garriott, creator of the role-playing Ultima series, will be taking on the topic of "The Rapidly Maturing Genre of Online Gaming," in which he will share his vision of the future of massively multiplayer online games and discuss his new MMOG, Tabula Rasa.

Chris Satchell, general manager of the Microsoft XNA group, will address the subject of "Creative Divergence: Surfing the Web 2.0 Community Wave." Satchell will discuss the second coming of the Internet and how sites such as YouTube and MySpace are changing the shape of gaming.

Develop's event director, Andy Lane, commented, "It goes without saying that we're delighted to confirm Chris Satchell and Richard Garriott as two of our keynote speakers. As Brits living and working in the United States, it will be fantastic to see them back on home soil sharing their stories, knowledge and experience with the development community in Europe."

Other confirmed conference sessions include Relentless Software's David Amor on "Making Games for Miyamoto's Wife," "Retro Revisited: Reinventing the Past for the Modern Gamer" from Rare's Nick Burton, and "Studio Brand: Does It Matter?" by Ed Daly from Zoe Mode (formerly Kuju Brighton).

Develop takes place July 24 to 26 in the Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton. The first day, July 24, involves a one-day mobile conference as well as Games:Edu, an event for gaming academia. July 25 and 26 will feature a two-day expo, a conference, and the Develop Industry Excellence Awards.