Learn to make multiplatform games and protect your IP at GDC Next

GDC Next 2014 featuring ADC is almost upon us, and conference organizers are happy to confirm that the November conference will host a pair of insightful talks addressing contemporary challenges facing game developers. Specifically, video game industry attorney Mona Ibrahim will be leading a session on how game developers can guard themselves against intellectual property lawsuits, while Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck) CEO Alex Schwartz will run down the realities of multiplatform development. GDC Next and ADC, which aim to highlight practical ways for developers to increase the creative and financial success of their projects, are taking place simultaneously on November 3rd-4th, 2014 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Alex Schwartz is the CEO and chief scientist of Boston-based Owlchemy Labs, an indie studio creating absurd titles like the mobile hit Snuggle Truck. In his GDC Next session, Optimizing for Multiplatform Development as a Small Studio, Schwartz will lay out everything you need to know about developing and distributing multiplatform games. Once you establish yourself on your platform(s) of choice, how do you plan to legally protect yourself from intellectual property poachers? It's a common problem; everyone from small-scale development studios to giants like Oculus and Zenimax have found themselves embroiled in costly, painful lawsuits over IP rights, and veteran game industry attorney Mona Ibrahim has some advice on how you can circumvent it -- or at least mitigate your risk. Check out her GDC Next talk, Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe: The Law of Ideas in Game Development, to learn how intellectual property is defined and defended, how your local governing bodies and courts enforce IP laws, and what you can do to protect your own ideas as you develop your game from concept to completion. Conference organizers look forward to announcing more talks in the weeks before this year's GDC Next featuring ADC, which takes place November 3rd-4th, 2014 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For additional details about GDC Next and ADC or to register for the event, visit the conference homepage. Gamasutra, GDC and ADC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.