View, browse and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by day, pass type, topic, and format. With this Session Viewer, you can view GDC 2023 session details and speakers, and share your favorites via social media. You will be able to build your schedule and access it during the show via export or Mobile App, once live. Sessions do fill up and seating is first come, first serve, so arrive early to sessions that you would like to attend.
Animation Summit: Animation in 'God of War: Ragnarök'
Summit Speakers: Bruno Velazquez (Santa Monica Studio), David Gibson (Santa Monica Studio), Mehdi Yssef (Santa Monica Studio), Erica Pinto (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Panel
Advanced Graphics Summit: Reinventing the Wheel for Snow Rendering
Summit Speaker: Paolo Surricchio (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 301, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Programming
Format: Lecture
UX Summit: Playtesting god of war Ragnarök Accessibility Options
Speaker: Sue Pacete (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Location: Room 2001, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Animation Summit: The Tricks of the Trade
Summit Speakers: Maebe Sewell (Naughty Dog), Sabrina Phillips (Naughty Dog), Estelle Tigani (Independent), Eléna Tchijakoff (BioWare), Mike Jungbluth (Compulsion Games), Frank Gordon (Bioware), Alejandro (Ali) Potter (Respawn Entertainment)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Lecture
Animation Summit: GDC Animation Microtalks
Summit Speakers: Brandon Nason (Blizzard Entertainment), Ryan Duffin (Undead Labs/Microsoft), Emily Katske (Bungie), Daanish Syed (Respawn Entertainment), Euna Park (That's No Moon), Josiah Haworth (Riot Games), Haydn Cooper (Respawn Entertainment), John Paul Rhinemiller (Blizzard Entertainment), Brian Venisky (Rockstar), Simon Unger (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Panel
Machine Learning Summit: Real-Time Neural Texture Upsampling in 'God of War Ragnarök'
Summit Speaker: Xuanyi Zhou (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2010, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Programming
Format: Lecture
Art Direction Summit: The Art of Making Vistas
Summit Speaker: Ethan Ayer (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 301, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Lecture
Visual Effects Roundtable Day 1: General
Speakers: Jason Keyser (VFX Apprentice LLC), Keith Guerrette (Beyond-FX, Inc & RealtimeVFX.com, LLC)
Location: Room 306, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Roundtable
PlayStation Indies-Innovation and Creative Processes (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Sponsor Speakers: Shuhei Yoshida (Sony Interactive Entertainment), Phil Crifo (Awaceb), Alyssa Askew (Ironwood Studios), Grace Bruxner (Worm Club), Oliver Lewin (GoodbyeWorld Games)
Location: Room 2020, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Sponsored Session
Preparing AI Systems for 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Göksu Uğur (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Programming
Format: Lecture
The Final Battle of 'God of War Ragnarök': Techniques for Delivering High-Stakes Sequences
Speaker: Victoria Smith (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design, Production & Team Leadership
Format: Lecture
Moderator: Garry Schyman (Garry Schyman Productions)
Chairperson: Brian Schmidt (GameSoundCon)
Speakers: Wilbert Roget (Independent), Jason Graves (Independent), Paul Lipson (Formosa Group), Jason C Hayes (Imagendary Studios)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Audio Pass
Topic: Audio
Format: Panel
'God of War Ragnarök': Designing AAA Low Vision Game Accessibility
Speaker: Mila Pavlin (Monolith Productions)
Location: Room 2005, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Sponsor Speaker: Eric Gottesman (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: GDC Partner Stage, Expo Floor, North Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Production & Team Leadership
Format: Sponsored Session
Speakers: Cami Smith (ggLocators.com), Alejandro Rodriquez (Independent), Iris Moon (ggLocators.com), Niccole Minka (Crystal Dynamics), Keith Guerrette (Beyond-FX), Josh Huang (Obsidian)
Location: Room 2016, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Independent Games Summit Pass
Topic: Game Career Development
Format: Panel
Rendering 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Stephen McAuley (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Production & Team Leadership, Programming
Format: Lecture
Speakers: Euna Park (That's No Moon), Juno Suever (Naughty Dog)
Location: Room 312, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Roundtable
'God of War Ragnarök's' Visual Scripting Solution
Speaker: Sam Sternklar (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2006, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Programming
Format: Lecture
Thirty Years Later: Scoring 'Return to Monkey Island'
Speakers: Clint Bajakian (Clint Bajakian Music), Michael Land (Little Big Note Music), Peter McConnell (Little Big Note Music)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Audio Pass
Topic: Audio
Format: Panel
Speaker: Winifred Phillips (Generations Productions LLC)
Location: Room 3002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Audio Pass
Topic: Audio
Format: Lecture
Breaking Barriers: Combat Accessibility in 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Adam Oliver (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Practical Tools for Transitioning Into Leadership Roles
Speaker: Göksu Uğur (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Production & Team Leadership
Format: Lecture
'God of War Ragnarök': Building the UI for a AAA Sequel
Speaker: Zach Bohn (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 303, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design, Visual Arts
