GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Thriving Players Summit: Bringing the "Outside" In
Bria Davis (Community Director, Young Horses)
Maria Beck (Producer , Sweet Baby, Inc.)
Coby West (Game Designer/Programmer, Independent)
Colin McInerney (Game Designer/ Programmer, Independent)
Jay Justice (Narrative Writer, Consultant and Editor , Independent)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass, Summits Pass, Expo Pass, Audio Pass, Indie Games Summit Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Advocacy
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
This panel will provide the points of view of developers with backgrounds typically considered to be "outside" the creative process. These backgrounds include Customer Support, Quality Assurance, Community Management, Sensitivity Reading, Production, Authenticity and Accessibility Consulting, and Narrative Design across indie and AAA studios. Panelists will speak to the benefit of having "outside" voices at the table during 'closed' design discussions and how opening the table up leads to new innovations, better games for developers, and more engaging games for players.
Panelists will also provide takeaways on how to join the table in a meaningful way as an "outsider", and how to open the table in ways that lead to meaningful discussions as an "insider." Two of the Panelists are now also "inside" the creative process as Technical Designers, allowing them unique insight into all sides of the issue.
Takeaway
Audiences will leave the talk understanding how collaboration between disciplines "outside" and "inside" of the design process can bring about better games for developers and players. "Outside" members will learn to provide their insight in meaningful ways. "Inside" members will learn to utilize that insight to inform design decisions.
Intended Audience
The intended audience is folks considered "outside" of the creative process, including community managers, customer support, QA, and more. This talk is also intended for the folks inside design meetings who want to learn from their colleagues who historically haven't been at the design table.
