Insiders tell to GameSpot editors that the E3 Conference Program speaker's lounge will be the hottest ticket at this year's E3. That's where you'll find the likes Richard Garriott, Jordan Mechner, and Peter Molyneux relaxing over a cup of tea before their panel or interview.

　　The newly launched E3 site has an early list of http://www.e3expo.com/conference_programs/list_of_speakers/conference speakers and topics to be addressed at the upcoming event, which will be held May 11 to 13 in Los Angeles. The partial list of speakers includes Garriott, Mechner, and Molyneux, as well as Shiny Entertainment's Dave Perry, Insomniac Games' Ted Price, Linden Lab's Philip Rosedale, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka of BioWare, and Sony EyeToy creator Dr. Richard Marks.

　　BioWare's Greg Zeschuk told GameSpot today, "BioWare always participates in the E3 Conference sessions--we love discussing game development with a broad audience. We also learn a lot from our peers at the E3 sessions-- there are a number of great ideas and perspectives to explore!"

　　The E3 site also includes a near-complete http://www.e3expo.com/conference_programs/conference_at_a_glance/lineup of sessions. The full program will probe the current trends driving the growth in the console and computer game marketplace. Of particular interest are:

　　Accessing the Creative Mind: Three Case Studies in the Art and Craft of Game Design How do game designers grow an idea from fragment to design doc to playable code? What are the steps involved in building out one’s initial early thoughts about a game’s storyline and characters, and packaging them in to explanatory slides, storyboards, flowcharts, and PowerPoint? The process is incremental, methodical, and often taxing, but all games are the result of a designer slogging through these obligatory steps. This session will ask three designers to reflect on their own idea-growing process and recall the steps they took of overcome doubt, setbacks--even how they dealt with moment of success and progress--on the road to creating their own finished game.

　　Full-Spectrum Modder: The Modding Renaissance and Why it Matters There is no better example of the power of a modded game than the sales figures of Counter-Strike, an amateur Half-Life mod created in 1999 that has sold over a million copies and is currently the most widely played multiplayer game in existence. Since Counter-Strike, there has been an explosion in the number of games released with editing tools to facilitate gamer-created content). It’s official: Modding has spread from the hardcore fringes to near mass-market acceptance. What spawned the mod scene, who currently supports it, how has the industry benefited, how can modding create additional value for your game, and what copyright issues are relevant? This session will look at modding and its uses, why it should matter to developers and publishers, and how modding tools can be most intelligently created--to bring value to your game, establish lasting brand awareness, and prep the market for your game’s update or sequel.

　　Partnering With The Movie, Music And TV Industries: Profit from the New Level of Collaboration Getting “into the game” has never been viewed as more desirable then it is now by movie studios, its top-tier talent, bands, TV production companies, and music execs. From jointly-created brands and intellectual properties, to sharing assets (including talent), to using games to launch new products, never have the industries worked so closely to leverage each other’s strengths. This session will look at recent successes that came of this collaboration and inform attendees how the game industry can take advantage of its new standing among these related entertainment fields.

　　The complete program is posted on the http://www.e3expo.com/E3 site.