GDC 2025 Session Viewer

There are many game design topics that don't require an hour to discuss, but can be useful, especially for experienced game designers, as quick deep dives or punchy bits of food for thought. The Game Designer’s Notebook asks seasoned game designers to open up a few pages from their notebook, and share insights and explorations into contemporary design issues in the live service game design arena. Part microtalk, part design review, the GDN is the session at the GDC Live Service Summit where game designers get to jump in, go deep and jump out. This year's session will offer:

Camilla Avellar, Supercell
Designing the Derby – Lessons from Hay Day
Designed as a competitive feature for casual players, Hay Day’s Derby was created to boost engagement and social play. This talk explores how it first succeeded, where it created unexpected pressure, and key lessons in rewards, onboarding, and competitive balance — plus, in hindsight, what we’d do differently from the beginning to make it more sustainable and engaging for all players.

James Portnow, Rainmaker Games
Synergy Mapping
Want to know exactly how the parts of your game synergize? How to find that imbalance that metrics aren't helping you suss out? Ever wonder before making a piece of content "How would this item play with everything else in our game" or wonder what events in your live service you should run at once? In this talk James Portnow shares a simple system his team uses to map the interconnections between all the various elements of your game and how to use that map to answer all these questions.

Marta Cortinas, King
Candy Crush Solitaire: Unwrapped
A deep dive into Candy Crush Solitaire, the first-ever non-match-3 game in the Candy Crush franchise!
Discover how we brought the iconic brand into the Solitaire genre—tapping into a new audience while staying true to Candy Crush’s essence. From player motivations to reimagined mechanics, we’ll uncover the creative journey, the challenges we faced, and the innovations that set Candy Crush Solitaire apart.

Takeaway

Attendees will walk away with three "quick hits" from three different perspectives, offering them a glimpse into the notebooks of three industry experts. They should leave armed with insights, curious to explore, better informed and inspired to try new things in new ways for live games.

Intended Audience

Game designers and craft experts who face creative challenges when designing for live games. This session will offer three insightful and inspiring topical "deep-dives" from three industry thought-leaders, each giving a short fifteen minute talk on a topic that demands specialized knowledge, deep expertise and a unique perspective. There will be a brief Q&A after the talks.