GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Independent Games Summit: 'The Crush House': Fresh Gameplay Inspired By The Real World
Nicole He (Creative Director, Independent)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass, Indie Games Summit Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Independent Games
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
Stories in video games are often based on the real world. But what about ~mechanics~ in video games being based on The Real World?
The Crush House is a game about being the producer of a reality TV show. It's not quite a management sim, or a visual novel, or a first-person shooter - in fact, it is a "thirst-person shooter," where you film things to satisfy audiences while uncovering a mystery.
Rather than following the conventional path of taking a tried-and-true genre and mechanic and adding a twist on top, The Crush House's unusual gameplay comes from iterating on capturing a specific fantasy from real life - being behind the scenes of a reality show.
Nicole He, the game's creative director, will talk about the challenges and rewards of making innovative gameplay by looking for inspiration from outside of familiar game design formulas.
Takeaway
This talk will use The Crush House as a case study to cover learnings from specific challenges we faced in doing something brand new and unusual, as well as things that went well. This may be especially helpful for those who are interested in making unconventional games.
Intended Audience
This talk is for anyone interested in hearing about different approaches in making experimental games that are trying to do something new with gameplay. It's also for reality TV lovers and haters alike.
