SIGGRAPH 2011 Game Industry Content Summary

The following is a roundup of all content at SIGGRAPH 2011 originating from the game industry as compiled by Naty Hoffman, SIGGRAPH 2011 Game Development Community Director from Activision Studio Central.

From Naty, "Please note that this content originating from the game industry is not the same as 'content of interest to game developers', which is a much larger set. Also note that I have taken a fairly strict definition of “game industry” - basically a studio that develops games, or a research group belonging to a game publisher."

SIGGRAPH 2011 has content from 30 game development studios:

• Advanced Technology Group (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
• Avalanche Software (Disney Interactive Studios)
• Avalanche Studios
• Black Rock Studio (Disney Interactive Studios)
• Blizzard
• Bungie
• CCP Games Iceland
• CCP Games Newcastle
• Criterion Games (Electronic Arts)
• Crytek
• Disney Interactive Research
• Double Fine
• Electronic Arts Black Box
• Electronic Arts Canada
• Electronic Arts Montréal
• Electronic Arts Tiburon
• Epic Games
• Evolution Studios (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Frontier Developments
• Guerrilla Games (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Kalloc Studios
• LucasArts
• Media Molecule (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• NetherRealm Studios (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• Q-Games
• Remedy Entertainment
• SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Treyarch (Activision Blizzard)
• Ubisoft Montpellier
• Valve

Please note: If the studio is owned by a publisher and it’s not clear from the studio name which (for example, “SCE” = “Sony Computer Entertainment”), then the publisher’s name is listed in parenthesis. Publisher-owned central R&D groups are listed as studios. When the work described was done at a previous place of employment of the author or presenter, that place of employment is listed instead of their current affiliation.

SIGGRAPH 2011 game industry content covers 25 games titles:

• Alan Wake
• Battlefield 3
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Costume Quest
• Cars 2: The Video Game
• Crysis 2
• EA Sports MMA
• EVE Online
• From Dust
• God of War III
• Halo: Reach
• Killzone 3
• Kinectimals
• LittleBigPlanet 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Mortal Kombat
• Motorstorm Apocalypse
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
• Need for Speed the Run
• PixelJunk Shooter 2
• Portal 2
• Split/Second
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
• The Saboteur
• World of Warcraft

The lists below break out all the game industry content by program. First the title of the content (course/talk/paper etc.) is listed, then the studio name (as in the studio list above), and finally (in parenthesis) the game title which the content is focused on. If the content is not focused on any specific game title, (#) is used.

Courses:

• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Part I: Bungie (Halo: Reach), Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive Studios (Cars 2: The Video Game), Crytek (Crysis 2), Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment (LittleBigPlanet 2)
• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Part II: Electronic Arts Montréal* (Battlefield 3), Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed the Run), Treyarch/Activision (Call of Duty: Black Ops), CCP Games Newcastle (#), SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III), Electronic Arts Canada (#)
• Filtering Approaches for Real-Time Anti-Aliasing: Double Fine (Costume Quest), SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III), Advanced Technology Group/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (#), Kalloc Studios (The Saboteur), CCP Games Newcastle (#), Avalanche Studios (#), LucasArts (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2), Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Beyond Programmable Shading Part I: Disney Interactive Research (#)
• Character Rigging, Deformations, and Simulations in Film and Game Production: Electronic Arts Canada (#)
• Destruction and Dynamics for Film and Game Production: Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive (#)

* - Presenter is from Electronic Arts Montréal, but Battlefield 3 was developed by DICE.


Talks:

• Making Faces: Eve Online’s New Portrait Rendering: CCP Games Iceland (EVE Online)
• MotorStorm Apocalypse: Creating Urban Off-Road Racing: Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment (Motorstorm Apocalypse)
• Spherical Skinning With Dual Quaternions and QTangents: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Rendering the Interactive Dynamic Natural World of the Game: From Dust: Ubisoft Montpellier (From Dust)
• Deferred Shading Techniques Using Frostbite in Need for Speed The Run: Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed: The Run)
• Animation Workflow in Killzone 3: A Fast Facial Retargeting System for Game Characters: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Occlusion Culling in Alan Wake: Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake)
• Increasing Scene Complexity: Distributed Vectorized View Culling: Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed: The Run)
• Practical Occlusion Culling in Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• High-Quality Previewing of Shading and Lighting for Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Run-Time Implementation of Modular Radiance Transfer: Disney Interactive Research (Split/Second)
• Fluid Dynamics and Lighting Implementation in PixelJunk Shooter 2: Q-Games (PixelJunk Shooter 2)

Technical Papers:

• Physics-Inspired Upsampling for Cloth Simulation in Games: Disney Interactive Research (#)

Posters:

• Character Shading in EA Sports MMA Using Projected Poisson-Disk-Based Ambient Occlusion: Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA Sports MMA)

SIGGRAPH Dailies!:

• Mortal Kombat X-Ray Attacks: NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (Mortal Kombat)
• God of War 3: Chimaera Tail Swipe Attack: SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III)
• God of War 3 Poseidon Creature Boss Fight: SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III)

Computer Animation Festival:
Electronic Theater

• Halo Reach: Bungie (Halo: Reach)
• Portal 2: Turrets: Valve (Portal 2)

Screening - Commercials, Games, and Music

• Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice: Valve (Left 4 Dead 2)
• Portal 2: Bot Trust: Valve (Portal 2)
• Portal 2: Turrets: Valve (Portal 2)
• World of Warcraft: Catacysm Intro: Blizzard (World of Warcraft)

* Please note that game cinematics not made by the game’s developer aren’t counted.

Production Sessions:

• Guerrilla: The Creation of Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)

Real-Time Live!:

• Kinectimals: Frontier Developments (Kinectimals)
• A Look Under the Hood of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: Criterion Games/Electronic Arts (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit)
• Samaritan Real-Time Demo: Epic Games (#)

The Sandbox:

• A Look Under the Hood of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: Criterion Games/Electronic Arts (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit)
• Alan Wake: Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake)
• Bring the Storm to the Apocalypse: Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment (Motorstorm Apocalypse)
• Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Kinectimals: Frontier Developments (Kinectimals)

The Studio:
Studio Workshops

• Introduction to Python Scripting: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Rigging Characters for CryEngine: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• World Creation in CryEngine: Crytek (Crysis 2)

Emerging Technologies:

• Surround Haptics: Sending Shivers Down Your Spine: Black Rock Studio/Disney Interactive Studios (Split/Second)

International Resources Events:
The IGDA Presents Game Jam!: IGDA (#)