GDX 2016 explores connections
Written by Colin Rudd
For two days, the SCAD Museum of Art auditorium was filled with the impassioned chatter of students and faculty who were eager to discuss video game production. This year’s ninth annual Game Developers Exchange (GDX) took place from September 30 to October 1. The conference hosted talks that considered what makes a video game both successful and enjoyable for the player. In this year’s case, it all came down to the story elements.
Students and faculty heard discussions on “Narrative Focused Gaming,” presented by Jolie Menzel (a level designer at Ubisoft), and “Designing Games Feelings First,” presented by Harrison Pink (a game designer at Hangar 13).
Both speakers were SCAD alumni. “We’ve had technical artists in the past, but we haven’t had a designer talk in a while,” said SuAnne Fu, the Chair of Interactive Game Design and Development at SCAD, who was excited to see this change in speakers. The presence of designers allowed for a major focus on the story as a game’s core element, something very important in today’s market.
“Pacman would be running around in the dark if he didn’t have a story,” Menzel explained.
A great story keeps the player interested and motivated to continue playing. In Menzel’s experience as a narrative designer, she’s learned that game designers have the important task of defining how the story reaches the player, whether it’s through storyboarding or writing.
She noted that the narrative designer is the ultimate resource for the game’s story. As a result, designers advocate for the story and ensure all elements support it. This delivers a concise and impactful story to the gamer.
To ensure a concise and powerful story, Harrison Pink stated that “a thesis statement helps develop feelings for the game.” In other words, the point or basis of the story determines how every element of the game is presented: from combat to exploration, movement and other interactions. Pink advocated that designing a game “feelings first,” unifies a vision, starting at a conceptual stage which then develops into a rich story.
To further educate students, the two-day exchange concluded with an opportunity to learn about virtual reality in an interactive workshop with Mike Geig, a Technical Evangelist for Unity. The Oculus Pioneer Program lasted about three hours and taught students about Unity’s capabilities for VR – a new way of pushing players directly into a game’s story.
“It [was] a unique opportunity to bring great professionals to students. At GDC, this would be costly, but here it’s free and a real treat” stated Fu. She was pleased to see how GDX brought together students from a variety of majors.
Anyone who’s interested in learning more about the gaming industry and staying connected with other game design majors on campus, the Game Development Network holds weekly meetings in Montgomery Hall every Tuesday at 8 p.m. The network often brings in industry speakers and SCAD alumni to discuss various topics concerning the industry.
