With the Game Developers Conference coming up soon, many have announced their plans for the event. First up is Macrovision, who sends word that its Trymedia Games Division will be participating in three sponsored panels to cover game business and technology topics. The sessions will take place on Wednesday March 22nd and will be open to all attendees. Details of the panels can be found after the jump.

Dutch developer Woedend! Games (W!G) will be present at the event to present their first game title and introduce the studio to potential publishers. No details of their project is known at the moment, but the company has made it known that they are focused on making “triple A” quality game titles for a mass market audience. W!G currently has a number of projects in the pipeline, with the first to be unveiled at GDC.

Today’s last GDC announcement comes from Lifemode Interactive, who announced that it’ll be launching its facial animation software Lifestudio:Head 2.7 and Xbox 360 support at the event. The company will be set up at booth 548, letting attendees get information and demo the multi-platform SDK for realistic facial animation.

The Online Business Model for PC Games: Show Me the Money

9:00-10:00am

Digital distribution is no longer what happens to a PC game when its shelf life is over. The online business model is ripe with alternative revenue streams that begin day and date with traditional retail. This panel will provide insight into how the online model is changing and where new revenue dollars can be found. Retailers, developers and publishers will weigh in with their experience in simultaneous box and online release, episodic content, peer-to-peer options and more.

Moderator: Alexis Madrigal, DFC Intelligence

Panelists:
Rana Hirschfield, Macrovision’s Trymedia Games Division
Ed Zobrist, Vivendi Universal Games
Omar Abdelwahed, Best Buy
Thom Kozik, Yahoo!

Release Cycle Content Protection

12:00-1:00pm

Beta and press versions. Retail and digital releases. Patches and updates. Product release schedules are challenging enough. This panel will discuss how to optimize the content protection process through the timing of implementation, best practice tools and identification of the best person on the team to manage it all.

Moderator: Eric Jensen, Macrovision

Panelists:
Michael Heilemann, Hammer Studios, LLC
Ed Clune, Activision
Dave McComb, Electronic Arts

Effective Advertising Models for Interactive Games: Selling Ads Without Selling Out

2:30-3:30pm

Interactive videogame-related advertising is hot! As consumers across multiple demographic profiles shift entertainment time away from watching TV to playing core and casual games, advertisers are eager to reach them. Find out if your game or business can benefit from advertising dollars and how to balance your game with ads without impacting the gameplay experience. This panel will address both sides of the advertising conundrum: what advertisers want, how much they’re willing to pay and what measurement and metrics they need, and - beyond static ‘product placement’ advertising - what additional opportunities exist to generate advertising revenue from interactive games?

Moderator: Robb Lewis, Macrovision’s Trymedia Games Division

Panelists:
Brandon Berger, Ogilvy Interactive
Mitchell Davis, Massive Incorporated
Garry Kitchen, Skyworks
Jon Epstein, United Talent Agency

All three sessions will take place on Wednesday, March 22nd in room C3 of the San Jose Convention Center and are free to all GDC attendees. Previous GDC sessions sponsored by the company have proven to be very popular, so arriving early is recommended.