List of GDC 2006 speakers swells

With less than three months to go before Game Developers Conference 2006 hits San Jose, California, a number of high-profile names have been added to the program.

Q Entertainment founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Ultima creator Richard Garriott, and Square Enix president Yoichi Wada will all be in San Jose during the conference to lend their unique perspectives to the event, according to CMP Media. Wada will give a presentation titled "Taking Games Beyond Consoles," while Garriott and Mizuguchi will talk about developing their most recent titles (the forthcoming massively multiplayer online game Tabula Rasa and the Xbox 360 game Ninety-Nine Nights, respectively).

Another notable addition to the program is Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi joining the Game Design Challenge. Previous installments of the Game Design Challenge have required developers to come up with ideas for games for grannies, or titles based on Emily Dickenson's poetry. This year's participants must design a game capable of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Previously announced speakers include Maxis' Will Wright, Wideload's Alex Seropian, Epic Games' Tim Sweeney, and Foundation 9 Entertainment's Jon Goldman.

This year's GDC will also witness the resurfacing of the Video Games Live concert concept. After a nationwide Video Games Live tour was scrapped in October, the group severed its ties with Clear Channel Entertainment, announced its show as the GDC's closing ceremony, and began making bookings for 2006.

The GDC 2006 will take place March 20 through March 24 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. For more information, check out the event's official Web site.