The Game Development Crisis Conference and Webinar Series, sponsored by Xbox and hosted by IGDA and Take This, was a huge success, garnering over 15,000 viewers. It included talks and panels dedicated to skills and tools for working from home, studio leadership in times of change, and mental health considerations and resources for game developers.

You can view all of the talks on the YouTube playlist or browse them individually below:

All of the talks and panels were outstanding, from James Gwertzman’s compelling dive into inclusive live-ops to the lively discussion about remote communication skills.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Xbox for making this event possible. Their pledge to make games and game development for everyone resonates strongly with IGDA’s own mission, and it is an honor to run such a supportive event with their help.

Keynote

Participants:
Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director, Take This
Renee Gittins, Executive Director, IGDA

Inclusive LiveOps

Participants:
James Gwertzman, GM, PlayFab

Mitigation Strategies for Technical Challenges

Participants:
Dr. Kimberly Voll, Co-Founder, Stray Bombay
Andy Moore, Lead Techromancer, absurd:joy
Renee Gittins, Executive Director, IGDA

Expats in Isolation

Participants:
Milena Koljensic, Marketing & Business Development in Games
Tara Brannigan, Director of Community & Player Support, Behaviour Interactive
Nikita Zatsepin, Global Business Development, Unity
Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director, Take This

Good Community Design for Crisis Periods

Participants:
Rodrigo Tamellini, CEO, GamerSafer
Rich Weil, Senior Vice President, Global Operations, ModSquad
Ziba Scott, Founder, Popcannibal
Raffael “Dr. B” Boccamazzo, Clinical Director, Take This

Current Network Environment & Gaming Future Vision

Participants:
Steve Glennon, Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs
Dean Avgiris, Senior Director Strategy and Planning, Comcast
Asher Kagan, Co-Founder, Blade
Sandesh Mouli, Founder, Vistara Growth Partners

The Good of Games

Participants:
Arana Shapiro, Managing Director, Games for Change
Dr. Rachel Kowert, Research Director, Take This
Hans ten Cate, Ambassador, Game2Give
Travis Eriksen, Executive Director, Child’s Play
Kelli Dunlap, Program Manager, Take This

Maintaining Good Studio Culture & Empathy

Participants:
Justin Britch, Head of Development, Obsidian Entertainment
Joshua Howard, Executive Producer, Turn 10 Studios
Moderator: Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director, Take This

Online Moderation & Crisis Community Support

Participants:
Victoria Tran, Communications Director, Kitfox Games
Rubi Bayer, Content Marketing Manager, ArenaNet
Linda “Brasse” Carlson, Owner, Mythos CEX
Moderator: Raffael “Dr. B” Boccamazzo, Clinical Director, Take This

Technical Solutions for Remote Development

Participants:
John Comes, Design Director, Utopos Games
Kris Kwilas, Operations Engineer, Oxide Games
Moderator: Renee Gittins, Executive Director, IGDA

Communication Skills in the Studio and Remotely

Participants:
Cherry Thompson, Accessibility Project Manager, Ubisoft
Kareem Shuman, Technical Dialogue Designer, Bungie
Katie Golden, Senior Producer, Turn 10
Sarah Spiers, Producer, Filament Games
Holly Harrison, Communications and Marketing Specialist

Supporting Remote Teams at Small Studios

Participants:
Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director, Take This
Chandana Ekanayake, Creative Director, Outerloop Games
John Krajewski, CEO, Strange Loop Games

Self Care 101

Participants:
Raffael “Dr. B” Boccamazzo, Clinical Director, Take This
Renee Gittins, Executive Director, IGDA
Kelsey Wesley, Diversity, Inclusion & Learning Lead, Bungie
Pat Kemp, Game Designer, Spry Fox
Moderator: Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director, Take This