Game design summit
The Game Design Summit (GDSUM) is an exclusive conference for professionals, by professionals, conceived out of the need to discuss game design. The inaugural edition of the conference took place in 2019, receiving a warm welcome from the industry and high praise from its participants.
The conference creators aimed to create a space for exchanging experiences, enhancing competencies, and promoting excellent design. We aspire to foster a space that will introduce more highly skilled professional game designers to the market – individuals capable of translating even the most outlandish ideas into good, playable content.
Solid knowledge is divided into five program blocks – interactive lectures and four workshop blocks for narrative design, story design and level design. No fluff – only the essential, in-depth talks from the trenches by the most acclaimed professionals in the game industry.
Organizers
Anshar Studios is a game development studio, employing over 160 skilled professionals with expertise in every major game development field: art, design, programming, production, and QA. As an experienced team, Anshar Studios offers the perfect blend of professionalism and passion, delivering solutions for the most complex and challenging tasks.
Founded in 2012, Anshar Studios has since worked on dozens of commercially released titles across multiple platforms and using various technologies. We have collaborated with esteemed companies such as Saber Interactive, Tripwire, Larian Studios, People Can Fly, Bloober Team, Behaviour Interactive, and Wolfeye, among others.
Fool’s Theory is a studio in Bielsko-Biala, Poland that has been operating since 2015 and currently employs over 90 people. In the past, the studio participated, among others, in the production of games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin II add-ons, and more recently Outriders.
One of Fool’s Theory’s own creations, Seven: The Days Long Gone, received positive acclaim from the market in 2018. In March 2024 the studio released their newest game “The Thaumaturge” and presently focuses on collaborating with CD Projekt RED for the Witcher 1 Remake.
Digital Dragons is a comprehensive ecosystem for the games industry run by Krakow Technology Park on a local, national, and international level.
Digital Dragons is a community where everyone can expect support, regardless of the stage of their journey in the world of gamedev.
Speakers
0
+
participants
0
+
Lecture
0
+
Speakers
2024 SPEAKERS LIST WILL BE REVEALED SOON!
During the first GDSUM 2019 edition, we had the pleasure of hosting the following presenters:
Marta Fijak, Magdalena Cielecka, Tomasz Pruski, Jakub Pałyska, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Richard Rouse III, Kacper Szymczak, Alexandre Mandryka, Piotr Mistygacz, Josh Sawyer, Paweł Kroenke, Mateusz Piaskiewicz, Json Della Roca, Patrick Rose, Agnieszka Mulak, Dennis Zoetebier, Valentina Tamer, Maciej Pyrc, Artur Ganszyniec, Łukasz Chmielewski.
agenda
Sunday
Monday
Sunday
Hotel Park Inn by Radisson
| Time | Conference Room | Event Details | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| From 11:00 to 14:00 | BETA 1 | Create Stories Through Gameplay Don’t you love when a video game system also tells a story? The most inspired game mechanics have a seamless thematic resonance within the game creating new layers of narration. Some modern board games tell stories using limited and heavily formulated game mechanics. Join this workshop to participate in a paper prototype jam using random board game components to tell stories through gameplay. Workshop format: Review the most popular narrative structures. Identify narrative game mechanics in video games. Discuss examples of narrative mechanics that achieved a thematic resonance. Deep dive into a few examples of game mechanics in narrative board games and get inspired. In groups brainstorm and create a paper prototype of narrative game mechanics using board game components provided. Review the prototypes and share feedback. Workshop takeaways: Learn how games cleverly use their systems for narrative purposes. Discover opportunities to deliver narration in unusual ways. Collaborate in creating a paper prototype, that uses systems to tell stories. Participate in fun and creative ideation process while restrained by time and resources. Get inspired to create new, original games. |  Krzysztof Kurek Anshar Studios |
| From 11:00 to 14:00 | BETA 2 | Tutorials Are Hard! Tutorials are a great paradox of game design. They are one the first things player sees after launching a game, but usually the last thing that developers work on. Everybody hates them, but we all need them. They are boring, but they are crucial to give us a smooth experience. Playing a tutorial is easy, making a great tutorial is super hard. In this workshop, we will: – learn about different requirements for a great tutorial – meet different players and their expectations – look at different tutorials – learn how to structure and deliver a tutorial – brainstorm a mechanic for a fictional game together – come up with ways to tutorial the mechanic – discuss and polish our ideas – sum up what we learned |  Rafał Cywicki Anshar Studios |
