Keynote Speaker Announced For Inaugural Develop:VR

Conference focuses on the opportunities for VR devs and those looking to take advantage of this exciting new technology – speakers include Ustwo, Game Futures and Rewind

8 September: Develop:VR today announced that Dean Johnson, Head of Innovation at Brandwidth - a creative brand engagement agency using VR with some of the world’s biggest companies - will deliver the opening keynote of the new conference and expo taking place on 24^th November in London.

Organised by Tandem Events, the team behind Europe’s leading game developer conference Develop:Brighton, Develop:VR has been curated to focus on the new commercial opportunities that virtual and augmented reality presents, both within the games space and the possibilities the technology presents in other sectors.

“Virtual Reality offers designers and developers the greatest creative platform to date,” commented Dean Johnson. “That’s a big statement, but there is huge potential – the canvas is infinite with the only boundaries being time, budget and our imagination. Develop:VR brings the right people to the table and I’ll be speaking about market potential for content creation, product development and audience expectations.”

Other speakers include Keith Russell (Broadford Consulting), who will discuss how industries such as mining, scaffolding and aviation are using Virtual Reality to train their staff, Solomon Rogers (REWIND) who will aim to define the difference between 360 video and a ‘true-VR’ experience and Kumar Jacob (Mindwave Ventures) who will detail the strides the medical industry has taken in adopting Virtual Reality, Peter Pashley (Ustwo Games) will look back on how they applied lessons from Monument Valley to the launch of Land’s End and Aki Jarvinen (Game Futures) will delve into the trends and strategic insights regarding the emerging VR market. A full list of confirmed speakers can be found at www.developvr.co.uk/sessions.

“Over the past 12 months, VR & AR has gone from a niche sector within the games industry to a technology that is aiding a number of industries,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events. “The aim of Develop:VR is to bring together VR developers, companies looking for developers and VR & AR suppliers; to inspire developers, through learning and networking opportunities, to create better titles in this sector and to showcase the prospects available in vertical markets.”

Running alongside the conference is an expo, playing host to the latest advances in Virtual Reality technology including headset manufactures, studios showcasing VR games, studios showcasing serious VR games and other applications of VR technology, plus companies offering tools and support services for VR developers.

In conjunction with the expo will be the Indie Zone; an area showcasing 10 of the most exciting indie VR projects around. Developers will be able to submit their games or VR projects to a panel of experts who will then shortlist the best 10 to be on show in November.

To end the conference, an end of day networking drinks party will take place for attendees to meet each other and share insights and talk business opportunities.

Passes for Develop:VR start at a Super Early Bird rate of £195 plus VAT if booked by 21 September 2016, a saving of £100 on the full price. For more information, visit www.developvr.co.uk.