Next week, the Austin Game Developers' Conference will take place from September 15 – 17. It's the second biggest conference for game developers in the U.S. and the biggest devoted purely to online titles. In order to get the skinny on the event, we chatted with Gordon Walton, Co-Studio Director of BioWare Austin and an advisory board member of the Austin GDC.

"Frankly, [what excites me about Austin GDC is that it's] still in Austin and still about online games!" expressed Walton. "The conference was created to focus on online games, and as we've seen, almost every major game now has an online component. The community here has a large amount of online titles that have become a focal point for the North American market. Other shows concentrate on China and Korea, but we're devoted to North America."

"'Evolve or die' is just a metaphor for our business, which is a true intersection between technology and entertainment," commented Walton on the conference's theme. "You have to satisfy the customers' need for something novel. Gamers become jaded to gameplay styles over time, so you need to continually incorporate something new to make it fresh."

"I'm doing the service and technology track this year," he continued. "Previously, it was me and Rich Vogel doing the editorial board, but now we can spread the work out. The goals are always the same every year, 'How do we get the people that are doing important things?' It's not a commercial goal in that people are looking to move their company forward; it's asking, 'How do we spread the right knowledge around to make the industry better?'"

"My track is pretty broad, but it is primarily looking to see how people are doing online games and getting developers to talk about [their projects]," Walton added. "The biggest platform in the world is the Internet browser; it's a delivery platform like a PC, PS3 or Xbox 360. There are more people with browsers than anything else, but a lot of people aren't thinking about it as a platform. We got people who are doing online games in Java to talk about what they're up to, and I think it's important because there are a lot of people who aren't core gaming fans, but they are gamers. The 'blue ocean' is more there than in any other market."

We also queried if the project at BioWare Austin, long believed to be Knights of the Old Republic Online, would be unveiled at Austin GDC. "I don't know what you're talking about!" a laughing Walton answered before adding, "People sure are going to be surprised when they find out we're making Hello Kitty Online!"

GameDaily BIZ then ventured that they were likely doing more at BioWare Austin than simply shooting pool and drinking beers, and Walton assured us they were very busy. "Making games is as immersive as playing them," he asserted. "It can be hard to enjoy something that you're doing if you're constantly deconstructing it, but I'll say that one of the best things you can keep is your 'customer's eyes.' Putting yourself in the shoes of someone who just wants to enjoy the game and seeing the game from their perspective is a hard but vital skill to have."

"Everyone who sticks with the industry is kinda nuts," he added. "If I ever leave the business I'll consider myself sane. It's not an eight-to-five job; you have have a passion for it."