GN! Hall of Records
Meet our keynote speakers from past GN! programs. Click on any profile to watch their full recorded talk and dive into their industry insights!
Speakers 2025-2026
Miro Vesterinen
Head of Environment Art, Remedy Entertainment
Bridging Cinema & Game Environments
Sami Arola
Technical Director, Fireframe
Creative Crossroads – Games, Film & the Evolution of Story Tools
Olli Raudus
CEO, All Hats
How Roblox Works – Lessons for Game Developers
Teemu Haila
Co-founder, CPO, Metaplay
The Four Pillars of Scaling a Live Service Game
Tatu Petersen-Jessen
CEO & Co-founder of Odd Latent
Panel: Imagining the Future of Games with Generative AI
Roope Rainisto
Creative AI Lead, Supercell
Panel: Imagining the Future of Games with Generative AI
Hanna Toivonen
CEO, Starstuff
Panel: Imagining the Future of Games with Generative AI
Lauri Lukka
Chief Psychology Officer, Co-Founder, Soihtu DTx
Back in the Game – Using a Video Game to Treat Depression
Laura Piispanen
Researcher, Aalto University
Quantum games – Definition and Development Practices
Eero Lahtinen
Indie Developer, System Erasure
System Erasure’s Divine Comedy – How Simply Making Games Becomes Something Serious
Antti Ukkola
Indie Developer, System Erasure
System Erasure’s Divine Comedy – How Simply Making Games Becomes Something Serious
Begüm Dogan
Founder & Marketing Witch at Hexen
Indie Game Marketing Spellbook – Bewitching Trends of 2025
Iiro Peltonen
Film & TV Professional, Game Designer
What Can Game Developers Learn from the Film Industry?
Bardia Eghbali
Game Developer, Broken Cane
The Walls are on the Floor – the Technical Art of Aris Arcanum
Diandra Kathyusha Herli
Game Designer, Developer
Designing for the Body – The Future of Immersive Game Interaction
Hiski Huovila
Game Designer, TTRPG Writer
Digital Dungeon Design – Learning from the Tabletop Tradition
Arya Rakha
Technical Designer
Machinations – Introduction to Simulating Game Economies
Heidi Abdolvahabi
Game Artist
Taming the Dragon – The Journey of Utilising PCG in a Game Artist’s Workflow
Speakers 2024-2025
Erwin Kho
Art Director & Art Lead, Geometric Interactive
From Low-poly Islands to Orbs: Developing the Visual Style of COCOON
Markus Kiukkonen
COO & Co-founder, Bitmagic
Bitmagic – AI Native Game Platform
Veli-Matti Karhulahti
Game researcher, University of Jyväskylä
State of Gaming Disorder
Minkyung Song
Coach and L&D Professional, Supercell
Coaching for Growth: Embracing Change and Self-Discovery
Antti Leinonen
CEO & Founder, Road to Vostok
The Hidden Potential of FOSS Game Engines
Noora Archer
VR-developer at Spaceship EAC & Trainee at Exploration Preparation, Research and Technology Team,
European Space Agency Immersive Technologies for Space Exploration: Imagine Possibilities, Prepare Better, and Solve Challenges
Anna Laamanen
Digital Producer, Finnish National Gallery
Art Heist: Breaking into Digital Spaces with Finnish National Gallery
Jasmin Dahncke
Lead UX Designer, Mainframe Industries
Beyond Sight: Designing Open World Traversal for Blind Gamers
Laura Kröger
Lead producer and Narrative designer of Odysseus 2024, Illusia Ry
Creating Immersive Experiences – Odysseus 2024 larp
Abhishek Jaiswal
Game Designer & Developer, Valo Motion
Seeing is Believing – Exergaming with Screens
Solip Park
Postdoc researcher & lecturer at Aalto University and the University of Jyväskylä
Experiences of Game Expats in Finland
Samuli Jääskeläinen
Senior software engineer, Varjo
Many Perspectives of VR
Sebastian Möring
Professor of Game Design, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences
Frame the Game – Approaching Photographic Practices in Computer Games
Speakers 2023-2024
Sam Lake
Creative Director, Remedy Entertainment
Fireside Chat on Alan Wake II
Nathalie Pozzi
Principal, Nakworks
Samples, Prototypes, and Storage Rooms: Things We Liked and Learned
Eric Zimmerman
Game designer & Arts Professor, NYU Game Center
Samples, Prototypes, and Storage Rooms: Things We Liked and Learned
Henri Forsström
Lead Artist, HypeHype
Boosting Game Art and UGC Makers with HypeHype
Casey O’Donnell
Associate Professor; Game Maker, Michigan State University; Affinity Games; Tampere University
Why Studying Game Making Matters
Taina Myöhänen
Doctoral Researcher, Tampere University
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the (Finnish) Game Industry
Kati Heljakka
Researcher, University of Turku
Toys, Media, and Machines — What are we playing with?