Format: Lecture
Speakers: Euna Park (That's No Moon), Juno Suever (Naughty Dog)
Location: Room 308, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Roundtable
Visual Effects Roundtable Day 3: Technical Lens
Speaker: Keith Guerrette (Beyond-FX)
Location: Room 314, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Roundtable
Companion Traversal in 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Salaar Kohari (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2002, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design, Programming
Format: Lecture
The Character Rendering Art of 'The Callisto Protocol'
Speakers: Jorge Jimenez (Striking Distance Studios), Glauco Longhi (Striking Distance Studios), Martin Contel (Striking Distance Studios Spain)
Location: Room 2005, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Programming, Visual Arts
Format: Lecture
Speakers: Euna Park (That's No Moon), Juno Suever (Naughty Dog)
Location: Room 306, South Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Visual Arts
Format: Roundtable
Joint-Based Skin Deformation in 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Tenghao Wang (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2006, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Programming, Visual Arts
Format: Lecture
How to Build a Home: Designing Narrative for Sindri's House in 'God of War Ragnarök'
Speaker: Harleigh Awner (Santa Monica Studio)
Location: Room 2001, West Hall
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Title: Music Composer, Producer & Educator
Company: Clint Bajakian Music
Clint Bajakian is a composer, producer, and educator of video game music with credits on over 200 titles since 1991. Recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Audio Network Guild, Bajakian has been dedicated to the advancement of video game audio and advocacy for its professionals, innovating adaptive scoring methods in workflow, project management, team leadership, and education. In 2012, Square Enix bestowed Bajakian an Award for Special Achievement, recognizing him as “one of driving forces in evolution of VG music.” In the following year Bajakian received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the New England Conservatory of Music. From 2004-2013, he led the music production team at Sony PlayStation, supervising soundtracks with leading orchestras throughout the world, including God of War and Uncharted franchises. From 2000-2004, Bajakian managed his own company Bay Area Sound, producing the original score for LucasArts’ Indiana Jones and The Emperor’s Tomb receiving G.A.N.G.’s Music of the Year. Throughout the 90s, he co-led LucasArts Entertainment’s audio department in composition and sound design on such properties as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Outlaws (original score won Outstanding Achievement Award from Computer Gaming World magazine), Grim Fandango, and Monkey Island. In 2014, Bajakian composed for Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, which won the HMMA award for Best Video Game Soundtrack. After two years with Pyramind Studios in original music and team development, in 2015 Bajakian joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty in the Technology and Applied Composition department, and entered business as an independent composer. Bajakian holds a double Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in Guitar Performance and Music Theory, and a Master of Music degree in Music Composition from The University of Michigan. Clint resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Deniz, and two children, Lara and Deren.
Title: Animation Director
Company: Santa Monica Studio
David Gibson is an award-winning animator and game developer with 20 years of experience in games, VFX, and feature films. He is currently developing an unannounced project as Animation Director at Sony Santa Monica Studio. Past game projects include God of War Ragnarök, Overwatch, VALORANT, and Evolve; and his film credits include Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Enchanted, and Charlotte’s Web. David lives in Long Beach, CA with his wife, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 chickens.
Title: Sr. Staff DevOps Engineer
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Eric Gottesman is a veteran DevOps engineer with 20 years experience, the past decade focusing on games. Leading the first DevOps team at WB Games San Francisco, he created the public-facing infrastructure for the mobile games DC Legends (now in its 7th year of operation) and Westworld mobile. At Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix West, Gottesman worked on build infrastructure and tools for Marvel's Avengers and other projects. Now at Santa Monica Studio, he has worked to establish a broad strategy for the studio’s cloud architecture, in service of 2022’s God of War Ragnarök and more. Despite what you may have heard, his guiding principle remains, "When you do things, you should try to do them correctly."
Title: Gameplay Programmer
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Salaar Kohari is a Gameplay Programmer at Sony Santa Monica Studio focused on developing systems for AI behaviors, animation tech, and player controls. For God of War Ragnarök, he worked primarily on traversal and vehicles. Salaar graduated from University of Pennsylvania's Computer Graphics master's program and Computer Science undergrad. Outside of work, he enjoys playing guitar and making indie games.
Title: Senior Vice President
Company: Formosa Group
Paul is an award-winning executive, creative leader, and landmark innovator in the interactive entertainment industry. For over two decades, he has fueled strategy, content, policy, and creative pipelines with famed teams and talent around the globe.
