Keynotes NZGDC 22Convergence Day Wren Brier Creative Director, Unpacking Guy Blomberg Studio Director, RiffRaff Games Connie Kennedy Los Angeles Lab Director, Epic Games Jon Landau Motion Picture Producer, Lightstorm Entertainment Speakers ArtAudioBusiness and MarketingCultureGame DesignProduction and QAProgrammingRealities (XR)Serious and EducationalStory and NarrativeWorkshopsStudent DayConvergence Day James Doyle Art Lead, RiffRaff Games Poppy De Raad Artist, Dinosaur Polo Club Syros Pourlatifi Realtime VFX Artist Jason Keyser Founder/CEO, VFX Apprentice Lukas Niklaus Co-founder and director, Floating Rock Studio Ruby Cumming Production manager, Floating Rock Studio Nathan Walker 3D Artist, CerebralFix Lila Gibbens 3D Artist, CerebralFix Sam Batty Animator, Wētā Workshop Jess Woodward Artist, ARA Journeys Ben Carnall CTO, Rocketwerkz Shawn Elliott Chief Artist in Design, Rocketwerkz Chris Murphy Evangelist, Epic Games Amie Wolken Head of Interactive, Wētā Workshop James Dean Director, Ākau Audio Bart Klepka Senior Sound Designer, Outerdawn Paul Fox Sound Designer/Supervisor, Soundcreature Interactive Sarah McLeod BigMouth Voices Gemma Laurelle Actor Stephen Brunton Actor Jeremy Birchall Voice Director, Independent/Freelance Julian Castillo Account Executive Samuel Parkinson Associate, James & Wells – Intellectual Property Vee Pendergrast Operations Manager, New Zealand Centre Of Digital Excellence (CODE) Wade Pearson Commercial lawyer, Gallaway Cook Allan Paige Wilson Community Manager, Aggro Crab Emily Latta Community and Media Manager, Balancing Monkey Games Chris Jagger Managing Partner, AltVentures Josh Grant Founder, Phat Loot Studios John O’Reilly Founder, Creative Director, Flightless Joshua Boggs Creative Director and CEO, RiffRaff Games Stephen Knightly Chief Operating Officer, Rocketwerkz Carl Leducq Games Producer, Altered State Machine Jessica Manins CEO, Beyond VR Juan Morais Programmer, Virtually Human Studio Dan Milward CEO, Gamefroot, Web3 Evangelist Leni Mariam Ayoub Digital Producer, ASM Henry Feltham Studio Director, Deep Field Games Mickey Treadwell Programmer/Producer, Atawhai Interactive Stef Animal Creative Director, Spookysoft Games Gabriela Roque-Worcel Visualisation Developer, Wellington City Council Andy Yi Shen Senior Digital Artist, Special Projects Wētā FX Paige de Vanny Lead Matte Painter, Wētā FX Brad Knewstubb Director, Hackman Amie Wolken Head of Interactive, Wētā Workshop Hamish Cameron Analogue Game Designer / Lecturer, Ardens Ludere / Victoria University of Wellington Mike Sands Analogue Game Designer / Lecturer, Generic Games Julz Burgisser Dungeon Master and Podcaster, Questbook Harriet Prebble Creative Director, Canvas Abyss Morgan Davie TTRPG designer and writer, Taleturn Camille Cowley Engineer and Disability advocate , Shoggoth Games Zelle Marcovicci Tutor, Massey University Carl Leducq Games Producer, Altered State Machine Sam Ramlu Founder and Managing Director, Method Digital / Mad Carnival Entertainment Stephen Knightly Chief Operating Officer, Rocketwerkz Maru Nihoniho Founder and Managing Director, Metia Interactive Zoe Hobson CEO, Runaway Play Bailey Raumati Community Manager, PikPok Humphrey Hanley Creative Director, No Hands No Excuses Denis Phoenix Game Designer, Medusa Gaming Andy Satterthwaite Chief Design Officer, PikPok Tana Tanoi Technical Designer, Dinosaur Polo Club Josh Connolly Experienced User Researcher, PikPok Paul Tobin Creative Director, Arkus Games Nicola Harrison Senior Product Manager, Arkus Games Jono Shirley Senior Games User Researcher, PikPok Niva Kay Digital producer / Author / Filmmaker, Pakaraka Permaculture James Tan Director, Digital Confectioners Neil Reynolds Executive Product Designer, Digital Confectioners Jason Imms Ally McLean Production Director, League of Geeks Tyrone McAuley COO, PikPok Samantha Cook Co-Founder, Studio Director, Producer, and Business Developer, Artifact 5 Calliope Ryder Producer, Wētā Workshop Carl Leducq Games Producer, Altered State Machine John Lindvay Producer, Red Hook Studios Veronica Peshterianu Director of Production, System Era Softworks Ed Lago Executive Producer, Cloudhead Games Jair McBain Producer, Land & Sea Games Zea Slosar Project Manager, Die Gute Fabrik Claire Barilla Producer, Riff Raff Games Ashley van Wyngaard Producer, Ubisoft Nick Strine Lead UX and UI Designer, Ubisoft Patrick Nolan Game Designer, Ubisoft Jon Cartwright Game Consulting Jack Condon Unreal Engine