The 2021 Game Developers Conference (GDC) runs from July 19-23, and while this year’s conference will be virtual once again, there’s no shortage of informative sessions to attend – especially from Ubisoft developers, who will be taking part in more than 20 talks, summits, and roundtables. With topics this year ranging from shipping Assassin’s Creed Valhalla during a pandemic to how games change and reflect our worldview, there’s something for developers of all disciplines. Additionally, the Ubisoft virtual booth will be open all week with opportunities to meet with recruiters about jobs within the company. Read on for a full list of sessions Ubisoft will be participating in.
Monday, July 19 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
AI SUMMIT: BRANCHING OUT: WATCH DOGS LEGION'S ARCHITECTURE FOR GROUP AI BEHAVIOURS
Summit Speakers: Christopher Dragert, PhD (Ubisoft Toronto), Patrick McKenna (Ubisoft Toronto)
Monday, July 19 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
INDEPENDENT GAMES SUMMIT: MAKING ROOM
Summit Speakers: Adam Campbell (POC in Play), Ben Wilson (Die Gute Fabrik), Kim Belair (Sweet Baby Inc), Chella Ramanan (POC in Play), Meagan Byrne (Achimostawinan Games)
Monday, July 19 | 2:00PM - 2:30PM
TOOLS SUMMIT: HOW UBISOFT BUILDS TOOLS THAT ARE MORE "INTUITIVE"
Summit Speaker: David Lightbown (Ubisoft)
Monday, July 19 | 3:20PM - 4:20PM
TOOLS SUMMIT: LIVE GAME SHOW
Summit Speakers: David Lightbown (Ubisoft), Viktor Stepanov (Infinity Ward), Alexander Pirogov (JetBrains), Geoff Evans (Epic Games)
Monday, July 19 | 4:00PM - 5:00PM
ONLINE GAME TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT: FROM R6 SIEGE TO UBISOFT CONNECT: HOW UBISOFT CREATED A POWERFUL ONLINE ECOSYSTEM
Summit Speaker: Martin Lavoie (Ubisoft)
Tuesday, July 20 | 8:30AM - 9:30AM
GAME NARRATIVE SUMMIT: THE NARRATIVE INNOVATION SHOWCASE 2021
Speakers: Matthew Weise (Empathy Box), Clara Fernandez-Vara (NYU Game Center), Carlos Rocha Silva (Dreams Uncorporated & SYCK), Chella Ramanan (3-Fold Games), Katharine Neil (Independent), Mira Dorthé (Other Tales Interactive)
Tuesday, July 20 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
ART DIRECTION SUMMIT: THE NATURAL WORLD OF ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA
Summit Speakers: Vladimir Eskandari (Ubisoft Montreal), Adrien Paguet-Brunella (Ubisoft Montreal)
Tuesday, July 20 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
FREE TO PLAY SUMMIT: THE GAME DESIGNER'S NOTEBOOK
Summit Speakers: Valentina Tamer (Ubisoft), Eva Grillova (SocialPoint), Tim Nixon (thatgamecompany)
Tuesday, July 20 | 10:50AM - 11:20AM
AI SUMMIT: MISSIONS PLAYED AS ANYONE IN WATCH DOGS: LEGION
Summit Speaker: Jurie Horneman (Ubisoft)
Tuesday, July 20 | 10:50AM - 11:20AM
MACHINE LEARNING SUMMIT: IDENTIFY YOUR PLAYERS' BUILDS FROM IN-GAME DATA: THE BAT APPROACH
Summit Speaker: David Renaudie (Massive Entertainment)
Tuesday, July 20 | 1:20PM - 1:50PM
MACHINE LEARNING SUMMIT: DEEP REINFORCEMENT LEARNING FOR NAVIGATION
Summit Speakers: Maxim Peter (Ubisoft), Joshua Romoff (Ubisoft)
Tuesday, July 20 | 2:40PM - 3:40PM
GAME NARRATIVE SUMMIT: STORYTELLING SIBLINGS: THE KINDRED CONNECTION BETWEEN GAMES AND THEME PARKS
Summit Speakers: Adam Bezark (The Bezark Company), Lex Rhodes (The Bezark Company), Vaughn Hannon (The Bezark Company), Mathilde Bresson (Ubisoft)
Wednesday, July 21 | 8:30AM - 9:30AM
DISABILITY, NEURODIVERSITY, MENTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC ILLNESS ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: SAFETY, SUPPORT, ACCEPTANCE
Speakers: Cherry Thompson (Independent), Raffael Boccamazzo (Take This)
Wednesday, July 21 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
GAME NARRATIVE ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: PROFESSIONAL
Speaker: Richard Dansky (Red Storm Ubisoft)
Wednesday, July 21 | 10:50AM - 11:20AM
FROM LIVE TO SUNSET: AUTOMATING LIVE-OPS AND GAME SERVICES
Speaker: Ignacio Abia Carrasco (Ubisoft)
Wednesday, July 21 | 10:50AM - 11:50AM
TOOLS DESIGN ROUNDTABLE DAY 1: DESIGN
Speaker: David Lightbown (Ubisoft)
Wednesday, July 21 | 10:50AM - 11:50AM
WOMEN IN GAME AUDIO ROUNDTABLE
Speakers: Lydia Andrew (Ubisoft Quebec), Adele Cutting (Soundcuts, Ltd.)
