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Why Now Is the Best Time Ever to Be a Game Developer

Ingress: Design Principles Behind Google's Massively Multiplayer Geo Game

Playing with 'Game'

Gathering Your Party with Project Eternity (GDC Next 10)

D4: Dawn of the Dreaming Director's Drama (GDC Next 10)

Using Plot Devices to Create Gameplay in Storyteller (GDC Next 10)

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Making CounterSpy (GDC Next 10)

Luck and Skill in Games

Minimalist Game Design for Mobile Devices

Broken Age: Rethinking a Classic Genre for the Modern Era (GDC Next 10)


GDC 2011 Category

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No Explanation Necessary: Minimizing Exposition in Games
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SKU#: GDC11-12165
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Description: No Explanation Necessary: Minimizing Exposition in Games
SPEAKER/S: Jeremy Bernstein (Electric Entertainment)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 10:30-11:30 Room 130, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Production , Game Design / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Exposition is a critical component of a game's narrative experience, giving the player the background and context necessary to follow what's going on. But exposition can also suck. Hard. This talk examines why exposition is necessary, discusses why and how we tend to overdo it, and provides concrete techniques for minimizing and streamlining exposition so that it benefits the game instead of slowing it down. These approaches are not just writing-centric, but can also be applied at multiple levels and all stages of game production. Case studies involve Halo and Dead Space 2. Don't press 'A' to skip this one!
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will leave with a set of specific techniques to identify, streamline, and eliminate unnecessary exposition in game stories, applicable at every stage of production from the first background documents to the final dialogue polishes.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This talk is targeted at anyone involved in crafting a games story, be they level designers drafted into writing or Creative Directors responsible for world-building a new franchise. Even seasoned game writers should find some of the specific techniques useful.


Strategies for Firefighting Troubled Projects
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SKU#: GDC11-12164
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Description: Strategies for Firefighting Troubled Projects
SPEAKER/S: Adrian Hawkins (Kuju Entertainment Ltd.)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Friday 9:30-10:30 Room 132, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Production , Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Developing game projects creates lots of challenges - each game has its own risks and issues, but generally we get through them. However, some projects go more severely wrong.

What if the publisher drastically changes the scope? How do you cope if the team don't know how to submit for PlayStation 3? What happens when your producer quits with no replacement? Or your lead programmer goes? What steps do you take if the publisher is very unhappy with progress and won't engage with the project's own management?

This talk addresses all of these challenges and more, and offers real-life solutions.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will learn solutions to major production challenges they may face (both common and uncommon issues). They will also get to hear what didn't work, and where the received wisdom isn't necessarily the best solution for a project's woes. Attendees will hear warts-and-all information on what happened inside real projects.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This is aimed at junior to intermediate producers looking to add new techniques to their armoury, and management staff that are in a cross-project or cross-studio role. Project leads in other disciplines will also benefit.


Faulty Thinking: Becoming a Better Producer by Understanding Faults in Human Thought
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SKU#: GDC11-12161
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Description: Faulty Thinking: Becoming a Better Producer by Understanding Faults in Human Thought
SPEAKER/S: Chuck Hoover (Schell Games)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 1:30- 2:30 Room 130, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Production , Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: A common misconception is that a Producers role is based on the ability to schedule, budget, and manage tasks. However, the true measure of anyone in a leadership role is the ability to do one thing, interact with people. Join Chuck Hoover as we dive into common perception errors that we all make. These faults in human perception are the basis for a multitude of issues between team members, and can wreak havoc with a projects chances for success.

Understanding these fallacies can give you insight into issues on your project you can leverage to be a better producer, a better member of your team, and ultimately to make better games.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will leave this talk with a new appreciation for cognitive thought processes and how faults in thinking can manifest in everyday situations in our industry. They should also come away with a working understanding of the 10 cognitive biases that were reviewed and clear ways to leverage those once they return to their studios and projects.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: The target audience for this talk is producers and other developers in leadership positions that understand that dealing with other people is their core role at their studio. The topics will be presented in such a way that they cater to that audience, however since cognitive biases are a basic part of all of us, this talk should be applicable to anyone in the industry who has interested in psychology.


