An international list of influential speakers contribute their expertise to this year’s Game Creation program, with the makers of Silent Hill and Heavenly Sword joining a host of other prominent game creators from the Nordic region and around the world

Intended for professional game creators and academics, this new, multidisciplinary program will examine the latest trends and techniques in game development and spotlight the region’s most innovative and respected talents.

Keiichiro Toyama, creator of Siren and Silent Hill, will join Rock Band’s Rob Kay, Tameem Antoniades, co-founder of Ninja Theory and moderator Tony Manninen in discussing creative innovation and new game niches in the session Disruptive Design.

Sega’s Ryuuta Ueda, known for his inventive work on Jet Set Radio Future, and celebrated character designer Ryosuke Tei from Furi Furi will join their peers in an international master panel called East-West All-Stars. Moderated by Dr. Katherine Isbister from Copenhagen’s IT University, these experts will compare and discuss their cultural influences and creative approaches to character design. Also featured among the panellists is Alex Taini from Ninja Theory, the man behind the vibrant personas in Heavenly Sword.

A roster of the Nordic region’s most influential developers also headline the program; celebrating the launch of one of the most anticipated MMO’s of recent times, Funcom’s Jørgen Tharaldsen will take us to the Age of Conan, Hilmar Pétursson and his creative team from CCP will talk on democracy, economics and politics in a virtual world in the session The Birth of a Society, and Jens Andersson from Starbreeze will be Dissecting a screenshot from The Darkness.

These highlights are just the tip of the Nordic Game iceberg. Read more about the Game Creation and Technology program, and all the other Nordic Game conference sessions and events at www.nordicgame.com - and register online today!

Nordic Game conference and Career Expo, 14-15 May 2008 at the Malmö Convention Center in Malmö, Sweden (25 minutes by commuter train from Copenhagen airport).