Wednesday, July 21 | 11:50AM - 12:50PM
DEVNOTE: NEXT LEVEL GAME DEVELOPMENT WITH HP TECHNOLOGIES (PRESENTED BY HP INC.)
Speakers: Jay Fraser, Joanna Popper (HP Inc.), Jerome Ponset (Ubisoft), Brianna Havlik (HP Inc.), Tico Ballagas (HP Inc.), Jeff Marshall (VRSpeaking)
Wednesday, July 21 | 2:30PM - 3:30PM
TORCH THEM ALL: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND MAKE FIRE
Speaker: Shahin Rabbani (Ubisoft Montreal)
Wednesday, July 21 | 2:30PM - 3:30PM
AI ACTION PLANNING ON ASSASSIN'S CREED ODYSSEY AND IMMORTALS FENYX RISING
Speaker: Simon Girard (Ubisoft)
Wednesday, July 21 | 3:40PM - 4:10PM
STORY POINTS: UPSIDE DOWN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Speaker: Cameron Penner (Ubisoft)
Thursday, July 22 | 8:30AM - 9:30AM
THROUGH THE STORM: SHIPPING ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
Speaker: Julien Laferriere (Ubisoft)
Thursday, July 22 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
DISABILITY, NEURODIVERSITY, MENTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC ILLNESS ROUNDTABLE DAY 2: PRACTICAL PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Speaker: Cherry Thompson (Independent)
Thursday, July 22 | 10:50AM - 11:50AM
GAME NARRATIVE ROUNDTABLE DAY 2: TECHNIQUES
Speaker: Richard Dansky (Red Storm Ubisoft)
Thursday, July 22 | 10:50AM - 11:50AM
TOOLS DESIGN ROUNDTABLE DAY 2: PRODUCTION
Speaker: David Lightbown (Ubisoft)
Thursday, July 22 | 2:30PM - 3:30PM
CENSUS: THE SYSTEMIC BACKBONE BEHIND PLAY AS ANYONE IN WATCH DOGS: LEGION
Speaker: Christopher Dragert, PhD (Ubisoft Toronto)
Thursday, July 22 | 2:30PM - 3:30PM
SPEECH SYNTHESIS IN THE CONTEXT OF VIDEO GAMING
Speaker: Marc-André Carbonneau (Ubisoft Montreal)
Friday, July 23 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
GAME NARRATIVE ROUNDTABLE DAY 3: CONCEPTUAL
Speaker: Richard Dansky (Red Storm Ubisoft)
Friday, July 23 | 9:40AM - 10:40AM
FIGHTING WITH DATA: LEARNINGS FROM BUILDING THE COMBAT SYSTEM IN ASSASSIN'S CREED: VALHALLA
Speaker: Ian Holstead (Ubisoft Montreal)
Friday, July 23 | 3:40PM - 4:10PM
BEYOND TEST SERVERS: HOW FOR HONOR MADE TESTING A CELEBRATED PLAYER EXPERIENCE
Speakers: Laurent Chouinard (Ubisoft), Audrey Laurent-André (Ubisoft)
Follow #UbiGDC and stay tuned to the Inside Ubisoft news hub for more on GDC 2021. Be sure to visit the Ubisoft careers page for job openings around the world.
