GDC 2011 Level Design Workshop

(110) Level Design in a Day: Best Practices from the Best in the Business
Monday, Feb. 28, 10am-6pm

Speakers

• Coray Seifert, Senior Game Designer, Arkadium
• Neil Alphonso,Lead Designer, Splash Damage
• Matthias Worch, Senior Level Designer, Visceral Games
• Jim Brown, Lead Level Designer, Epic Games
• Joel Burgess, Senior Designer, Bethesda Softworks
• Forrest Dowling, Senior Designer, Irrational Games
• Ed Byrne, Creative Director, Zipper Interactive

Session Description
In this intense day-long tutorial, attendees will gain deep insights from some of the most experienced level designers in the industry, delving into every aspect of the level design process, from early concept and white-boxing to narrative design and level design metrics. This session brings back last-year’s highly-rated tutorial roster with an all-new line-up of best practices, lessons learned, interactive audience participation and case studies from Brink to Dead Space and Gears of War to Fallout 3.

Takeaway
Newcomers to the world of level design will gain a solid foundation in the art and science of level design while experienced level designers will come away from the talk with a bevy of tips, tricks, and best practices being used by the best level designers in the industry. Experienced producers, artists, and testers will gain an intimate understanding of the level design process, and will be better equipped to manage and collaborate with this essential part of the game development process.

Intended Audience
Level designers, mission designers, game designers, and scripters responsible for crafting moment-to-moment gameplay. Writers, level artists, and quality assurance professionals will come away from this talk better prepared to collaborate and contribute to the level creation process. All attendees should have a solid understanding of the level design process, as well as a basic familiarity with the tools of the trade.