Emphasizing on Game Design

Emphasizing on Game Design Audio & slides (256 MB)

Only slides (52 MB)

In our rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace, game design becomes more crucial than ever. The entertainment value of game design is not linked to any well-understood discipline such as graphic art or program engineering. A game can have brilliant graphics, a powerful engine, outstanding effects, and fantastic character art while at the same time being frustrating or an uninteresting experience. The challenges of crafting a great game design which will serve as a stable basis for the whole development team are numerous. Players demand interesting and compelling stories, but do not like to read through long paragraphs. Players are looking for unique and interesting challenges, but get frustrated when they can't solve the puzzle. We often seek for innovations in mechanics, beautiful graphics, great technology, or a big license to contribute to game success but don't focus enough on game design. The main discussion points will include the story, the world, and the gameplay as vital part of the game experience.

Delivered at Casual Connect Kyiv, October 2009

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Matthew GILLIKIN (email)

Matthew is powered by a love for simple gameplay and is a design disciple of Raph Koster and Jenova Chen. In 2005, Matthew left the core game space to bootstrap a small casual company called Primate Games. Unfortunately neither he nor his business partner cared for the day to day operations of running a small business so after 14 months of business and shipping 3 titles, the doors to Primate Games were closed. In January of 2007 Matthew was hired on at Real Networks as a Content Producer and has been producing and designing games since. While at Real Networks Matthew has produced over 16 titles including: Neptunes Secret, Mystery of The Crystal Portal, Posh Boutique 1 & 2 and The Clockwork Man. His specialties include game design, user feedback, gameplay balancing and usability.

Patrick BAGGATTA (email)

Patrick Baggatta is a Senior Designer at PlayFirst, Inc., where he oversees internal and external projects, provides story content, and guides new concept development. Prior to joining PlayFirst, Patrick worked independently, providing design and writing services to game projects on multiple platforms, from PC/Mac to Nintendo Wii. Before that, he designed games for Backbone Entertainment, where he specialized in new concept development and where one of his titles was awarded the AIAS ‘Downloadable Game of the Year’ honor. Before Backbone, Patrick operated his own casual game shop, delivering multiple games to Shockwave, Real Arcade, Wild Tangent, and more.

Dimitri KIRIN (email)

Dimitri Kirin has been involved in localization and translation for over five years. As Localization Manager at Merscom, Dimitri has managed and coordinated the localization of hundreds of titles. Dimitri also designed and implemented Merscom Project, Merscom’s proprietary localization management system. With an eight-language interface, Merscom Project allows for the easy localization from virtually any language to any language. He has also arranged strategic relationships with several Russian companies to publish their games in the US, Western Europe, and Japan. Kirin holds Masters degrees in Business Administration and Oriental Linguistics, and is fluent in English, Russian, Polish, and Arabic.

Denis KONOVALOV (email)

Denis has worked in game development since 2001. He started as a programmer and eventually became a project manager. Right now he is managing the quest development division of Nevosoft.

Terri HARDIE (email)

Terri Hardie is the Arcade Producer at Reflexive Entertainment and is responsible for evaluating and accepting all of the games launched in Reflexive’s online game distribution portal. Hired to help manage and grow the Reflexive Arcade, Terri has seen the industry, as well as the Arcade, take off like a rocket with more game submissions than are even feasible to launch. Her passion for games is exceeded only by her desire to bring the best games to the people who matter most, the gamers! Prior to working for Reflexive Entertainment, Terri received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She spent too many years in a boring law firm, playing any game she could get her hands on in her free time, until she landed her dream job at Reflexive Entertainment. Now, she plays games for a living and couldn’t be happier!

HOME \| LECTURES & ARTICLES \| GAME DESIGN \| Emphasizing on Game Design Audio & slides (256 MB) Only slides (52 MB) In our rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace, game design becomes more crucial than ever. The entertainment value of game design is not linked to any well-understood discipline such as graphic art or program engineering. A game can have brilliant graphics, a powerful engine, outstanding effects, and fantastic character art while at the same time being frustrating or an uninteresting experience. The challenges of crafting a great game design which will serve as a stable basis for the whole development team are numerous. Players demand interesting and compelling stories, but do not like to read through long paragraphs. Players are looking for unique and interesting challenges, but get frustrated when they can't solve the puzzle. We often seek for innovations in mechanics, beautiful graphics, great technology, or a big license to contribute to game success but don't focus enough on game design. The main discussion points will include the story, the world, and the gameplay as vital part of the game experience. Delivered at Casual Connect Kyiv, October 2009 DOWNLOAD Matthew GILLIKIN (email) Matthew is powered by a love for simple gameplay and is a design disciple of Raph Koster and Jenova Chen. In 2005, Matthew left the core game space to bootstrap a small casual company called Primate Games. Unfortunately neither he nor his business partner cared for the day to day operations of running a small business so after 14 months of business and shipping 3 titles, the doors to Primate Games were closed. In January of 2007 Matthew was hired on at Real Networks as a Content Producer and has been producing and designing games since. While at Real Networks Matthew has produced over 16 titles including: Neptunes Secret, Mystery of The Crystal Portal, Posh Boutique 1 & 2 and The Clockwork Man. His specialties include game design, user feedback, gameplay balancing and usability. Patrick BAGGATTA (email) Patrick Baggatta is a Senior Designer at PlayFirst, Inc., where he oversees internal and external projects, provides story content, and guides new concept development. Prior to joining PlayFirst, Patrick worked independently, providing design and writing services to game projects on multiple platforms, from PC/Mac to Nintendo Wii. Before that, he designed games for Backbone Entertainment, where he specialized in new concept development and where one of his titles was awarded the AIAS ‘Downloadable Game of the Year’ honor. Before Backbone, Patrick operated his own casual game shop, delivering multiple games to Shockwave, Real Arcade, Wild Tangent, and more. Dimitri KIRIN (email) Dimitri Kirin has been involved in localization and translation for over five years. As Localization Manager at Merscom, Dimitri has managed and coordinated the localization of hundreds of titles. Dimitri also designed and implemented Merscom Project, Merscom’s proprietary localization management system. With an eight-language interface, Merscom Project allows for the easy localization from virtually any language to any language. He has also arranged strategic relationships with several Russian companies to publish their games in the US, Western Europe, and Japan. Kirin holds Masters degrees in Business Administration and Oriental Linguistics, and is fluent in English, Russian, Polish, and Arabic. Denis KONOVALOV (email) Denis has worked in game development since 2001. He started as a programmer and eventually became a project manager. Right now he is managing the quest development division of Nevosoft. Terri HARDIE (email) Terri Hardie is the Arcade Producer at Reflexive Entertainment and is responsible for evaluating and accepting all of the games launched in Reflexive’s online game distribution portal. Hired to help manage and grow the Reflexive Arcade, Terri has seen the industry, as well as the Arcade, take off like a rocket with more game submissions than are even feasible to launch. Her passion for games is exceeded only by her desire to bring the best games to the people who matter most, the gamers! Prior to working for Reflexive Entertainment, Terri received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She spent too many years in a boring law firm, playing any game she could get her hands on in her free time, until she landed her dream job at Reflexive Entertainment. Now, she plays games for a living and couldn’t be happier!