| From 11:00 to 14:00 | EPSILON | Can They be a Ninja? Writing Human Beings Instead of Archetypes A deep dive into the process of creating relatable characters, covering topics such as how to design a character from scratch, how to take your character from being a function in the plot to someone people love or hate, and how to create a proper context for your characters and tell their stories while making them fit the larger narrative. The workshop will focus on changing the way you see characters in the plots you’re working on — rather than archetypes or props, they will become relatable human beings. Being familiar with Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty will help you a lot during this masterclass! |  Tomasz Marchewka CD PROJECT RED |
| From 11:00 to 14:00 | GAMMA | Gamedevs, Peasants, and Empire: Collaborative Worldbuilding Workshop Brief The objective of the workshop is to develop a small island world in teams. The process of worldbuilding will happen through working together in and between teams and achieving consensus in relevant discussions. A few rules will be provided to participants to give them a sense of structure and better understanding of how they should direct the worldbuilding effort. The participants’ goal is to create a believable, comprehensive and quality narrative of the conquest of a newly-discovered island by rival Imperial houses. Participants are primarily responsible for the worldbuilding and narrative elements concerning their own house, but can collaborate in a friendly or hostile manner with other houses, as well as one non-participant faction. Every team will be additionally assisted by a Game Master. Discussions of both the entire worldbuilding and narrative processes, as well as their individual steps, are central to the workshop, and every team’s efforts will be evaluated by their co-participants in regular assessments, earning points for the quality and creativity of their work. It’s worth noting that a team’s house does not need to conquer their rivals in order to achieve victory for their faction, as tragic downfalls can make for better stories than triumphs, and narrative & worldbuilding quality is what’s preferred over a gamified approach. Takeaways for Participants ● Opportunity to work on worldbuilding within a group of experienced narrative & world creators, with a large degree of creative freedom; ● Learning from each other’s experience, and narrative and worldbuilding approaches through cooperation and discussion; ● Opportunity to analyse, and discuss the workings and economic structure of a small medieval state in an in-depth way; ● Improving cooperation skills, as the workshop is geared towards solving problems through discussion, collaboration and ultimately consensus, as opposed to being a competition in strictly pragmatic problem-solving; ● Fun! We wanted to make this team-based effort as enjoyable as possible. |  Robert Butkiewicz Fool’s Theory |
| From 14:00 to 17:00 | BETA1 | Embrace the Unexpected: Systems in Service of Emergent Gameplay Games are a set of interesting decisions. These decisions may be directly planned and crafted by the designers, or they may arise from interactions between underlying systems. During this workshop, we will focus on the latter, exploring how elegant systems can provide a decision space much broader than any amount of static content can. What We Will Explore: Decision spaces, the emergent gameplay spectrum, and game loops in the context of cognitive load. Approaches to designing systems to foster emergent gameplay, starting from the game situations we aim to achieve. The power of systems and context in supporting the player’s expression and the core game fantasy. |  Marta Fijak |
| From 14:00 to 17:00 | BETA 2 | Importance of Worldbuilding Join us for an engaging workshop led by a seasoned expert in worldbuilding. Discover the art of crafting immersive narratives across genres and mediums, with practical tips drawn from years of professional experience in gaming and novel writing. Workshop Takeaways. Understanding the Importance of Worldbuilding: Enhances storytelling across various genres. Crucial for creating immersive gaming experiences. Key component of successful intellectual properties (IPs). Exploring Worldbuilding in Big Business: Examples from iconic IPs like LOTR and the Three-Body Problem. Demonstrates how worldbuilding drives commercial success. Practical Tips for Effective Worldbuilding: Ensure versatility to accommodate diverse story genres. Design worlds adaptable for multiple media formats. Utilize resources like Wikipedia for cultural enrichment and inspiration. Crafting a Multifaceted World: Create a setting conducive to various storytelling styles, from mystery to adventure. Foster cultural depth to enrich the narrative experience. Leveraging Personal Expertise: Offer firsthand insights and experiences from professional endeavors. Provide actionable advice drawn from years of practice in gaming and novel writing. |  Robert Kurvitz |
| From 14:00 to 17:00 | EPSILON | Using Elements of Cognitive Mapping and Environmental Psychology in Open World Level Design How Landscape Architecture and Environmental Psychology can be used in creating open world level design? On this workshop you will create a simple open world level layout. Environmental psychology theories will allow you to make sure that the layout is easy to understand and map out in the player’s mental map. Target audience: beginner to intermediate Level Designers and Level Artists. Requirements: Unreal Engine 5 – basic proficiency in setting up level geometry and terrain. Takeaways: learn the theory of player wayfinding and navigation methods, know how to design level layouts that are aligned with human nature of cognitive mapping. |  Mateusz Piaskiewicz Activision |
