SXSW Interactive 2009 is already gearing up and we’ve got some YDreamers applying for panels. Though not as widely popular as its Music counterpart, SXSW Interactive is one of the most conceited interactive media festivals around. From March 13 to 17, Austin will be buzzing with media entrepreneurs, curious geeks, technology evangelists and any other interactive aficionado variants you’d care to make. We’d really appreciate it if you’d give us a hand by voting for our panels.

Marta Vieira has two submissions for the Mobile / Wireless category. Since her early days at the company, as an Account Manager for our Entertainment division, Marta has amassed a profuse knowledge on location-based systems and gaming, both panels propose to put some perspective into current state-of-the-art and future trends.

Ivan Franco, our Research & Development Director, is set for the New Technology / Next Generation category, where he sets to share his expertise in new interfaces, DIY concepts and his own musicianship (check out Ivan’s blog for more info).

More info and voting links below:

Inches vs Miles – What Makes Location-Based Games Fun? (Marta Vieira)

Is accurate location what makes a location-based game “real”? Or can we broaden the concept of location until it fits our idea of what a fun game design would be? In this panel experts will discuss location-based gaming, its present and possible evolution.

(click to vote)

Location-Based Applications – Dead on Arrival? (Marta Vieira)

Location based applications have long been hailed as the wireless industry’s “next killer app”. But will they disappear before they’re ever big? In this panel the experts will discuss if location is likely to emerge as a powerful genre or be used as a feature boost for applications.

(click to vote)


New Interfaces for Performance (Ivan Franco)

Realtime computation allowed new media artists to develop interactive performances but typical computer interfaces don’t offer appropriate interaction models for these contexts. In the DIY generation artists learned new techniques to build their own instruments. Novel interfaces have surfaced and this presentation is a reflection on New Interfaces for Performance.

(click to vote)

July 7th, 2003 - YDreamers celebrate the launch of the Undercover mobile game

For a long time YDreams has been associated with mobile gaming. In recent times we have been slowly moving away from that particular business area, to focus on our core of interactive conceptual environments or experiences. Mobile games, though, played an important role in the company’s success history.

Undercover and Undercover 2: Merc Wars, which expanded the concept further, were mobile Massive Multi-player Online Games that incorporated live location features making them pioneer gaming experiences in that particular genre. This further strengthened YDreams expertise in location-based systems and, above all, as a creator of a different breed of interactive experiences. It took a lot of sleepless nights, hard work and some ingenuity to try to compete in such uncharted territory against the big players of game development.

It has to be said that the commercial success of that specific game was not matched by the critical acclaim it received. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off to be on the forefront. But the hype and exposure the company got for devising such a product, and the lessons we learned from the whole process, have been an important part of making YDreams into the company that it is today.

We still get asked if we are “that mobile games company”. We aren’t, and the truth is we never quite were. Mobile games were a part of YDreams’ interactive experiences portfolio, but never the whole of the company. We are immensely proud of Undercover 2, Cristiano Ronaldo Underworld Football’s success or the launch of Wall Street Fighter in a few months time, but now we have moved on to a whole bigger realm of more encompassing projects.