‘Walking Dead’ game designer, Pixar animator to visit Iowa City

Animation and game design enthusiasts will gather in Iowa City today to hear from big names in the field for the fourth annual EPXCON.

The conference today and Sunday is organized by University of Iowa student organization EPX Studio.

'The conference is designed to engage and enhance animation and game development in Iowa through networking, presentations and educational talks,” says convention co-director and UI graduate student Megan Mathews.

Speakers include Chris Burrows, the technical director at Pixar Animation Studios, Harrison Pink, a game designer for Telltale Studio's 'The Walking Dead” and Devon Scott-Tunkin, a UI alumnus who runs his own design studio, Young Horses.

'The event is free and open to the public, so we'll have not only students and faculty, but local game developers and people from around the Midwest attending,” Mathews says.

Speakers will share their career paths in the industry, give advice for aspiring designers and explain how they take on specific design challenges.

'We look at the landscape of what is offered in the industry, and try to bring in people who represent the pinnacle of those careers, and we try to bring in innovative approaches in animation,” Mathews says.

EPXCON also will host an interactive play lounge, allowing independent creators, local companies and organizations to promote their own digital interactive projects.

'We hope to spotlight that these are very valuable skills to have and that there is a whole industry out there that's looking for people with design and animation skills,” Mathews says.