J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell team up for opening keynote at 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit

Newly announced Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams will join Valve co-founder Gabe Newell for the opening keynote discussion at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit next week. The industry heavyweights will hold a unique session titled "Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?" During the session, the pair will discuss how suspense, action, and emotion can be captured in video games.

"From TV to film and now award-winning mobile apps, there's no question that J.J. has his finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry, and we're thrilled to welcome him and our 2013 Hall of Fame inductee, Gabe Newell, to the D.I.C.E. stage," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. "J.J. thoughtfully weaves together suspense, action, emotion, and fun into every one of his projects – elements every game developer aspires to capture as well. Each year, the D.I.C.E. Summit sets the tone for the year ahead in games and adding J.J. and Gabe's shared insights is a natural fit as we see all forms of entertainment converge."

Abrams, who was recently announced as the director of the new Star Wars film, has also directed the recent Star Trek reboot as well as Super 8. In television, he's worked on the series Felicity and Lost and Fringe. Newell, of course, is famous for his tremendous work in the gaming industry.

Newell is most known as being the co-founder of Valve and the company's PC cloud service, Steam. The "Storytelling Across Platforms" session will be held on February 6, 2013. Newell is also holding a conference keynote on Feb. 7, titled "A View on

Next Steps", which will focus on where the industry is heading, as well as Valve's advances with Steam and Big Picture. He's also due to be induced into the 2013 AIAS Hall of Fame at the 16th annual DICE Awards on February 7th, 2013.