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Warren Spector giving keynote address at media convergence conference

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Deus Ex and Epic Mickey designer to deliver opening address at first Captivate Conference and Expo in Texas this October.

Deus Ex and Epic Mickey designer Warren Spector will deliver the keynote address at the first Captivate Conference and Expo in Austin, Texas this October, organizers announced today.

Spector's address on "leadership in the arts" will kick off the event, scheduled to take place October 6-8, 2013 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin.

Captivate is focused on bringing game, film, and music professionals together to discuss how their various industries affect one another.

"It's vital that game developers, writers, musicians, mobile developers, creators of television, and film productions talk about how their media are alike and different and how practitioners can work together to benefit the broader art scene," Spector said in a statement.

Spector's keynote address will touch on what it means to be a leader in a creative medium. He explained that his talk will draw from personal experience, historical perspective, and recent events to offer insight and practical advice.

Tickets are available now for Captivate at the event's website beginning at $50 for a "Minion" package and scaling to $425 for a "Noble" bundle.

Spector found himself out of a job when Disney closed Epic Mickey outfit Junction Point Studios in January.

Earlier this month, the University of Texas at Austin announced that Spector, along with Blizzard Entertainment president Paul Sams, would head up a new game design program at the school. Spector will serve as the co-chair of the program's advisory board and part-time instructor.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

21 comments
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Karzovis
Karzovis

Guys name is Warren Spector. Looks like he belongs in Barney and friends lol. 

blackothh
blackothh

i remember you, you were bashing people for making games, GTFO

jj2112
jj2112

Maybe he should do an Ultima Underworld remake

hippiesanta
hippiesanta like.author.displayName 1 Like

Bad-Bye warren spector ..... we will not miss u

Gargus
Gargus like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

Why anyone even pays attention to him is beyond me. All he will ever be is "A guy who worked on deus ex a long time ago and botched up epic mickey 1 and 2" and even when he worked on games like deus ex back in the day he still wasn't the only person making the game so its not like it was all him.

I got tired of his whole "Im a mature gamer now and they need to grow up" stance because its old and boring. Not to mention he hasn't made a game to save his life in the past decade or more.

He sounds like an old man who cant let go of the fact he used to be someone. Like an old musician who just needs to stop trying to make music and act like he is relevant anymore because he had a hit in the 70s.

emperiox
emperiox

This guy worked on Deus Ex? Was it Human Revolution??? Just curious...if anyone knows let me know.

AuronAXE
AuronAXE like.author.displayName 1 Like

@emperiox The original Deus Ex, not Human Revolution. I believe he also botched Invisible Wars, if anyone even remembers that ill-fated sequel. Human Revolution was made by Eidos Montreal (fronted by Jean-Francois Dugas) while the original DE was made by Ion Storm, with Warren Spector at the helm.

I'd love for him to get involved with the next Deus Ex but I doubt he will. Better maybe to pass the torch on.

emperiox
emperiox

@AuronAXE @emperiox Isn't he the same guy that kept whining about violent video games???

catsimboy
catsimboy like.author.displayName 1 Like

@emperiox @AuronAXE Spector made a sarcastic and whiny statement about another Wolfenstein game that's coming out then half-apologized when people said he was just butthurt about Epic Mickey 1+2 not being successful (although he's in denial about it).

Mojira7
Mojira7

@emperiox @AuronAXE The original Deus Ex was one of the first games where the player had a choice to be violent or non-violent in resolving situations. Part of the reason why I like it also. A lot of games nowdays force you to kill people in order to progress the game.. Not that i'm against those games mind you...but just to say the original Deus Ex game could have a non violent experience if you prefered it that way...

catsimboy
catsimboy

Leadership in the arts: how to lead your studio off a cliff

Rusmurf
Rusmurf like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 6 Like

He made alot of great games, and then he made some very bad games. The bad games were a result of the public not understanding his vision to accept alot of big corporate monies.

TheCardskeeper
TheCardskeeper like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

Warren Spector is still out of a job? 

Shouldn't every video game company be fighting for him?

He is Warren Spector, after all!

Still, its very sad that he will not be working on any more Disney games. I actually really enjoyed Epic Mickey.

zerooo0
zerooo0 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

No FPS gamers allowed though.

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