Paul currently serves as the SVP, Interactive Worldwide at Formosa Group, the global leader in post-production for all screens and platforms. He previously worked as Senior Audio Director at Xbox Game Studios and as the Chief Operating Officer of Pyramind Studios before that. Paul has created award-winning content and managed AAA teams and pipelines for leading clients like Xbox Game Studios, PlayStation Studios, Ubisoft, Sega, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, 2K Games, Nintendo of America, and many more. His 1st and 3rd party game credits include The God of War franchise, Last of Us Franchise, Halo Franchise, Call of Duty franchise, Genshin Impact, Borderlands 3, Resident Evil franchise, Fortnite, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Motorsport 5, Iron Man 2, Bioshock 2, and many more. Paul and his teams enjoy global recognition and have been nominated for and won numerous awards and accolades, including multiple MPSE Golden Reel Awards, DICE Awards, GANG Awards, SXSW awards, BAFTA Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, and many others.
Paul is extremely passionate about education and the advancement of the video game industry, and served as the President of the Game Audio Network Guild – the world’s largest Not-For-Profit organization for game audio professionals – for a six-year term. He is an active member of the Board of Directors of G.A.N.G, and worked closely with the Officers to originate the GANG Program Partnership Initiative, the Guild Scholarship Award for Game Audio, and the worldwide advisor and director network. He was also a founding member of G.A.N.G’s Pro Branches, including the Interactive Entertainment Sound Developers (IESD) and the G.A.N.G Voice Actor Coalition (GVAC).
Paul holds a BM and MM with summa/highest distinction from the world-renowned New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Title: Character Director
Company: Striking Distance Studios
Glauco Longhi is Character Director at Striking Distance Studios, working closely with Technology and Art, defining and shaping the Character and Creature Art Pipeline and State of the Art. Before joining Striking Distance Studios, Glauco worked at Sony Santa Monica as Lead Character Artist, on the God of War Franchise and Senior Character Artist at Naughty Dog, on the Uncharted Franchise. Glauco started in 2006 working in the advertisement industry. Following a few years working in various games and advertising studios, Glauco started a company in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which ran from 2010 to 2014. During this time, he held various master classes for artists on traditional sculpting, both on-site and on location. He also traveled Brazil and worked on more than 40 projects for clients, from short films to feature movies, TV shows, commercials, collectibles, and more besides, mostly focused on traditional art, such as Prosthetic make up fx and classical sculpting. He brings a different perspective to digital media with his passion for the craft.
Title: Senior Combat Designer
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Adam Oliver started making games in high school, long before anyone would pay him for it. A decade later he found himself on Sony Santa Monica Studio's combat design team helping to build God of War Ragnarök. This led him to work on bosses, enemies, combat accessibility and more. Prior to joining SMS he worked on multiple fighting games, leveraging his background as a tournament competitor. Adam is a passionate accessibility advocate.
Title: Design Director UX
Company: Monolith Productions
Mila Pavlin is an award winning UX designer who Lead the UX team for God of War Ragnarök from Sony Santa Monica Studio. She empowers her teams to set standards of ethical & accessible content. She has guided video game design, software UX flows and hardware innovation teams to create seamless & engaging content, to remove unintended frustrations. She has shipped 14 hardware products including a phone, multiple laptops, and many computer peripherals. Her work in games includes God of War's PC release and God of War Ragnarök, with a recently released set of over 70 accessibility features!
Title: Lead Narrative Animator
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Erica Pinto is currently a Lead Narrative Animator at Sony Playstation's Santa Monica Studio, and has worked in the gaming industry since her first internship at Electronic Arts in 2003. She has contributed to many highly successful titles and IPs including God of War and the Medal of Honor series. She has given talks at Gnomon, the Game Developers Conference, and Comic-Con, and enjoys doing outreach to inspire the next generation of game developers.
Title: Senior Staff Rendering Programmer
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Paolo Surricchio (he/him) is a Senior Staff Rendering Programmer at Santa Monica Studio. In his 11 years+ career he’s worked as Rendering-Engine programmer in teams of various size. Previous titles he worked on are: Deadpool, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Firewatch, God of War (2018), Apex Legends, God of War: Ragnarök. Twitter handle: @rollingshark
Title: Producer
Company: Independent
Estelle Tigani is a games, film, and tv producer who has worked on a range of titles including God of War Ragnarok with Santa Monica Studio and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with Treyarch, as well as a number of indie and mobile games. Her experience both in video games and film has given her perspective on two of the leading industries of storytelling, proven out by the team’s efforts on the award-winning narrative of God of War and acclaim from its audience.
Title: AI Lead
Company: Santa Monica Studio
Göksu Uğur is the AI Lead at Sony Santa Monica Studio's Gameplay Engineering team. She has worked on wide range of gameplay systems, mostly focusing on AI in God of War Ragnarök. She oversees the AI team that supports AI systems and behaviors for enemies, companions and all other non-playable characters. Prior to joining Sony Santa Monica Studio, she worked at Visual Concepts on multiple NBA2K titles.