Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Will Wright, creator of the popular Spore™ and The Sims series will be a Keynote Speaker at SIGGRAPH 2009, the 36th International Conference and Exhibition for Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
Will Wright rose to prominence when he invented SimCity, the widely acclaimed, non-violent, open-ended simulation video game. Since its release 20 years ago, he has expanded his simulation realm with the introduction of The Sims series and several other follow-ups, includin SimEarth: The Living Planet, and SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony. In all, the franchise has sold more than 58 million games and was the best selling PC game for five consecutive years. In 2008, Wright unveiled his latest achievement: Spore™, an internet-based game that allows users to create a species of creatures and share their evolutions with other players interactively worldwide. The game was named by Time Magazine as one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2008”.
Read the detailed press release here.
Randy Thom, a pioneer in sound and a two-time Academy Award® winner, to give a keynote presentation at SIGGRAPH 2009, the 36th International Conference and Exhibition for Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
Since 1975, Thom has worked in a wide variety of creative capacities in more than 75 films including some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters such as “Bolt”, “Forrest Gump”, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Ratatouille,” “War of the Worlds,” and “Wild at Heart.” Thom began working for Lucasfilm in 1979 as a sound designer and re-recording mixer and is currently the Director of Sound Design at Skywalker Sound.
“SIGGRAPH has long emphasized the world’s best visual and interactive content, and SIGGRAPH 2009 is adding a special focus on integrating audio,” stated Ronen Barzel, SIGGRAPH 2009 Conference Chair. “Randy Thom is the world’s leading advocate and practitioner in the art of integrating sound with visuals in storytelling. His vision is a perfect fit as SIGGRAPH extends its focus into this area.”
He received two Academy Awards® for Best Sound in “The Right Stuff” and Best Achievement in Sound Editing for “The Incredibles.” In all, Thom has shared 14 Academy Award® nominations, and has worked with some of today’s leading directors and producers.