DALLAS, Sept. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- eGency Global, a leading esports production, marketing and talent management firm, in collaboration with SMU Guildhall, the top ranked graduate school for video game design in the world, are pleased to announce the addition of industry talks to the lineup of events at OP Live Dallas.
During OP Live's Powered Talks, esports and gaming leaders including streamers, developers, organizers, and professional teams will take the stage between competitions to discuss a range of topics about turning passion into a career and how to become a part of the growing esports landscape. Off stage, Kyle Langley, systems designer for Fortnite, will also be giving a tutorial at the SMU Guildhall booth on creating an achievement system, brought to you by Epic's education division.
Industry talks will include:
Kyle Langley — Technical Designer, Fortnite, Epic Games
Saturday, Sept. 22, SMU Guildhall booth
Brought to you by Epic's education division, learn how to get started with the gameplay ability system in Unreal. Kyle Langley, technical designer for Fortnite, has been working in games since 2008 and has served at studios including Sony Online Entertainment, High Moon Studios, and Epic Games.
Luis Cataldi — Director of Education & Learning Resources, Epic Games
Saturday, Sept. 22, SMU Guildhall booth
Brought to you by Epic's education division, learn tips and tricks you may not know about Unreal — including best practices for optimization, content, lighting, materials, workflows, and more. Luis Cataldi has been working in the computer graphics industry for over 20 years in various roles including character TD, animator, lighter, environment artist, FX TD and art director. His work has appeared in television, music videos, theme parks rides, animated feature films such as "Robots" and "Ice Age II" and AAA video games. In 2005, Luis was one of the founding members of Kaos Studios in NYC as the art director. In the role, he built an art team to deliver "Frontlines: Fuel of War" and "Homefront." In the late 1990's Luis became an animation instructor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and later moved into the full-time role of professor and Department Chair of Game Development and Interactive Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Luis joined Epic Games in 2014 to help build the educational community around the amazing Unreal Engine and currently serves as the Global Education Evangelist.
Tyler Schrodt — Founder & CEO, Electronic Gaming Federation
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Tyler started in esports in 2001 as a Counterstrike 1.6 player and tournament organizer and spent 6 years working in higher education before founding EGF in 2013 while studying finance at RIT. Today, EGF oversees a national league for some of the largest colleges in the United States and the first-state endorsed national high school esports league in the country.
Geoff Moore — President & COO, Envy Gaming
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Geoff, a 25-year veteran in sports marketing and fan experiences, was hired as President and COO of Envy Gaming in July 2018. His team is focused on building excitement locally, nationally and internationally around the region's best esports teams. Prior to joining Envy Gaming, Moore spent 18 years with the Dallas Stars and worked with the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin.
Aaron "Aero" Atkins — Head Coach, Dallas Fuel
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Aaron is the head coach of the Dallas Fuel franchise in the Overwatch League. He is experienced working with internationally diverse rosters and is widely respected as an Overwatch analyst. After joining the Dallas Fuel near the end of the 2018 season, Atkins led the team through a turnaround and to a Stage 4 playoff berth. Players and management alike credit his unique coaching style in instrumental to the Fuel's late season success.
Kevin "Kebunbun" Hoang — Account Manager, Twitch
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Kevin "Kebunbun" Hoang is an Account Manager for Twitch. Kevin currently works on the Twitch Student program and has dedicated himself to creating gaming and esports opportunities for students and universities around the world. Prior to Twitch, Kevin founded the Washington Gaming Association at University of Washington and served as an analyst at Team SoloMid.
Mark "Garvey" Candella — Director of Strategic Partnerships, Twitch
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
On the main stage: Garvey currently leads the Twitch Student program and has dedicated himself to creating gaming and esports opportunities for students and universities around the world. From humble beginnings as a Magic the Gathering professional player in 1993 and an avid pen and paper role player prior to that, he has been involved in the esports industry in various ways ever since. His message of inclusiveness, diversity, and collaboration is a personal philosophy deeply ingrained in every project he works on."
John Davidson — Head of GameStop Partnerships
Saturday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
John leads GameStop's esports and partnership efforts, identifying brands and developing strategy for opportunities that bring value to our customers. He will provide valuable insights on how you don't need to be a pro player or have thousands of followers to make huge waves in gaming or esports. Anyone and everyone has a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape this emerging competitive landscape.
Charles Egenbacher — Technical Producer, Unreal Engine and Fortnite, Epic Games
Sunday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Charles is a technical producer at Epic Games, focusing on Fortnite audio and VR/AR on the Unreal Engine. From SMU Guildhall to Sony Entertainment to Riot Games to Epic Games, Charles is a hardcore gamer at heart who took his incredible passion and turned it into an even more incredible career.
Ryan Musselman — President, Trigger Fish; SVP of Global Partnerships, Infinite Esports & Entertainment
Sunday, Sept. 22, Main Stage
Ryan Musselman is an early pioneer in the convergence of digital media and esports, with over 10 years of industry experience, and is one of the original founders of OpTic gaming, the world's most-engaged esports organization. He was instrumental in the development and scale of Machinima's 10,000-strong network of gaming influencers, prior to joining Google to develop YouTube's gaming and esports vertical. Ryan now leverages his history of industry-defining expertise as President of Triggerfish, the partnerships entity behind OpTic Gaming, Houston Outlaws and Infinite Esports and Entertainments portfolio of companies, as well as Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships at Infinite Esports & Entertainment.
OP Live Dallas Powered by Team Envy and the Dallas Fuel will also feature the largest collegiate Overwatch tournament in North Texas, a Bounty Royale Brawl featuring Fortnite, a showcase of the latest video games created by SMU Guildhall students and alumni, pro esports player meet-and-greets, interactive experiences, a High School Hackathon, an exhibitor hall, and more.
To purchase tickets for OP Live Dallas Powered by Team Envy and the Dallas Fuel and get event updates, visit http://www.OPLiveDallas.com/.
For information on sponsorship opportunities (digital, event app, brand activations, signage, event/activity/workshop sponsor, broadcasting rights, and more) or securing exhibitor space, contact Ward Eastman, eGency Global Director, Strategic Alliances at 214-957-7870 or weastman(at)egencyglobal(dot)com.
About eGency Global:
eGency Global is one of the most experienced esports firms in North America, offering a full suite of services from event production, customer/fan engagement, sponsorship and talent marketing to data analytics, media and strategic marketing. eGency Global is the leading strategic partner in helping brands, event and media properties, and teams looking to navigate and capitalize on the rapidly expanding esports ecosystem.
Press Contact: Stephanie Chavez, Marketing Director for eGency Global, 817-262-8168, schavez(at)egencyglobal(dot)com.
About SMU Guildhall:
SMU Guildhall is the #1 Graduate Program for Game Design in the world. Many of the school's founders are industry icons, and classes are taught by industry veterans. Since 2003, the program has graduated over 700 students, who now work at more than 250 video game studios around the world. SMU Guildhall offers both a Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development degree and a Professional Certificate of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development, with specializations in Art, Design, Production, and Programming.
Press Contact: Mark Nausha, Deputy Director for GameLab at SMU Guildhall, 949-697-5374, mnausha(at)smu(dot)edu.
SOURCE eGency Global
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