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Nathan Riemer (Game Designer & Programmer, Independent)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass - Get your pass now!
Topic: Programming
Format: Session
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: No
Space Station 13 (SS13) is one of the largest open source games in the world. It boasts thousands of concurrent users and hundreds of unique forks, or altered versions of the base game. Nathan Riemer is a maintainer and designer for the largest SS13 fork. In this talk, they reveal how open source development shapes the design and production processes of a game and describes unique challenges that don't occur in closed source development. Learn about the pros and cons behind giving your community access not only to every step in the design and development process, but also the ultimate freedom to create their own wildly unique variations.
Viewers will walk away from this talk understanding the unique challenges and restrictions of open source games that are not faced in traditional, closed source game development.
The target audience of this talk are those familiar with traditional game design, though especially those experienced with stricter processes such as fleshed out design documents and approval, rigorous quality assurance, and community management. Prerequisite knowledge of Space Station 13 is not necessary nor expected.