“EXTRA CREDITS” JAMES PORTNOW TO KEYNOTE 12th ANNUAL SIEGE OCT. 7

“Survive and Thrive" Is Theme for Game Development Conference

 ATLANTA, GEORGIA – (July 17, 2018) – The Georgia Game Developers Association announced today that renowned game expert James Portnow, best known for his work on the award-winning “Extra Credits” web series, will keynote the Association’s 12th annual Southern Interactive Entertainment and Game Expo (www.siegecon.net). Portnow also runs Rainmaker Games, which consults with the game industry’s leading companies.

“Portnow’s ability to both understand the intricacies of development and communicate those to anyone is legendary,” said Andrew Greenberg, SIEGE conference director. “His Extra Credits series has done more to inspire and develop good game developers than any other single resource.”

Portnow got his start working on the best-selling “Call of Duty” series before starting his own company. Since then he has consulted for companies like Riot Games and Zynga, as well as writing “Extra Credits” and “Extra History.” In addition, he regularly speaks at colleges training the next generation of game designers.

“For the past 40 years games have focused on one emotion: fun.  The challenge of the next generation of developers is to go beyond fun,” said Portnow.  “The new goal is to create something that stays with us long after we turn off the television or get up off the couch.  Every day I see developers, young and old, take up this mantel. It is places like SIEGE where they have the discussions necessary to make this a reality.”

Taking place in Atlanta, SIEGE is the largest professional game development conference in the Southern United States. Since 2007, SIEGE has featured leading figures from the industry and has hosted panels reflecting a wide spectrum of the game production industry, including artists, programmers, designers, investors, writers, teachers and business executives. The event also showcases a College Fair for high school students and a Game Studio Investment Conference.