GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Capabilities: Coding ALL the Gameplay for 'Split Fiction'
Ylva Werner (Senior Gameplay Programmer, Hazelight Studios)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Programming
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
This talk reveals the secret sauce of Hazelight's hundreds of gameplay mechanics: Capabilities. A capability is a single unit of functionality that contains all its own state and decision-making. In this presentation, the speakers dive into the code base of Split Fiction and look at how they implement gameplay features. They will talk about why capabilities were invented, trade-offs, and about some Hazelight philosophy.
Takeaway
Attendees will be walked through our Capabilities gameplay code pattern, its pros/cons and how to implement the most basic version. The aim with this talk is to provide you techniques to make heaps of varied gameplay, so that in the future we may enjoy more of YOUR gameplay ideas!
Intended Audience
This talk is aimed towards programmers and designers who desire to make an abundance of gameplay. To fully benefit from this talk, you should be comfortable reading code.
