SEATTLE, USA – June 21, 2017 – Casual Connect USA 2017 will be held August 1-3, 2017, at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, Washington, USA, by international trade organization Computer Games Association.
Casual Connect debuted its very first USA show in Seattle in 2006. Now, 11 years later, Casual Connect USA will return to Seattle as part of CGA’s recently announced events rotation. Casual Connect USA is CGA’s largest event – complete with the 19th Indie Prize Awards and major networking parties. Over 2,000 professionals from different fields in the gaming industry will gather for three days of lectures, workshops, exhibition, showcases and networking events with 200 speakers and 40 Indie Prize Showcase teams.
“This year's Casual Connect USA is particularly important,” says Sasha Paleeva, Content Manager of Computer Games Association. “Casual Connect has an established legacy in leading the conversation about the business of games across the globe. We realize the need to adapt and evolve along with the rapid changes within the games industry. With changing perspectives and broader discussions, attendees can expect a new range of conference content and activities that will deliver deep insights on industry issues and practical advice for game developers.”
This year Casual Connect will offer nine different tracks in four lecture halls on August 1-3: Industry Insights, Casino, Market Navigation, The Business of Games, Design & Development, Design Innovator, Next-Gen, Growth, and Audio. Two special events will also be held on Day 0 (July 31): LiveOps Connect and United in Diversity. Casual Connect is also partnering with IGDA for its recurring mentorship program – this time bringing IGDA’s Mentor Cafe to the show.
Highlights of this year’s Casual Connect include:
- Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington State
- Robert Glaser, Founder, Chairman & CEO, RealNetworks
- Tommy Palm, CEO, Resolution Games - Why VR Mustn't Mimic Mobile
- David Baszucki, CEO, Roblox
- Chris Akhavan, Chief Revenue Officer, Glu Mobile - Interviewed by Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat at VentureBeat - The Keys to Monetization in Mobile Gaming
- Lauren Freeman, Sr. Manager, WW External Development,ElectronicArts- Follow the Sun: Global Trends in Mobile Gaming
- Team17, Devolver Digital, tinyBuild, Execution Labs - PANEL: Pitching Publishers – Scoring the Best Partner For Your Indie Game
- Robert Nashak, COO, Survios - Top 10 Lessons Learned from Raw Data: Development and Marketing Insights for VR Game Developers
- Cameron Brown, CCO, Against Gravity - Social VR, Learnings from Rec Room
- Jesse Rapczak, Co-Founder & Co-Creative Director, Studio Wildcard
- Luke Timmins, Head of Engineering, Bungie - 10 Coders to 110: 16 Years of Bungie Engineering
- Laralyn McWilliams Chief Creative Officer Skydance Interactive - Designing for Innovation: Shipping Your First VR Game
- Alexis Fritzsche, App Developer PartnerManager,Gaming,Google- From Mass Adoption to Mass Adaptation
- GameCo, Gamblit Gaming, Leet, The Downtown Grand – PANEL: Making Casinos the VIP Destination for Gamers
- Novomatic Greentube, Ruby Seven Studios, Tropicana Entertainment, Spin Games,Eilers & Krejcik Gaming - PANEL: Operators vs. Suppliers and What It Means for Social Casino Indie Devs
- Sam Du Rose, Head of Data Science, Product Madness - How to Use Machine Learning to Improve Your Game Without Understanding Machine Learning
Casual Connect is a professional conference created to support the mass-market games community by gathering the top developers, publishers, distributors and others involved in related industries for networking opportunities and useful lectures organized by a board of industry members. To participate please register here: http://usa.casualconnect.org/joinus.html. More details on travel and accommodations are available here: http://usa.casualconnect.org/travel.html.
Showcases and Indie Prize Awards
The Indie Prize Showcase receives more than 1,000 game applications during the year. Developers from 41 countries have already submitted their games for the international Indie Prize scholarship in Seattle.
24 judges are now working on game selection for the Indie Prize Showcase to decide what games will join Indie Prize’s community of the world’s best indie developers. 14 games were nominated by Game Nations partners from Argentina, Canada, Czech Republic, Dubai/MENA Region, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and online contests have already confirmed their participation.
More information about Indie Prize can be found at http://www.indieprize.org. The full list of participants will be announced on June 30, one month before the conference. Finalists will compete for Indie Prize’s famed crystal trophies and great prizes at the Indie Prize Awards at 3PM August 3 in the Taper Auditorium at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101.
Besides the Indie Prize Showcase for independent developers, Casual Connect offers the Premium Dev Showcase for established developers. More Information on that can be found at http://usa.casualconnect.org/developers.html
Exhibition
In addition to educational lectures, Casual Connect will have an exhibition floor so attendees can connect 1-on-1 with leading game and tech companies, including: Appodeal, Vungle, AdColony, Upsight, MoPub, Vegas World, InMobi, PlayFab, Tapjoy, Mpire Network, Voluum & Zeropark, Humble Bundle, and many, many more.
Networking
Casual Connect is known for its exclusive networking parties available only to attendees – the ultimate combination of networking and fun during conference time. Parties for Casual Connect USA include: The Badge Pickup Party sponsored by Hughes Media Law Group, the Official Casual Connect Day 1 Party sponsored by Vegas World & InMobi, and the Official Casual Connect Day 2 Party sponsored by AdColony & Upsight.
Along with access to Casual Connect’s famous networking parties, attendees get access to the Pitch & Match meeting system which allows attendees to make their own connections based on what they need. Learn more about Pitch & Match at http://casualconnect.org/emails/FAQ.html.
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About Computer Games Association
Computer Games Association is an international trade organization dedicated to promoting games and providing educational resources for the game development community. The association hosts annual conferences in North America, Europe, Asia, Kyiv and Tel Aviv; runs online gaming news website gamesauce.biz; and issues research reports on the computer games industry. For more information about the association, visithttp://www.cga.global. All lectures from past events can be watched at the official Casual Connect YouTube channel.
About Casual Connect
Launched in 2005, Casual Connect is hosted by Computer Games Association (CGA), bringing together the most talented and knowledgeable experts in the gaming field to further the industry with the best learning and networking opportunities for gaming professionals. CGA will host Casual Connect USA on August 1-3, 2017, and Casual Connect Kyiv on October 24-26, 2017, Casual Connect USA 2018 atDisneyland® Hotel on January 16-18, 2018, and Casual Connect Europe 2018 on May 29-31, 2018. See the full schedule of Casual Connect events for 2017-2018 at http://casualconnect.org/events.html.
About Indie Prize and Premium Dev Showcase
Indie Prize is a scholarship program for up-and-coming indie development teams who show promise as future leaders in the games industry. Indie Prize offers participants an opportunity to learn and network with other indie game developers and showcase their games, skillsets, and ideas to publishers and potential partners. More information can be found at http://indieprize.org/. The Premium Developer Showcase is an upgraded option of Indie Prize for game developers who want to showcase their games in a larger space. The premium package includes two tickets, a premium listing with logo and a premium showcase location. More information at http://usa.casualconnect.org/developers.html.
