CEO Jesse Schell and Principal Designer Shawn Patton both gave talks at the 2018 Game Developers Conference. Their talks are now available online.

Jesse Schell- 'The Nature of Order in Game Narrative'

Description:

One of the fondest hopes of any game writer is to create an interactive story experience that stays; something that people will want to play over and over, and love so much that they will pass it on to their children. How can you create something that persistent? Architect Christopher Alexander defined fifteen patterns which characterize all persistent entities in the universe. These patterns are present in everything that stays: atoms, molecules, electricity, star systems, tools, buildings, and all living things. Is your game narrative supported by the fundamentals of the universe? Come find out.

Shawn Patton- 'Playtesting VR: Brownboxing, Spycams, and Fuzzy Rugs'

Description:

A new medium like VR calls for new tips and tricks for making the best experience on schedule and under budget. Learn how rapid VR physical prototyping, or brown-boxing, can get your team testing better experiences faster. From 3 DoF to 6 DoF to 6.3 DoF, this lecture covers aspects of software, hardware, sanitation, testing locations, what data to record before, during, and after a playtest, and how to use that data efficiently. As Design Director on the VR title 'I Expect You to Die', Project Director on the Vive title 'Water Bears VR', and consultant on Gear and Daydream titles, speaker Shawn Patton has seen it all and his talk will give you the tools you need to rapidly iterate on what's important, have great playtests, get easily usable data, and make great VR games.