D.I.C.E. Summit Registration

D.I.C.E. Arcade

Golf Tournament

Sponsored by Louisiana Entertainment

Go-Karting Tournament

Sponsored by Wargaming.net

Happy Hour

Magic: The Gathering Tournament

Sponsored by FIG

D.I.C.E. Poker Tournament

Sponsored by Vantiv

D.I.C.E. Summit Registration

D.I.C.E. Arcade

Continental Breakfast

Hot Breakfast

Opening Remarks

Mike Fischer
President
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences 

Wednesday Morning Keynote

Overwatch: How Blizzard Created a Hopeful Vision of the Future

When Overwatch was announced, it was Blizzard’s first new intellectual property in over 17 years. The team was faced with the daunting task of creating a universe that could stand the test of time along with Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft. Blizzard also decided to explore a new world for the first time – Planet Earth – and what seemed like great challenges at first, turned into great opportunities.

Jeff Kaplan
Game Director and Vice President
Blizzard Entertainment

Speaker 2

Inspiration and Exploration

Science fiction artist Chesley Bonestell didn’t simply offer an imaginative vision of humanity’s future in space – he helped to create that future.  Chesley’s collaboration with NASA rocketeer Wernher Von Braun convinced the public that expeditions to the moon and beyond were within our grasp. Dr. Jeff Norris, Mission Operations Innovation Lead, NASA JPL, challenges the D.I.C.E. community to follow in Chesley’s footsteps and use their medium to inspire a new course for space exploration. Presenting a collaboration on stage with Rob Cunningham and Aaron Kambeitz from Blackbird Interactive, they will share an artistic work that depicts a vision for space exploration through the medium of games.

Dr. Jeff Norris
Mission Operations Innovation Lead
JPL NASA

Rob Cunningham
CEO
Blackbird Interactive

Aaron Kambeitz
Chief Creative Officer
Blackbird Interactive

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Round 1

Click here to view the bracket.

Networking Break

Sponsored by ISM

Speaker 3

Into the Future

Magic Leap's Chief Game Wizard, Graeme is responsible for defining the vision and leading Magic Leap's Mixed Reality gaming universe. In his D.I.C.E. session, “Into the Future,” Devine will discuss how Mixed Reality will change our lives in the future and how we can create compelling gaming content that propels us forward - that enhances our lives through the Mixed Reality universe.  

Graeme Devine
Chief Game Wizard
MagicLeap

Speaker 4

Powering VR Worlds with Laughter

Justin Roiland, co-creator, writer and voice actor on Adult Swim's Rick & Morty, and Tanya Watson, former Epic Games executive producer, are taking the D.I.C.E. stage to chat about their approach to making memorable and humorous games for the VR world. What would that look like? What types of things would happen? What would be different about the development process to support it? How is it more engaging in VR? What experiences do they have to lend to its creation? Join Justin and Tanya as they paint that theoretical world along with the potential opportunity or VR alongside it's advantages and disadvantages.

Justin Roiland
Co-Founder
Squanchtendo

Tanya Watson
Co-Founder
Squanchtendo

Speaker 5

Jason and Ted’s Excellent VR Panel

Join Jason Rubin, head of content at Oculus and Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games as they discuss their takeaways from the first year of widely available VR content and what the future of VR gaming holds.

Jason Rubin
VP Content
Oculus

Ted Price
CEO and Founder
Insomniac Games

Lunch

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Round 1

Click here to view the bracket.

Speaker 6

Creating Compelling Worlds Despite Limitations

Join a conversation between three indies as they talk about building expansive the worlds of Firewatch, Owlboy and Nuclear Throne and their unique creative limitations as small developers. Sean Vanaman, Simon Anderson and Rami Ismail will share their experiences, techniques and processes used when bringing the worlds, stories and characters to life of some of 2016's most memorable games.

Simon Stafsnes Andersen
Art Director (Owlboy)
D-Pad Studio

Sean Vanaman
CEO
Campo Santo (Firewatch)

Moderator
Rami Ismail
Vlambeer

Speaker + Attendee Networking Event

Sponsored by ISM

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Round 1

Click here to view the bracket.

