ECAROcon 2008 Symposium to feature keynote speech by ‘God of War II’ game director Cory Barlog April 19

ECAROcon 2008 Symposium to feature keynote speech by ‘God of War II’ game director Cory Barlog April 19April 07, 2008Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

The student group ECARO (Extra-Curricular Computer Art Organization) in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will host ECAROcon 2008, a speaker symposium fusing art, innovation and technology, Saturday, April 19, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in Stolkin Auditorium in the Physics Building. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will include several speakers and feature a keynote speech by Cory Barlog, director of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) game “God of War II,” at 3:30 p.m. No tickets are required. Free parking for the symposium is available in the Q4 lot.

“ECAROcon was created in part to give students a more direct connection to industry figures,” says Andrew Blackmore, a junior computer art major in VPA and president of the event. “ECAROcon is also meant to showcase innovations and connections in the fields of computers, technology and art to students and the general public.”

Barlog began his career at Dream Quest Images working as a visual effects character animator on Disney’s “Mighty Joe Young,” “Flubber” and “Inspector Gadget” before moving to the game industry in 1999. He has worked on several titles across multiple platforms, including the highly acclaimed action-adventure game “God of War” (PS2), for which he served as animation director. His creative influence on the “God of War” series continued as he went on to write and direct “God of War II” and serve as creative director for the mobile game “God of War: Betrayal” and “God of War: Chains of Olympus” for PSP (PlayStation Portable). Most recently, he wrote the story and the initial game design for “God of War III” for PlayStation 3.

Other speakers scheduled include:

• Michael R. Carriere, CEO and founder of Zapdot Interactive, LLC, a software development company that focuses on the competitive online gaming industry; Zapdot produced UtiliTeam, an online service that aims to bring the gaming community to a new level of professional competition by helping teams organize, develop strategies, interact and improve their competition skills; Carriere is also a senior computer science major in SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science;

• Andrew Lewitin, a visual effects artist at Filmworks/FX Inc. in Santa Monica, Calif., and a 2006 alumnus of VPA’s computer art program; Filmworks/FX offers high-end visual effects, film lab processing, telecine, editorial, animation and 2K real-time digital intermediate theater and works with major commercial and motion picture companies on such projects as the films “Rescue Dawn” and “Apocalypto”; and

• Alyson Markell, a computer artist and a 1983 alumna of VPA’s painting program; Markell recently worked for 10 years at Industrial Light & Magic as a senior creature modeler for such films as “Van Helsing,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Peter Pan,” “Hidalgo” and four “Harry Potter” films; she also worked for Electronic Arts creating 3-D models and illustrations for digital games, including “NHL Hockey” and “F-117 Night Storm,” both for Sega Genesis.

ECAROcon 2008 is sponsored by ECARO and VPA. For more information about the symposium, including a schedule of the day and complete speaker bios, visit http://www.ecarocon.org or contact Blackmore at (774) 217-3103 or AndrewMBlackmore@gmail.com.

For a campus parking map, visit http://parking.syr.edu.