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Tom Heaton (Creative Director, Supermassive Games)
Location: Room 2006, West Hall
Date: Wednesday, March 22
Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass
Topic: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of standalone, cinematic horror games created by Supermassive Games—with the high-level design direction aiming to create the feeling and experience of being in a horror movie.
This emphasis on the aesthetic presentation led to many design choices that go against prevailing industry orthodoxy. Game mechanics are selected from very divergent game genres to support this aesthetic or are created from scratch. Creative Director Tom Heaton breaks down the unique design of the Dark Pictures games, explains why key decisions were made, how the design has evolved through the series, and what the team might have done differently.
Attendees will gain an understanding of how a new game IP is created and designed from scratch, with an emphasis on a particular aesthetic rather than an established game genre. They will also learn how a rapid release cycle allows features to be iterated and improved for each game release.
This is for game designers, narrative designers, and anyone interested in horror or cutting-edge interactive drama.