This Is Your Brain on Game Development
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SKU#: GDC11-12160
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Description: This Is Your Brain on Game Development
SPEAKER/S: Scott Crabtree (Intel Corporation)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 9:00-10:00 Room 132, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management , Production / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Grounded in respected scientific data, this talk gives you actionable steps to become smarter, more productive, and even happier doing game development. Brain science has made tremendous strides in recent decades, and we know now a lot more about how the brain worksand fails to work at its best. Come and learn:
What makes logical thinking more difficult
How memory worksand fails
How stress affects thinking and creativity
How happiness results in better workand how to be happier at work


Smart, happy productivity is no accident. It comes from better understanding your brain. That starts when you decide to attend this talk.
TAKEAWAY: How to hush your pre-frontal cortex to allow your own insights to emerge.
How to both teach and learn more effectively.
How to manage stress & negative emotions to allow maximum brain function.
How to become happierand therefore more creative, productive, and resilientat work.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Everyone can benefit from brain science. From programmers to artists, recent college graduates to executive producers, we can all learn to be smarter, happier, and more productive on the job. No previous knowledge is required.


Four Epic Legal Battles Coming to a Court Near You - Be Prepared: Gambling, Platforms, Privacy, and Destroying Worlds
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SKU#: GDC11-12159
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Description: Four Epic Legal Battles Coming to a Court Near You - Be Prepared: Gambling, Platforms, Privacy, and Destroying Worlds
SPEAKER/S: Vincent Scheurer (Sarassin LLP), Jim Charne (Law Offices James I Charne), Dr. Andreas Lober (SchulteRiesenkampff) and Olivier Oosterbaan (Create Law)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 10:30-11:30 Room 132, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management / Panel
DESCRIPTION: This session looks at four important legal issues that will affect your company:
With more money flowing in, gambling will be enforced and major games will have to be stopped.
The termination of an online game will become a liability because of consumer law and banking law, and you will need to provide for it.
Platform owners such as Facebook, or Apple will be challenged on dominance, both by regulators and private parties.
With privacy, you will have to comply with many more different national laws.

A legal panel of four international lawyers will take a practical look at these issues: describing why its a real threat to ignore them any longer, and how to deal with them.
TAKEAWAY: Learn what are and will be the most important issues in the areas of gambling law, the law around sun-setting (persistent) online games, the influence of anti-trust laws on platform operations, and the increase in privacy rules and enforcement.

Leave prepared for dealing with four important legal issues, determine priorities among them, and ask your legal counsel the right questions when taking them on.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: The intended audience are C-level executives at the following types of companies:
- Industry leaders that need to minimize legal risk;
- Established companies that need to effectively deal with regulatory barriers; and
- Companies that are looking to sell off an active games or the company itself and cant afford legal or regulatory hick-ups.


Identifying New Talent in Turbulent Times
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SKU#: GDC11-12157
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Description: Identifying New Talent in Turbulent Times
SPEAKER/S: Adam Russell (wallFour), John Sear (wallFour), Pete Hawley (CrowdStar), Ian Livingstone (Eidos) and Mark Morris (Introversion Software)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 1:30- 2:30 Room 3020, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management , Production / Panel
DESCRIPTION: This session offers a world-class panel debating one of the key questions facing our industry - how can we judge the future effectiveness of new talent in the context of today's turbulent market? Is experience of traditional large-scale production processes a reliable guide? If industry growth is largely coming from disruptive new business models and new design concepts, should those with big ideas avoid conventional wisdom? On the other hand, are today's hotheaded indie kids simply reinventing the wheel and relearning past lessons the hard way? Our experienced panel will provide a vibrant mix of opinions on these issues.
TAKEAWAY: This fast-paced session offers five motions of the house which our panelists will speak for or against. Attendees can critique panel statements using a live twitter feed, and can vote on each motion. Expect your views challenged by provocative counterarguments, and witness one of the key debates of our time.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This is a non-technical debate and would suit an audience as broad as our panel. Whether you are signing up projects, investing in startups, educating new developers, hiring studio staff or proudly going-it-alone as an indie, we invite your contributions to the debate and look forward to seeing you.


