Valve president Gabe Newell and Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams will team up to deliver the opening keynote at the 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit on Feb. 6, according to the the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
The Emmy award-winning director and celebrated PC gaming legend will deliver a talk titled, “Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?” The talk is being promoted as a "face-off" between the two industry titans, and will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The AIAS has celebrated the videogame industry's best work with the D.I.C.E. Awards (previously called the Interactive Achievement Awards) annually since 1996. Since 2002, the academy has held the D.I.C.E. Summit, a conference focused on exploring the creative and innovative side of videogame development.
Previous keynote speakers have included Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and The Elder Scrolls co-creator Todd Howard. The 2013 conference will mark Newell's second keynote, and he will be honored later at the Summit as an inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
Newell will also deliver a talk on February 7 entitled “A View on Next Steps." The talk will focus on Valve's preparations for the future, especially in regards to Steam and its new Steam Big Picture mode.
