GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Justifying Absurd Expenditures on Fonts and Other Silly Features
Joshua Sawyer (Design Director, Obsidian Entertainment)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
When is a feature "too much" given the scope of your game? When is a feature so "too much" that it wraps around to being incredible? Whether we're talking about custom fonts, rat swarms, or silly physics, sometimes you absolutely, positively need something that makes no sense whatsoever on paper. By looking at the custom fonts and unique text rendering features from 2022's Pentiment and similar moonshot features from other games, we'll explore the virtues of feature excess. You'll learn how to conceptualize ludicrous features, sell them to your team, and develop them without driving a freight train through your development budget.
Takeaway
Attendees can learn how to conceptualize and define unique moonshot features for games. By defining these features with high level goal-oriented language, you can learn how to collaborate with team members on what may be a daunting list of requests in a manageable fashion.
Intended Audience
This talk is intended for anyone who is responsible or partially responsible for developing a game's vision or feature set, regardless of discipline or seniority.