1-Hour Video Game MBA
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12156
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Description: 1-Hour Video Game MBA
SPEAKER/S: Charlie Cleveland (Unknown Worlds Entertainment)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 10:30-11:30 Room 303, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: After $40k+ and 1 to 2 years, a traditional MBA still might not provide you what you need to start and run a successful game company. Try this instead - a 1 hour stimulating and practical summary of over a dozen important books you most need to know about now.

Essential summaries of books like Built to Last, Blue Ocean Strategy, The Four Hour Workweek and over a dozen others will be presented quickly, without fluff and from the perspective of an experienced game developer.

This session will be presented with background music in a brisk but calm format.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will leave with many practical ideas and tools for building a new company and working more effectively. The talk is focused on making great strategic choices, being as effective as possible with limited resources and much more that should really be taught at business school.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: No prerequisites other than an open mind are required. Lecture is designed for anyone interested in business frameworks, self-development and new economic models.


Cash Flow for Keflings
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SKU#: GDC11-12155
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Description: Cash Flow for Keflings
SPEAKER/S: Lane Kiriyama (Wahoo Studios, Inc.)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Friday 2:35- 3:00 Room 3002, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: In todays economy, game studios small and large are struggling to create great titles while trying to pay the bills and keep the doors open. Managing cash and guiding its flow through your company has become a key skill needed by all game developers. This session will take you on a step-by-step journey on how to take control of your cash. Real industry examples and specific tools, including Wahoos cash management spreadsheet template, will be shared and discussed in detail, along with techniques for managing cash flow during times of crisis.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will learn the importance of managing cash flow and come away with the basic knowledge needed to proactively manage their financial situation. Attendees will be able to download a cash flow management spreadsheet that provides a simple, effective way to take control of their cash.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This session is geared to developers that deal with the business side of their studios and want to learn more about financial management. The principles apply to studios of all sizes and will be of particular benefit to owners of start-up and smaller companies.


Data Analysis on Player Behavior in EVE ONLINE
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SKU#: GDC11-12154
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Description: Data Analysis on Player Behavior in EVE ONLINE
SPEAKER/S: Eyjolfur Gudmundsson (CCP)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 4:30- 5:30 Room 3020, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management , Production / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: This lecture will showcase best practices and offer viable solutions based on real case studies from CCP's extensive data analysis experience with EVE ONLINE. Highlights include exploration into CCP's Unholy Rage project, an initiative to combat real money trading, how data mining is used to discover and address exploits, and why we feel it's important to communicate detailed data analysis findings to our player base. A special focus will be on our use of quick turnaround data analysis in agile development processes and how to create a cost effective data analysis structure that specifically tailored to the needs of a video game company. Finally the importance of data logging will be discussed and why more focus should be put into logging behavioral data.
TAKEAWAY: The main takeaway is how gaming companies can develop a cost effective data warehousing and analysis solution and why they should do so. Utilized to its fullest potential, effective data mining can lead to actionable gain for players and publishers alike and this lecture will showcase what best practices CCP uses, how other gaming companies can emulate those practices and reasons why they should.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: The lecture has a broad subject matter that is of interest to business executives, game developers, producers as well as software engineers.


Tracking Player Engagement and Radically Improving Monetization
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SKU#: GDC11-12153
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Description: Tracking Player Engagement and Radically Improving Monetization
SPEAKER/S: John Shedletsky (ROBLOX)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 3:00- 4:00 Room 130, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: The traditional methodology for evaluating the efficacy of monetization in a virtual world or social game makes the tacit assumption that player spending follows a bell curve centered on an average paying user. In reality, this average user doesnt exist. Rather, revenue follows a power law distribution relative to player engagement: the top 20% most engaged users end up generating 80% of revenue. At ROBLOX, our monetization strategy has focused on these MVPs, resulting in a more than 400% efficiency gain in the past two years. In this talk we will share specific numbers and attempt to generalize our lessons learned.
TAKEAWAY: Engagement drives revenue. If you quantify it, it has very powerful predictive power. This session will demonstrate with hard numbers that the best way to improve monetization in your game is to get your most engaged players to be even more engaged. We have some targeted suggestions for where to start.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This talk is intended for people are interested in learning about monetization of virtual worlds and social games. It is most relevant to games that either sell virtual currency, a premium subscription service, or both. Prior experience is not necessary, but helpful. There will be minimal rehash of basic concepts.


