Agenda

Independent game designer and publisher, Adam Saltsman, best known for Canabalt and Finji, has been making small games again, a lot of them, and learning a ton about game design and creativity in the process. This talk is about the four big lessons from the last 18 months (and 18 games). The first lesson is that doing things that are "easy and not obvious" is fun and funny as a designer, and quickly leads you to new things that are fun to explore. The second lesson is that your ideas are better than you think... but your drafts or formulas are probably worse than you think. The third lesson is that game design is about noticing, about listening to your game as it emerges. And the fourth lesson is how important it is to have fun when you are making a game.

Takeaway

Attendees will be inspired to try things that are easy and not obvious in their own work, improve their development processes by separating their ideas from their formulas, be more open to "listening" to their projects as they come to life, and enjoy game-making more in the future.

Intended Audience

This talk is about game design but is relevant for creatives of all levels, especially anyone who feels like they are on a "plateau" lately or are looking for new ways to approach their creative work.