Petteri Timonen
Senior Algorithm Engineer, Apple
Modern Games on Vintage Oscilloscopes
Jordan Magnuson
Independent Game Maker and Scholar
Videogames Are Poems
Heidi Rautalahti
ThD, Postdoc, Aalto University
Making “Runo” – Journey from History Lessons to Emotional Work
Usva Friman
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tampere University
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Esports
Chris Hong
Game Developer at Metacore & Entrepreneur
Automating LiveOps System
Jussi Autio
Creative Director, Resistance Games
Giving Birth to Saudi Arabian Game Companies
Jussi Kemppainen
Designer, Dinosaurs are Better
Generative AI in Game Development
Max Wikström
Lead Designer, Toad Kings
Agemonia
Mike Pohjola
Writer and designer
Agemonia
Arvi Teikari
CEO, Hempuli
Baba is You: What Now?
Speakers 2022-2023
Adam Le Doux
Founder of Bitsy
Building Bitsy – A Little Engine for Little Games, Worlds, and Stories
Jarno “Killi” Kallunki-Mättö
CMO, HypeHype
The Future of Game Making and Playing is Mobile
Henri Forsström
Artist, HypeHype
HypeHype – The Future of Game Making and Playing is Mobile
Perttu (Borb) Tuovinen
Indie Game Developer, EMUUROM
EMUUROM: Using a Fantasy Console for Serious Gamedev
Pavla Oubret
Narrative Designer
Writing a Musical for Game Boy
Thorsten S. Wiedemann
Founder & Artistic Director, A MAZE.
The New Wave. From Indie to Arthouse Games
Charlene Putney
Writer, Baldur’s Gate 3
Brave New Word: Co-Writing With Artificial Intelligence
Harold Hejazi
Artist & Performer
Adventures in Live Art Game Research
Kate Compton
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Northwestern University
Liquid Art: Machine Learning Art for Exploration and Interactivity
Wanda O Rly
Co-founder & COO, Psyon Games
From Vaccine Awareness to ADHD – Recipes for Applied Games
Jani Kahrama
CEO, Secret Exit
Pelimetsä – Protecting Biodiversity with Game Studios
Oleksandr Sienin
Lead Game Designer, Starni Games
Ukraine War Stories – Developing a Game about the War around Us
Tipi Ilmonen
Creative Director & Co-Founder, Punnu Games
Hidden Impact Messages of Punnu’s Game World
Seth Cooper
Associate Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University
Crowdsourcing with Video Games
Annakaisa Kultima
Game Researcher & Lecturer, Aalto University
GN! Future Barometer 2023
Christian Guckelsberger
Professor in Creative Technologies at Aalto University
Text-To-Image-Generation AI in the Game Industry
Leena Kuusniemi
Technology lawyer & MD, ICT Legal Consulting of Finland
Survival Game in the Data Regulation Jungle
Teppo Soininen
Game Lead at Metacore Games
Audience Research at Metacore
Agata Waszkiewicz
Game Researcher
The Aesthetic of Cozy Games
Kim Soares
Founder & CEO, Social First
In-game Item Trading: New Multi-billion Market in Games