Five Cheats for Understanding Game Metrics
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SKU#: GDC11-12151
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Description: Five Cheats for Understanding Game Metrics
SPEAKER/S: Lauren Bigelow (WeeWorld)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 3:00- 4:00 Room 3020, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Business and Management / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Reams of data are collected in a freemium social game pair that with free tools like Google Analytics and you have a tsunami of data to interpret. What's scarce is people with the ability to understand and extract value from it all. Get ahead of this data revolution and nurture your inner metrics geek. This session will help you with 5 key metrics concepts ranging from simple to advanced to help you better understand social game measurement. Through visuals, real life examples and hands on demonstrations you'll be primed and ready to take on your game data.
TAKEAWAY: Youll learn how to avoid common pitfalls interpreting social game metrics, the nuances of engagement metrics, how to set tripwires to take action when user behavior changes, and ways to classify the users in your game including how to calculate their value and 6 approaches to identifying the most valuable players.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Anyone interested in understanding more about how to use metrics to gain actionable insights to help manage a social game. Basic knowledge of web analytics is helpful but not required.


The Identity Bubble - A Design Approach to Character and Story Development
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12150
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Description: The Identity Bubble - A Design Approach to Character and Story Development
SPEAKER/S: Matthias Worch (LucasArts)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Friday 9:30-10:30 Room 304, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Who is the actor in a game? Is it the person holding the controller in the real world, or the player-character who moves through the game-world? The answer is Both, and the game designer must work carefully to keep the interests of these two consciousnesses aligned. This session presents a design approach for reconciling developer-defined and player-derived character identities. Games often feature strong pre-authored characters and story arcs, while trying to give the player the feeling of uninhibited agency. The practical techniques presented here show how to design stories that dont simply provide a context for the players actions, but instead create impulses and motivations within the player that are in alignment with those of the avatar. Player and avatar float along in unison inside an identity bubble, working towards a common goal.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees understand how games establish a high level of character identification, and they acquire techniques that can be used to achieve similar results. Writers (and developers working with external writers) gain insight into the design and identity concepts that should guide the development of character, story and mission objectives in games.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Game designers, writers and developers working with external writers.


Life and Death and Middle Pair: Go, Poker and the Sublime
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12148
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Description: Life and Death and Middle Pair: Go, Poker and the Sublime
SPEAKER/S: Frank Lantz (Area/Code/Zynga)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 1:30- 2:30 Room 303, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: This session is an in-depth exploration of two important games, Go, the ancient abstract strategy game, and Poker, the gambling card game. Go and Poker are epic, world-changing games, they have spanned generations, and absorbed entire lifetimes of passionate study and play. They change how we see the world and have affected the course of human history. Mixing personal experience, historical exposition, technical analysis, and philosophical reflection, this talk will seek to understand how a handful of black and white stones and a deck of cards can demonstrate the immense scope and sublime power of games.
TAKEAWAY: Games may well become the most important cultural form of the 21st century. How will they rise to that challenge? One approach starts by considering how these two simple games open up windows onto complex and important aspects of human thought and the universe it is a part of.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Everyone.


Prototype Through Production: Pro Guitar in ROCK BAND 3
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SKU#: GDC11-12147
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Description: Prototype Through Production: Pro Guitar in ROCK BAND 3
SPEAKER/S: Jason Booth (Harmonix Music Systems) and Sylvain Dubrofsky (Harmonix Music Systems)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 1:30- 2:30 Room 134, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design , Production / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: How do you go from an insane idea like Let's teach non-guitarists how to play a real guitar in ROCK BAND 3 to a genre changing product in 20 months? We will detail the process used to rapidly prototype this concept and evaluate ideas, through initial prototypes to user testing and final production. We will discuss our need to re-invent music notation for guitar, and how we applied traditional game-play metaphors and techniques to the process of teaching. We will also detail the complex interdependencies created by designing and manufacturing your own hardware, which is both freeing and terrifying at the same time. The Pro-Guitar mode in ROCK BAND 3 ended up going far beyond our original goals, and we will explore how pushing past those goals exposed inherent limitations in our model.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will see a history of the Pro Guitar feature from its initial design to the modifier checked in on the very last day. This will be of particular interest to attendees working within a strike-team / cabal / scrum structure. Examples will include video of early prototypes, art mockups, team makeup, and snapshots of the game and hardware during development. Along the way general lessons we learned that are applicable to general game development will be highlighted.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Designers, programmers, and producers interested in the process of taking a idea from concept through production. No prerequisite knowledge is required for this session.