Evangelist, Epic Games Paris Buttfield-Addison Digital producer / Author / Filmmaker, Secret Lab Mike Page Technical Director, Outerdawn Sebastian Tengdahl Lead Engineer, Mighty Eyes Alex Galbraith Developer, CerebralFix David Delgado Technical Lead, Phat Loot Studios Shelton Lai Lam Software Engineer, Mytona James Tan Director, Digital Confectioners Neil Reynolds Executive Product Designer, Digital Confectioners Jack Condon Unreal Engine Evangelist, Epic Games Nathania Sum 3D Generalist, SkillsVR Jack Mair Software Engineer Lecturer, Media Design School Zach Dodson Narrative Designer, Interactive Tragedy, LTD Carl Leducq Games Producer, Altered State Machine Sam Ramlu Founder and Managing Director, Method Digital / Mad Carnival Entertainment Melanie Langlotz Opportunity Wrangler, Geo AR Games Krystal Paraone Studio Manager, StaplesVR James Everett Creative Director, Niantic Labs Laura Yilmaz Heide Lukosch Associate Professor, HIT Lab NZ Claudia Leong CEO and Director, Nutriblocks Limited Zoë Hector Mayor of Talk Town, Clinical Audiologist, PhD Student, Talk Town Ltd, HITLab NZ Grace Covey Communications Manager and Sign Language Expert, Kara Technologies Russell Pine PhD graduate , Victoria University of Wellington Simon McCallum Sakthi Priya Balaji Ranganathan Founder and Design Technologist, JIX Reality Rick Stemm Design Manager/Narrative Director, PikPok Stacey Wellington Experienced Narrative Designer, PikPok Sarah Daymond Narrative Designer, PikPok Mike Boyes Senior Narrative Designer, PikPok Samara-Jade Sendek Gabriella Lowgren Narrative Designer, Mighty Kingdom Paris Buttfield-Addison Digital producer / Author / Filmmaker, Secret Lab Jon Manning Narrative Technologies Lead, Secret Lab Tim Nugent Independent, Lonely.coffee Verradia Beren Masters Student Melissa Koven Narrative Discipline Lead, Mighty Kingdom Heide Lukosch Associate Professor, HIT Lab NZ Chris Murphy Evangelist, Epic Games Natasha Walsh Director of Brand Partnerships, Universal Music NZ Matt Kidd GM of Domestic Repertoire and Business Development, Universal Music NZ Connor Bridson Director/Artist, Atawhai Interactive Eloise Veber Programme Manager, Script to Screen Rick Stemm Design Manager/Narrative Director, PikPok Paul Yates Writer/producer, Wellington Paranormal Darren Hobern Game Developer, CerebralFix Mickey Treadwell Programmer/Producer, Atawhai Interactive Lauren Temos / T-Dog eXtreme Community Engagement Coordinator – Variety the Children's Charity Rick Stemm Design Manager/Narrative Director, PikPok Tana Tanoi Technical Designer, Dinosaur Polo Club Joshua Jimenez President, Game Developers Guild Aaron Simon 2D Artist, CerebralFix Dora de Norie 2D Artist/Animator, CerebralFix Carl Leducq Games Producer, Altered State Machine Nic Barker Game Developer, CerebralFix Sarah Latta Producer and Social Media Manager, Balancing Monkey Games Jess Woodward Artist, ARA Journeys Billy Brooks Visual Effects Supervisor, Mind + Machine VFX Alton Glass CEO, GRX Immersive Labs John Agyepong Creative Facilitator, GRX Immersive Labs Dan Lemmon Visual Effects Supervisor Diana Diriwaechter Education Lead, Epic James Partridge Film Producer / Film Festival Director, Admit One Entertainment / Terror-Fi Film Festival David Conley Executive VFX Producer , Wētā FX Amber Marie Naveira CEO and CoFounder, The Granary Audrea Topps Harjo Producer, Founder of Inclusion FX Chantelle Cole CEO, Dinosaur Polo Club Jessica Manins CEO, Beyond VR Raqi Syed Writer, Visual Effects Designer, Researcher Sam Ramlu Founder and Managing Director, Method Digital / Mad Carnival Entertainment Jonathan King Writer / Director / Producer Victor Naveira Creative Director and CoFounder, The Granary John Perrigo The Granary Niamh Fitzgerald COO, Dinosaur Polo Club Kat Lintott (Ngai Tahu) Co-Founder, Wrestler Lara Bowen Global Head of Disguise Labs / GM NZAU, Disguise Jarrad Vladich Director of Production, Special Projects, Wētā FX Nicci Lock Boucher Screen Sector Specialist Doug Easterly Programme Leader of Animation and Visual Effects, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington Scott Wilson Programme Lead / Senior Lecturer, Massey University Kevin Romond Director, Miramar Creative Centre, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
James Partridge Film Producer / Film Festival Director, Admit One Entertainment / Terror-Fi Film Festival
Doug Easterly Programme Leader of Animation and Visual Effects, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