Roundtable Sessions 1

Roundtable Sessions 2

Happy Hour

Opening Night Party

Sponsored by Streamline Studios

D.I.C.E. Summit Registration

D.I.C.E. Arcade

Continental Breakfast

Hot Breakfast

Opening Remarks

Mike Fischer
President
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences 

Special Announcement

The Smithsonian’s Videogame Pioneers Archive

One of the most important long-term projects to impact the videogame industry is going on at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Christopher Weaver, founder of Bethesda Softworks and the project's co-director, will share the latest news about their progress.

Christopher Weaver
Project Director
Smithsonian Institution

Thursday Morning Keynote

World Building the Marvel Way

How did Marvel's original creators build an entire universe through the adventures of underdog heroes such as Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy? How do Marvel's current storytellers follow in those footsteps to forge new paths with interactive entertainment? Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann reveals how The House of Ideas not only crafts fictional realms, but also strives to shape the world around us.

Bill Rosemann
Creative Director
Marvel Games

Speaker 8

Stewards of a Sci-Fi Universe

Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Head of 343 Industries, where she is responsible for defining the vision and leading the Halo franchise. In her D.I.C.E. session, “Stewards of a Sci-Fi Universe,” Ross will discuss when to guide, when to guard and hold firm, when to evolve and the importance that the citizens of that universe – the community – play in keeping a world relevant in the ever-changing entertainment landscape.

Bonnie Ross
Microsoft Corporate Vice President
Head of 343 Industries

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Quarter-Finals

Click here to view the bracket.

Break

Sponsored by ISM

Speaker 9

The Game Makers: The Evolution Of Storytelling In Games 

The Game Makers: Inside Story is a recently released 10-part digital series that examines the trend behind why some of the AAA studios & independent creators focus on bringing characters and game worlds to life through emotional storytelling. Speaking to some of today’s leading interactive storytellers featured in the series - Kiki Wolfkill, Dominic Robilliard and Matt Korba - filmmaker Jennie Kong delves into the creative process behind their work while also discussing how studios can leverage story to build brand retention and ongoing engagement with the audience around their game franchises.

Kiki Wolfkill
Studio Head - Halo Transmedia and Entertainment
343 Industries

Dominic Robilliard
Creative Director
Sony Interactive Entertainment

Matt Korba
Creative Director & President
The Odd Gentlemen

Moderator
Jennie Kong
Story Writer & Filmmaker
thatgamecompany

Speaker 10

Windows into Worlds 

In 1993, Magic: the Gathering gave birth to an entire gaming category: the Trading Card Game. Magic instantly took over local hobby shops and has since grown to serve its community of millions of die-hard fans around the globe. With its robust competitive scene and aggressive release schedule, Magic has witnessed eight years of continued growth to break its lifetime record in sales in 2016. Despite Magic’s success, what’s often overlooked by observers is the richness and importance of the worlds beneath the cards.  

Join a conversation that aims to discover the magic behind the beloved Multiverse of Magic: the Gathering. 

Jeremy Jarvis
Principal Designer, Worlds and IP
Wizards of the Coast 

Doug Beyer
Sr. Game Designer
Wizards of the Coast 

Moderator
Min Kim
Co-Founder
Bonfire Studios

Lunch

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Quarter-Finals

Click here to view the bracket.

Speaker 11

Turning the Tables

Table top games are enjoying a resurgence in popular culture far beyond their well-established influence and inspiration to authors and developers of the most popular and powerful entertainment franchises. Table top games have increasingly been integrated into premium television and motion picture fiction, the subject of on-line live-streamed sessions or the foundation of competitive play in front of sold out auditoriums. From the tabletop to the desktop to consoles and beyond, world-building is a fundamental - perhaps the fundamental - part of the gaming experience. Moderated by TableTop enthusiast Randy Pitchford, participants Mike Mearls (Wizards of the Coast), Joshua Mosqueira (Bonfire Studios) and Nicole Lindroos (Green Ronin). They will discuss their inspirations and experiences creating worlds like Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon Age RPG, among others and explore what the tabletop and video game designers and players can learn from each other. 

Mike Mearls
Design Director
Wizards of the Coast 

Nicole Lindroos
General Manager
Green Ronin

Josh Mosqueira
Designer and Co-Founder
Bonfire Studios

Moderator
Randy Pitchford
President and CEO
Gearbox Software 

FACEIT QuakeWorld Tournament: Finals

Click here to view the bracket.

Speaker + Attendee Networking Event

Sponsored by ISM

Roundtable Sessions 3

D.I.C.E. Awards Cocktail Reception

20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards

D.I.C.E. Awards After-Party

Sponsored by Bethesda