15 Games in 15 Years
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12146
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Description: 15 Games in 15 Years
SPEAKER/S: Stone Librande (EA/Maxis)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Friday 9:30-10:30 Room 135, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Over the past 15 years, Stone has been designing card and board games to entertain his children as they grew from age 3 to age 18. During this session he shows 15 of those games and describes how his design techniques have evolved over time, as he went from making simple color matching games to tactical battle simulations. Along the way he talks about the lessons he has learned and how his children have shaped his personal design philosophy. He invites you to create your own games for your family and friends and shares many tips that will help get you started.
TAKEAWAY: You do not need a large team, a pile of cash, or the latest hardware and software to create a game. All you need is inspiration, time, and a few close friends. By crafting small personal games, free from the constraints and compromises normally associated with the video game industry, you will grow as a designer.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This talk is primarily intended for designers who have an interest in exploring the art and craft of game design. It will be of special interest to parents of young children, students attempting to get into the game industry, and anyone who has ever wanted to make a card or board game of their own.


Keep it Together: Encouraging Cooperative Behavior During Co- op Play
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SKU#: GDC11-12145
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Description: Keep it Together: Encouraging Cooperative Behavior During Co-op Play
SPEAKER/S: Patrick Redding (Ubisoft Toronto)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 9:00-10:00 Room 303, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Cooperative games pose a unique challenge for designers. How do they deliver coherent, meaningful play while permitting two or more players to take independent action in the same space? Ubisoft game director Patrick Redding (Splinter Cell: Conviction) reviews a range of practical tools for encouraging co-op players to work together.

Drawing on a variety of recent games, including the lessons of Convictions own co-op campaign, he looks at how players seek out meaningful cooperation as a basis for social interaction. Redding examines level design, game dynamics, presentation and feedback, communication and metagame strategies for enabling collective action.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will learn how to structure co-operative gameplay in an intentional way. They will better understand how to plan the progression of challenges and ingredients to create pacing and variety for a number of simultaneous players and play styles. Theyll gain insight into why particular mechanics tend to unite or disperse co-op players, and into the relative merits of giving positive vs negative feeback in response to how effectively players are cooperating.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This presentation will primarily be of interest to game and level designers presently involved in the development of cooperative game titles, and potentially anyone interested in how the mechanics of an existing single-player game might be adapted for co-op play.


The Secret (Art) History of Games
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SKU#: GDC11-12144
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Description: The Secret (Art) History of Games
SPEAKER/S: John Sharp (Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 1:30- 2:30 Room 304, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design , Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: What connects Renaissance parlor games, 18th century French swing sets, Go, Spacewar!, pinball, Chess and Wolfenstein 3D? This session looks at the often obscured connections and relationships between art and games as forms of expression and experience, and the ways the two reflect something substantial about their time and place. Sometimes, games were praised, and other times, they were despised. But in all cases, a common thread is the degree to which the games were woven into the culture.
TAKEAWAY: Game developers will leave with new perspectives on the ways games have been perceived and the places they have held in culture. Attendees will also leave with a better understand the ways in which time, place and the practices of play come together to meaningfully effect players.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This session is for developers looking to better understand the role games have played in the arts and in culture as a whole and the ways our current approach to games pushes against the role of games in the past differs from those of the past.


(Japanese Version) PS3 & Xbox360 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 Exploring the 'Other Side' of Super Anime-like Visual Elements
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12138JP
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Description: PS3 & Xbox360 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 Exploring the 'Other Side' of Super Anime-like Visual Elements
SPEAKER/S: Hiroshi Matsuyama (Cyber Connect 2) and Isao Takeshita (Cyberconnect)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 3:00- 4:00 Room 135, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Introducing the visual advances behindNARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2.

