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GDC 2023 Session Viewer

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.

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Game Design Workshop Day 1

Marc LeBlanc  (Senior R&D Software Engineer, Riot Games)

Andy Ashcraft  (Game Designer & Instructor, Giantsdance Games & New York Film Academy)

Chad Cable  (Designer Programmer, Toyful Games)

Eleanor Todd  (Founder & Creative Director, Orange Monkey Games)

Jeb Havens  (Game Designer, Jeb Havens Games)

Kellee Santiago  (Head of Production, Niantic)

Laura Warner  (Staff Designer & Social Lead, Bungie)

Marcus Montgomery  (Design Director, Microsoft, Xbox Games Studios Publishing)

Samuel Villanueva  (Senior Game Designer, Niantic Labs)

Stone Librande  (Lead Designer, Riot Games)

Timothy FitzRandolph  (Owner, Walaber Entertainment LLC)

Jason VandenBerghe  (VP Game Design, Level Ex)

Location: Room 207, South Hall

Date: Monday, March 20

Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass

Topic: Design

Format: Workshop

Vault Recording: Not Recorded

Audience Level: All

This intensive two-day workshop will explore the day-to-day craft of game design through hands-on activities, group discussion, analysis, and critique. Attendees will immerse themselves in the iterative process game design and discover design concepts that will help them think more clearly about their designs and make better games.
Working in small groups, attendees will work on two design exercises each day. Each exercise will require the group to work iteratively to modify an existing game design to meet some new goal. An exercise might involve adding a new feature, accommodating a requirement, or fixing a design flaw. Attendees will learn how to apply the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework to their design process. The exercises will challenge attendees to analyze and identify the design principles at work in a game, and to think flexibly and creatively while working within design constraints. They will serve as a starting point for discussing how the framework applies to games in digital and non-digital media. Attendees will gain practical experience working with the MDA framework brainstorming, critical analysis, and discussion.