OCTANe@UCI And The Orange County Chapter Of AeA Present "Corporate Opportunities For Multi-Player Games"

Event Focuses on New Technical and Business Opportunities Provided by Grown-Up Gaming in the Corporate World

IRVINE, Calif. – March 30, 2006 – According to the International Gaming Developers Association, the multiplayer games market – which involves simulating real-world business situations in order to find solutions– totaled 53 million users in 2004, and expects to grow to more than 700 million by 2007. Through UC Irvine Extension, OCTANe@UCI is working in conjunction with the Orange County Chapter of the American Electronics Association (AeA), to offer a one-day special seminar entitled “Corporate Opportunities for Multiplayer Games” on Friday, April 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the University Club, located on the UC Irvine campus. The seminar will explore the impact this new technology can have on local businesses.

Multiplayer gaming in corporate and educational environments can offer participants useful knowledge through hands-on learning. Gamers are given real-world business situations and through the games are able to learn how to react to a given problem. The technology is currently being used in several venues, including classrooms, research facilities and business offices.

“Most people don’t realize that Orange County is home to some of the top companies in the gaming and technology industries,” said Jacci Cenci-McGrody, program manager of OCTANe@UCI, an organization developed to promote greater understanding of the role entrepreneurship and innovation plays in Orange County. “UC Irvine Extension has such wonderful connections with these tech companies and solid connections with corporate businesses that we wanted to create an opportunity for these two worlds to meet and collaborate.”

The event will include discussion sessions and multiplayer game demonstrations showing real-life applications. A panel of experts that includes researchers and top business professionals will be available to discuss this new and innovative business tool.

Panelists

Michael O'Brien, engineering specialist, software engineering, The Aerospace Corp.
O’Brien was on the technical staff of CSNET, the first Internet service provider. He has been co-administrator for 15 years of DragonMUD, the oldest TinyMUD on the Internet. At The Aerospace Corp., he administers and develops groupware on a private Second Life grid, using software from Linden Labs.
André van der Hoek, UC Irvine associate professor, Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, and Institute for Software Research
In addition to his role as an associate professor, van der Hoek is also a faculty member of the Institute for Software Research at UC Irvine. He holds a joint bachelor’s and master’s degree in business-oriented computer science from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a doctorate in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Joe Adams, president, Discovery Science Center
Adams is the president of the Discovery Science Center, Orange County’s leading destination for hands-on science education. Adams also spent six years at CPS Gas and Electric in San Antonio, Tex. As an operations project engineer, he managed operations and maintenance of gas and coal power plants.
Eleanor Wynn, Intel Information Technology Group
Wynn has worked at Intel Information Technology group for eight years. She was an early leader in ethnography for information systems development. She was also influential in the Europe/UK system development scene and has written several papers and books on conceptual, philosophical and practical issues for discovering new technology needs in work environments.

To register for the “Corporate Opportunities for Multi-Player Games” event, visit www.octane.uci.edu or contact Jacci Cenci-McGrody at (949) 824-5267 or jcencimc@uci.edu. The event is free to OCTANe members; $35 for entrepreneurs, VC-backed companies and university staff or students; and $50 for the general public with advance registration. The cost at the door is $60 for all attendees.

As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information about UC Irvine Extension, visit www.extension.uci.edu.