Artwork, and the techniques used to update STORM 1's super anime-like CG style:
1) Characters (models, facial movement, motion animation)
2) Background art (background art models & textures, CyberConnect2's 'artistic field')
3) Effects (shaders, particle animation, skill editor)
4) Visual output (anime-like visual exaggerations, scenes for NARUTO fan service)
TAKEAWAY: - Learn about the development environment and techniques required to produce super anime-like visual video games
- Learn about the artwork and workflow involved in super anime-like visuals
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Model developers, Animation developers, Background developers, Effect developers, Visual developers, Action game developers


Seven Ways a Video Game Can Be Moral
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12142
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Description: Seven Ways a Video Game Can Be Moral
SPEAKER/S: Richard Rouse III (Ubisoft Montreal)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 3:00- 4:00 Room 3007, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Game Design , Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: What does it mean for a story to be moral? Many developers see the honest exploration of morality as part of the great potential of video games. Though games such as Ultima IV, Fallout 3, Alpha Centauri and The Sims have dipped their toes into moral waters, other media have been exploring morality for centuries and have done so much more effectively than games. This fast-paced follow-up to the popular GDC 2010 talk, Five Ways a Video Game Can Make You Cry, examines moral storytelling from a variety of mediums to see what structures and techniques have worked. We then look at how these techniques can be transformed to work with gameplay, using interactivity to deliver moral storytelling in an entirely new way.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how stories have dealt with morality in movies, books, and other fiction over the years. Examples from The Twilight Zone to The Wire reveal how a work can be highly entertaining but also leave audiences thinking about real-world issues. We'll discuss seven specific ways that moral storytelling works and how these methods can be adapted and applied to games.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This session is suggested for game designers, writers and creative folks of all shapes and sizes who want to explore morality with their games. It assumes a solid understanding of game and story design principles and a desire to plunge deep into moral quagmires.


(English Version) PS3 & Xbox360 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 Exploring the 'Other Side' of Super Anime-like Visual Elements
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12138EN
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Description: PS3 & Xbox360 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 Exploring the 'Other Side' of Super Anime-like Visual Elements
SPEAKER/S: Hiroshi Matsuyama (Cyber Connect 2) and Isao Takeshita (Cyberconnect)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 3:00- 4:00 Room 135, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Introducing the visual advances behindNARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2.

Artwork, and the techniques used to update STORM 1's super anime-like CG style:
1) Characters (models, facial movement, motion animation)
2) Background art (background art models & textures, CyberConnect2's 'artistic field')
3) Effects (shaders, particle animation, skill editor)
4) Visual output (anime-like visual exaggerations, scenes for NARUTO fan service)
TAKEAWAY: - Learn about the development environment and techniques required to produce super anime-like visual video games
- Learn about the artwork and workflow involved in super anime-like visuals
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Model developers, Animation developers, Background developers, Effect developers, Visual developers, Action game developers


Ultimate Customization in Character Creation - Challenges and Innovations
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12137
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Description: Ultimate Customization in Character Creation - Challenges and Innovations
SPEAKER/S: Brad Stokan (Cryptic Studios)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 4:30- 5:30 Room 132, North Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts , Production / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Cryptic Studios is known for its outstanding character creation systems, offering unparalleled depth and variety in options and customization.

This talk will examine what we did right and what went wrong while developing two complex character creation systems for our recent titles CHAMPIONS ONLINE and STAR TREK ONLINE.

We'll examine the systems from both the player and developer perspectives, and explore examples of the challenges we faced and the solutions we developed. Both artistic and technical issues will be addressed.
TAKEAWAY: The key takeaway should be an increased understanding of how to build and balance a deep and complex character creator. Attendees will pick up new tips, learn what to avoid, and engage in some critical thinking about what players want and value in today's online market.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: The target audience for this talk includes artists, UI designers and producers who are interested in learning about building character creation systems. No technical knowledge is required. While details of our tools and editor will be covered, we will also cover broader issues of user experience, flow, and presentation.


