Download the annotated .PDF slides (10mb).

Speaker/s: Soren Johnson (Game Developer Magazine), Ben Cousins (ngmoco Sweden), Matthias Worch (LucasArts), Tom Chick (Quarter to Three) and David Edery (Spry Fox)
Day / Time / Location: Friday 4:00- 5:00 Room 2003, West Hall, 2nd Fl
Track / Duration / Format / Audience Level: Game Design , Business and Marketing and Management / 60-Minute / Panel / All
GDC Vault Recording: Video Recorded
Description:

The free-to-play movement is here to stay and will touch every corner of the games industry. However, the format blurs the line between game design and game business, so that business decisions will become increasingly indistinguishable from design decisions. Free-to-play content must be fun enough to attract and retain players but not so much fun that no one feels the need to spend some money. Managing this tension makes free-to-play design extremely difficult, especially for traditional game designers who are used to simply making the best game possible. Our panelists will discuss this transition and best practices for building free-to-play games with soul.
Takeaway: Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the trade-offs inherent with free-to-play design and how to navigate them while maintaining a game’s core.
Intended Audience: This panel is targeted at anyone interested in the design and business of free-to-play games.
Eligible Passes:  All Access Pass, Main Conference Pass

Speaker/s: Coray Seifert (Slingo, Inc.), Ed Byrne (Imba), Neil Alphonso (Splash Damage), Jim Brown (Epic Games), Joel Burgess (Bethesda Game Studios), Seth Marinello (Visceral Games Redwood Shores) and Matthias Worch (LucasArts)
Day / Time / Location: Tuesday 10:00- 6:00 Room 2016, West Hall, 2nd Fl
Track / Duration / Format / Audience Level: Game Design , Production / Full-Day / Tutorial / All
GDC Vault Recording: No Vault Recording
Description:

In this intense day-long tutorial, attendees gain deep insights into the art of Level Design from an all-star cast of industry veterans. This year, everyone’s favorite Level Design tutors return with new topics, new formats, and new genres, plus acclaimed Dead Space level designer Seth Marinello! From the iterative process behind a production of Gears of War level, to the process of creating the most stirring moments of Dead Space, this tutorial reviews best practices and lessons learned from almost a century of collective level design experience on a vast array of contemporary and classic games. Topics of focus include documentation, pacing, environmental storytelling, balancing, player agency, narrative agency and others. This fun, high energy talk features portfolio deathmatches, talk show-style panel discussions, extended Q&A and a post-tutorial trip to the bar to wrap up the day with speakers and colleagues.

Agenda

10:00–10:15am- Level Design in a Day Introduction

Speaker: Coray Seifert

10:15–11:08am- Building a Universe Through Details

Speaker: Seth Marinello (Visceral Games Redwood Shores)
Seth Marinello details his experience helping bring the terrifying world of Dead Space alive through careful pacing and environmental storytelling. Pulling from numerous sources such as film, literature, and traditional games, Seth outlines how to create immersive spaces and craft memorable gameplay moments.

11:08am–12:00pm- Player Stories, Designer Stories and Narrative Agency

Speaker: Matthias Worch (LucasArts)
Whose story does a game tell? That of the player, the game character, or the designer? This lecture provides a comprehensive review of how games create narrative by structuring designer and player stories through level design. It also offers suggestions on how we create game stories don’t simply provide context for the player’s actions but integrate the gameplay and narrative layers of the game.

12:00–1:45pm- LUNCH SPECIAL! Portfolio Review for LD Newbies and Vets

Portfolio Review for LD Newbies and Vets
Design has always been one of the most competitive disciplines in game development when it comes to landing a position, and this of course rings true for level design. This talk will provide an arsenal of tips and tricks for everything from getting noticed initially to waiting for a response after an interview. Before this talk, we’ll send out a request for level design resumes/portfolios and put them head-to-head in brutal Portfolio Deathmatches. Two enter, one gets the job offer.

1:45–2:30pm- LIVE with Matthias Worch & The Level Devils

Speaker: Matthias Worch (LucasArts)
With bellies full of food and eyes full of sleep threatening focus levels, it’s time for an upbeat, entertaining romp through the lighter side of level design with our effervescent host Matthias Worch and his enigmatic group of ne’er do wells, the Level Devils. Audience members are invited to join the panel on-stage in a cable talk show format as we discuss audience topics from the first half of the tutorial, burning questions about the art and craft of level design, and the meaning of life in general.

2:30–3:30pm- Occam’s Level Designing Razor

Speaker: Joel Burgess (Bethesda Game Studios)
A study in “the least complicated solution is usually the best” with examples from game balance, layout and scripting. While inexperienced designers often implement tons of convoluted safeties and edge case handling edge cases, before the situation ever actually calls for it, the best solution is often the one that is simplest in nature.

3:30–4:00pm, 4:30–5:00pm- Level Design Documentation

Speakers: Ed Byrne (Imba) and Neil Alphonso (Splash Damage)
Generally looked upon as an unfavourable relic of old-school game development, documentation and sketching is a fundamental part of any design process. Using examples from his work on contemporary and classic games, Ed explains the reasons for understanding and using planning materials, how to go about creating them, and why sometimes the old ways are the best ways.

5:00–6:00pm- The Legacy of Fail

Speaker: Jim Brown (Epic Games)
Jim Brown describes his experience in learning from mistakes and the importance of iteration. Jim will take a shipped level from a recent Epic product and show it at each stage of development, tracking how and why it changed over time.
Takeaway: Level Design newcomers gain a solid foundation in the art and science of level design. Experienced level designers learn tips, tricks, and best practices from the best in the business. Non-Level Designers gain an intimate understanding of the level design process, becoming better equipped to collaborate with level design teams.
Intended Audience: Designers, writers, and scripters involved in the level or scenario creation process. Programmers, artists, team leads and testers interfacing with level design teams. Anyone interested in learning more about the art of crafting great moment-to-moment gameplay.
Eligible Passes:  All Access Pass, Summits & Tutorials Pass

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.

Download the annotated .PDF slides (3mb).

Speakers

• Coray Seifert, Senior Game Designer, Arkadium
• Neil Alphonso,Lead Designer, Splash Damage
• Matthias Worch, Senior Level Designer, Visceral Games
• Jim Brown, Lead Level Designer, Epic Games
• Joel Burgess, Senior Designer, Bethesda Softworks
• Forrest Dowling, Senior Designer, Irrational Games
• Ed Byrne, Creative Director, Zipper Interactive

Session Description
In this intense day-long tutorial, attendees will gain deep insights from some of the most experienced level designers in the industry, delving into every aspect of the level design process, from early concept and white-boxing to narrative design and level design metrics. This session brings back last-year’s highly-rated tutorial roster with an all-new line-up of best practices, lessons learned, interactive audience participation and case studies from Brink to Dead Space and Gears of War to Fallout 3.

Takeaway
Newcomers to the world of level design will gain a solid foundation in the art and science of level design while experienced level designers will come away from the talk with a bevy of tips, tricks, and best practices being used by the best level designers in the industry. Experienced producers, artists, and testers will gain an intimate understanding of the level design process, and will be better equipped to manage and collaborate with this essential part of the game development process.

Intended Audience
Level designers, mission designers, game designers, and scripters responsible for crafting moment-to-moment gameplay. Writers, level artists, and quality assurance professionals will come away from this talk better prepared to collaborate and contribute to the level creation process. All attendees should have a solid understanding of the level design process, as well as a basic familiarity with the tools of the trade.

Speaker/s: Matthias Worch (Visceral Games)
Day / Time / Location: TBD
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.
Eligible Passes: All Access Pass, Main Conference Pass