Don't be like the guy above... here's your chance.

For the third year in a row at Comic-con, I’m going to be running a panel on "how to get a job in the games industry". We’ve packed the rooms each year so far and I’d not expect this year to be any different so my recommendation would be to show early so you can get a seat.

It will be in Room 2, Saturday July 25^th, from 10AM to 11AM (at least it’s not 9AM…)

There are TONS of roles and functions within the games industry and this year’s panel will feature some pretty big names from a wide swath of disciplines:

Yours truly (Christian Svensson) – Corporate Officer/VP of Strategic Planning & Business development. Having been in the industry for 17 years, I’ve held senior positions at Midway, Computec Media, Imagine Media (now Future Network) and have consulted for many top publishers on various projects. I also currently sit on the board of directors of the PC Gaming Alliance and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. I’ll moderating the panel and throwing what nuggets of wisdom I can offer.

Lyle Hall – As president and CEO, Lyle oversees Heavy Iron Studios, managing all product development and business operations. Before joining Heavy Iron early in 2002, Lyle created and produced original as well as licensed properties while working at studios such as DreamWorks SKG, Crystal Dynamics and Virgin Games. Highlights include the first 32-bit character action game, GEX,  Westwood Studio's Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty, RoboCop vs. The Terminator and Global Gladiators, SEGA’s 1992 Game of the Year.  During his time at Heavy Iron, Lyle has also served as Executive Producer on Disney*Pixar’s The Incredibles, its video game sequel Rise of the Underminer, Ratatouille, WALL-E and recent release UP, directing production and development of these franchises across multiple platforms and studios.

Cliff Bleszinski – Epic Games Design Director. A 17-year veteran of the computer and video game industry, Cliff shipped his first commercial title, Jazz Jackrabbit, before graduating high school.  During his tenure at Epic, Cliff has been a key visionary behind the award-winning, multimillion-selling “Unreal” game series in addition to the blockbuster Gears of War game franchise, which has eclipsed 11 million copies sold worldwide and crossed over into novels, comics, film, action figures and merchandise.  He continues to lend his creative expertise to Epic’s upcoming projects, and has expanded the scope of his work to include other entertainment sectors as well. 

Shana Bryant – "Shana has been an industry professional for six years and a gamer since the 80s. She is currently the Associate Producer of Capcom's Dark Void, and her résumé includes games such as Madden NFL, NCAA Football (EA Sports-Tiburon), Unreal Tournament 3 and Stranglehold (Midway Home Entertainment). Shana was featured in MTV Multiplayer's 'Black Professionals in Games' series and is a member of the International Game Developers Association."

Francis Mao – Francis is a long time veteran of the video games industry having been the Creative Director for GamePro magazine for over 17 years before joining Capcom. He is also an accomplished commercial graphic artist/cartoonist having worked for a variety of publishers including Marvel Comics, MAD magazine, and created the first, ever Sonic the Hedgehog comic book for SEGA in 1991. In addition to overseeing all creative needs for Capcom, Francis runs their full slate of events including E3 and Comic Con as well as Licensing efforts for Capcom properties.

Reuben Langdon – executive at Just Cause –  a motion capture/CG animation studio based in Marina Del Rey. Reuben began his career as a Power Ranger in Japan and has since done mo-cap, facial animation and voice work for more than a half-dozen Capcom games, including Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV and Lost Planet 2. If Reuben looks familiar, it’s because his face was used as an influence for Dante from the DMC series for the last two games.

Karen Dyer – actress – Karen provided motion-capture, facial capture and animation and voice over for the character of Sheva Alomar in Resident Evil 5. She’s an actress who has been featured in many TV and film roles with video games becoming a larger part of her CV.

All of these people have different insights to share and maybe one will strike the right chord with you, leading to life altering experiences in our business. Hope to see you there.