Beyond Horror: Art Directing DEAD SPACE 2
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12136
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Description: Beyond Horror: Art Directing DEAD SPACE 2
SPEAKER/S: Ian Milham (Electronic Arts Redwood Shores)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 3:00- 4:00 Room 303, South Hall
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Art directors and game artists today are faced with an every more hit-driven market, where big budgets demand mass appeal. In this lecture, Ian Milham, Art Director on the DEAD SPACE franchise, will illustrate how the franchise's art was evolved to deliver broader appeal and higher production values, and address the lessons learned from the first title.
TAKEAWAY: Pitfalls and lessons learned delivering on a big budget sequel in a more hit driven market. Beyo
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Current and future art directors, artists, or anyone interested in large scale game art productions. Working knowledge of current game art techniques is helpful but not necessary.


Fast and Efficient Facial Rigging in GEARS OF WAR 3
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12135
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Description: Fast and Efficient Facial Rigging in GEARS OF WAR 3
SPEAKER/S: Jeremy Ernst (Epic Games)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 10:30-11:30 Room 3007, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Jeremy Ernst, character rigger at Epic Games Inc, goes over the facial rigging pipeline used in GEARS OF WAR 3 that was used to create high quality facial rigs quickly. He will cover each technical aspect in depth, so that any attendee, regardless of software preference, will be able to learn these methods.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will learn the methods used to create high quality facial rigs that can be shared between all characters, as well a deep understanding of the mechanics and methods to get to that point. They will also learn how to make a very efficient facial rigging pipeline that will save them time in a production environment.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Character riggers and technical animators of all levels are welcome to come. Regardless of what your software preference is, we will go deep into the theory and methods so that they will be able to apply these techniques in whichever package they prefer.


Power Python Development for Maya
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12134
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Description: Power Python Development for Maya
SPEAKER/S: Jason Parks (Sony Online Entertainment)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Thursday 9:00-10:00 Room 3002, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts , Programming / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: Python is the language of choice for nearly all Digital Content Creation apps today. With the additions that PyMEL now add to Maya, Autodesk has revolutionized the Tech-Artist's ability to quickly write tools to speed up and optimize all production workflows. Come learn some of the key features that Python and PyMEL have to offer as well as how some professional Integrated Development Environments can change the way you write tools and increase the production speed of all your art pipelines.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will be given many examples of how Python can help them code much faster and in much more versatile a fashion then the old Maya Embedded Language. They'll see how Python will naturally lead to Object Oriented Programming. They'll learn the importance of upgrading to the newly endorsed PyMEL package to fully take advantage of Maya's Python power. Finally, they'll see some of the speed-enhancing features of using Eclipse with PyDev and WingIDE's real-time debugging.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: This talk is targeted directly at the up-and-coming technical artist. Tech artists are required to script and write tools, yet most of us are self taught and many languish in basic text editors hacking away at some other simple scripting language. I hope to give the final argument to my fellow T.A.s and ask them to take their teams' needs seriously and start using professional tools. The ideal attendee has been scripting in MEL for years and has dabbled in Python or PyMEL.


Cinematic Character Lighting in STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC
Price:$3.95

SKU#: GDC11-12133
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Description: Cinematic Character Lighting in STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC
SPEAKER/S: Ben Cloward (Bioware) and Aaron Otstott (Bioware)
DAY / TIME / LOCATION: Wednesday 1:30- 2:30 Room 3002, West Hall 3rd Fl.
TRACK / FORMAT: Visual Arts , Programming / Lecture
DESCRIPTION: In developing a system for character lighting in STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC, the team at Bioware faced several unique challenges. First, the lighting needed to support the game's unique visual style. Second, it needed to give emphasis to the characters and separate them from the background. Finally, the system needed to provide an automatic way to achieve quality lighting for the enormous number of cinematics. These goals were achieved by introducing several key elements to the lighting system. This talk will discuss these elements, and show how they work together to create cinematic quality character lighting.
TAKEAWAY: Attendees will get an in-depth look at the system developed for character lighting in STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC. The talk will cover non-traditional lighting methods used to achieve the painterly visual style, the automation of cinematic quality lighting, and lessons learned along the way.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Technical artists and graphics programmers will receive a high level discussion of lighting and shader techniques. While some specific programming techniques will be discussed, the talk with include illustrations that make technical concepts clear to non-technical developers. Character and environment artists are also encouraged to attend.



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