Hello Games founder Sean Murray has been announced as the opening keynote speaker for this year’s Develop:Brighton conference and expo, taking place 9-11 July 2019 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole in Brighton.
In this fireside chat, hosted by Edge editor Nathan Brown, Sean will offer a candid behind-the-scenes look at how No Man’s Sky was made, released and transformed – and what this modestly sized studio intends to do in future, once it has finished building a game the size of a universe.
The keynote, titled ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ takes place on the morning of Tuesday 9 July.
"Working on No Man's Sky has been such an incredible ride, and I'm nervously excited to have the opportunity to discuss the game's journey and our future at Develop,” he said.
On Wednesday 10 July, during The Develop:Star Awards, Sean will also be awarded the first Develop Star Award, honouring an extraordinary game developer for outstanding achievement and contribution to the industry.
"To be the first recipient of the Develop Star Award is truly an honour. I'm quickly accepting before anyone realises the mistake, and I can't wait to celebrate with everyone on July 10th, at which point they will fully realise the depth of their blunder!"
Murray joins fellow keynote speakers Jason and Chris Kingsley, co-founders of Rebellion Developments. The final keynote speakers will be announced over the coming weeks.
“The ongoing story of No Man’s Sky is one of the most fascinating in modern game development and we’re delighted to welcome Sean to Develop:Brighton to discuss its highs, lows and the game’s ambitious future,” said Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events.
Develop:Brighton 2019’s conference schedule is now live, featuring more than 100 speakers hosting talks and roundtable discussions across the three day event. The schedule can be viewed at: https://www.developconference.com/whats-on/conference-programme
Registration is live for Develop:Brighton, with delegates able to save on a variety of conferences with an Early Bird pass bought on or before Wednesday 5 June at: www.developconference.com.
Tickets for The Develop:Star Awards are available to purchase from the Develop:Star Awards website.
Members of the media hoping to attend Develop:Brighton should fill out the media accreditation form.
About Sean Murray & Hello Games
Sean Murray is a co-founder of Hello Games, a company he helped to build from a tiny indie studio of four friends, into an ambitious and uniquely successful independent development studio in a few short years. Coming from considerably larger companies, including Criterion and EA, Murray is a young industry veteran now focused on creating innovative artistic titles with a small creative studio.
Hello Games is best known as the creator of award-winning science fiction game No Man’s Sky, an exploration game set in an infinitely procedural universe, bursting with life, opportunity and adventure. The game is one of the biggest new IPs of the current console generation, and was praised as a technical marvel, especially considering Hello Games’ size.
About Develop:Brighton conference & expo
The Develop:Brighton conference is where the European developer community comes together to learn from each other and share experiences, be inspired by world renowned experts and gurus, get up-to-date with the latest development tools and techniques, make new contacts and catch up with old ones.
With a programme that is shaped by some of the industry's key figures, the conference touches all levels of the development community from the largest studios to the smallest indies; from development directors to programmers.
Twitter @developconf
Facebook /developconference
About The Develop:Star Awards
Taking place alongside the conference, the new Develop:Star Awards will recognise the very best of the game development community. The achievements of developers and success of great games and creativity will be celebrated across 16 categories, including one ultimate ‘Develop Star’. This award will honour an extraordinary game developer for outstanding achievement and contribution to the industry.
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