World of Warcraft developers to host GDC Austin keynote

Blizzard Entertainment's Frank Pearce and J Allen Brack are to address the Game Developers Conference Austin with a keynote entitled 'The Universe of Warcraft'.

During the joint presentation, the pair will discuss how they created the online universe and the ongoing challenges involved with operating one of the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing games.

Pearce has worked on classic Blizzard titles such as Diablo and Starcraft in addition to co-founding Blizzard Entertainment with Allen Adham and Mike Morhaime in 1991. His current job role as executive vice president of product development involves the coordination of a number of teams, including those working on forthcoming release StarCraft II.

His colleague Brack presently works as production director on World of Warcraft and is responsible for overseeing the creation of new content for the series.

The keynote will be of particular interest to any game developer interested in creating MMOs, casual games and virtual worlds, according to a spokesperson represented Think Services Game Group, the organisation presenting GDC Austin.

"World of Warcraft continues to attract more and more subscribers year after year and has changed perceptions of what online gaming can achieve," said Izora De Lillard, Think Services' event director.

"An exploration of Blizzard Entertainment's enduring success in the online gaming space offers important lessons for all connected game developers interested in developing the next great MMO, casual game, or virtual world."

A number of speakers have now been announced for GDC Austin, including the DC Universe Online team and members of BioWare Austin. The three-day conference takes place from September 15.

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