SPEAKERS

Talk Title: 5 Powerful Code Patterns Behind Top Roblox Games

9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Saturday, July 25th

Bio: James Onnen is the developer of Whatever Floats your Boat, which has been played 50 million times, and is featured in two Roblox books. James, who recently turned 23, is a veteran developer on Roblox for 10 years, and is known for his plugins, assets, and open source resources. James has interned at Roblox on the Studio team, was previously a Roblox accelerator this year, and is about to start working at Microsoft on developer tools..

Bio: Alex Balfanz is the developer of Jailbreak, a cops-and-robbers game which has been played 3.5 billion times by hundreds of millions of players around the world, has spawned multiple action figures and playsets, and has had over 100 weekly/monthly feature and content additions. Alex, who recently turned 21, just hit his 10 year milestone of developing on Roblox, and will be working on the autopilot team at Tesla this summer.

Bio: I'm an engineer living in Cheltenham working as a Systems Engineer at Team Adopt Me. Before joining the Adopt Me team I've previously worked in Google Security & Privacy and Barclaycard Data and Strategic Analytics. Outside of Adopt Me, I run the Blade analytics website and I'm an Invited Expert on Google VRG.

Bio: Trey Reynolds is known for his role in the development of Phantom Forces, among small math-centric contributions to many other games. Trey has been a Roblox accelerator twice, first in 2016 and again in 2020.

Talk Title: Building Worlds for Game Performance

Bio: I'm an environment artist that mostly uses Roblox, Blender, and Clip Studio for my work. I graduated with honors in public relations which brought me to Roblox as a marketing intern in 2018, while I was simultaneously developing the 2018 Egg Hunt as the building lead. Recently I've been a part of the Roblox UGC program as well as the Community Champions group on the developer forum. Outside of game development I have a lifetime of theatre experience, both on stage and backstage, am an avid reader, and love tea!

10:20 AM - 11:05 PM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Make the Dreamwork with Teamwork 

Bio: Anne joined Roblox in 2011 and quickly found passion for developing games. Many projects were started, few saw the light of day, but they were all very beneficial to her growth as a game designer. Since that time, she has gone on to create My Droplets, an experience with millions of play sessions. After participating in the accelerator program with a couple of different teams, she has learned many valuable lessons in team management. She founded Fullflower Studio as part of her quest to bring meaningful experiences to the world.

11:50 AM - 12:35 PM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Can You Rig It? An Animator’s Guide to Blender

Bio: I am an artist at ROLVe specializing in animation. I’ve been animating for nine years and making games on Roblox for six years. I believe in raising the art quality standard on Roblox so the platform has more room to grow and captivate more creative minds of all ages.

12:40 PM - 1:25 PM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Creator Dashboard: Say Goodbye to the Develop Page 

Bio: Before Roblox, I worked on the accessibility team at Apple, developing features for people with disabilities. I love the fast-paced, scrappy environment at Roblox, and a lot of the people I've met here have become some of my best friends. When I am not working, you can find me taking long walks or bike rides outside, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with friends.

9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Beyond the Veil: A Deeper Look Inside the Roblox Engine

Bio: I’ve worked on game technology for the past decade in areas such as rendering, physics simulation, language runtimes, multithreading, and many others. After helping to ship many titles on PlayStation 3, including several FIFA games, I joined Roblox in 2012 and have been working on the in-house engine ever since, helping young game developers achieve their dreams.

10:20 AM - 11:05 AM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Team Up! Building and Coding Together in Studio 

Bio: I joined Roblox in late 2019 with over 17 years of technical and product experience. Before Roblox, I worked at Microsoft for 15 years working on various products from Visual Studio to Office suite. When I am not working, I enjoy training in martial arts and goofing around with my two little boys.

11:50 AM - 12:35 PM Saturday, July 25th

Talk Title: Full Speed Ahead: Tools for Powerful, Efficient Game Development

Bio: I’ve been working in product development for seven years. Prior to Roblox, I developed CAD software at Autodesk, built factory management software (and ran the factory!) at Shapeways, and designed jet engines at GE Aviation. Outside of work I love spending time with my family (especially my 1.5 year old son) and playing frustrating video games. I'm still working on a SL1 run through Dark Souls 3 (other two complete!).

12:40 PM - 1:25 PM Saturday, July 25th