| From 14:00 to 17:00 | GAMMA | Designing Experiences Young novelists and screenwriters are given one piece of advice: write about what you know. What about narrative designers? Should we design what we know? This workshop focuses on the idea that our own memorable experiences can and should be used as the input for our design work, and that by doing so we can create memorable and unique experiences for the players. We will work on identifying sources of inspiration in both mundane and dramatic experiences from our lives and adapting them for different genres and gameplay loops. We hope to capture the formula of adapting personal experiences to games—or, at least, create an inspiring design experience for the participants. |  Artur Ganszyniec BLANK. Game Studios |
Monday
Hotel Park Inn by Radisson
| Time | Conference Room | Event Details | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| From 10:00 to 13:00 | BETA 2 | Importance of Worldbuilding Join us for an engaging workshop led by a seasoned expert in worldbuilding. Discover the art of crafting immersive narratives across genres and mediums, with practical tips drawn from years of professional experience in gaming and novel writing. Workshop Takeaways. Understanding the Importance of Worldbuilding: Enhances storytelling across various genres. Crucial for creating immersive gaming experiences. Key component of successful intellectual properties (IPs). Exploring Worldbuilding in Big Business: Examples from iconic IPs like LOTR and the Three-Body Problem. Demonstrates how worldbuilding drives commercial success. Practical Tips for Effective Worldbuilding: Ensure versatility to accommodate diverse story genres. Design worlds adaptable for multiple media formats. Utilize resources like Wikipedia for cultural enrichment and inspiration. Crafting a Multifaceted World: Create a setting conducive to various storytelling styles, from mystery to adventure. Foster cultural depth to enrich the narrative experience. Leveraging Personal Expertise: Offer firsthand insights and experiences from professional endeavors. Provide actionable advice drawn from years of practice in gaming and novel writing. | Robert Kurvitz |
| From 10:00 to 13:00 | EPSILON | Using Elements of Cognitive Mapping and Environmental Psychology in Open World Level Design How Landscape Architecture and Environmental Psychology can be used in creating open world level design? On this workshop you will create a simple open world level layout. Environmental psychology theories will allow you to make sure that the layout is easy to understand and map out in the player’s mental map. Target audience: beginner to intermediate Level Designers and Level Artists. Requirements: Unreal Engine 5 – basic proficiency in setting up level geometry and terrain. Takeaways: learn the theory of player wayfinding and navigation methods, know how to design level layouts that are aligned with human nature of cognitive mapping. | Mateusz Piaskiewicz Activision |
| From 10:00 to 13:00 | GAMMA | Designing Experiences Young novelists and screenwriters are given one piece of advice: write about what you know. What about narrative designers? Should we design what we know? This workshop focuses on the idea that our own memorable experiences can and should be used as the input for our design work, and that by doing so we can create memorable and unique experiences for the players. We will work on identifying sources of inspiration in both mundane and dramatic experiences from our lives and adapting them for different genres and gameplay loops. We hope to capture the formula of adapting personal experiences to games—or, at least, create an inspiring design experience for the participants. | Artur Ganszyniec BLANK. Game Studios |
| From 13:00 to 16:00 | BETA 1 | Create Stories Through Gameplay Don’t you love when a video game system also tells a story? The most inspired game mechanics have a seamless thematic resonance within the game creating new layers of narration. Some modern board games tell stories using limited and heavily formulated game mechanics. Join this workshop to participate in a paper prototype jam using random board game components to tell stories through gameplay. Workshop format: Review the most popular narrative structures. Identify narrative game mechanics in video games. Discuss examples of narrative mechanics that achieved a thematic resonance. Deep dive into a few examples of game mechanics in narrative board games and get inspired. In groups brainstorm and create a paper prototype of narrative game mechanics using board game components provided. Review the prototypes and share feedback. Workshop takeaways: Learn how games cleverly use their systems for narrative purposes. Discover opportunities to deliver narration in unusual ways. Collaborate in creating a paper prototype, that uses systems to tell stories. Participate in fun and creative ideation process while restrained by time and resources. Get inspired to create new, original games. | Krzysztof Kurek Anshar Studios |
| From 13:00 to 16:00 | BETA 2 | Tutorials Are Hard! Tutorials are a great paradox of game design. They are one the first things player sees after launching a game, but usually the last thing that developers work on. Everybody hates them, but we all need them. They are boring, but they are crucial to give us a smooth experience. Playing a tutorial is easy, making a great tutorial is super hard. In this workshop, we will: – learn about different requirements for a great tutorial – meet different players and their expectations – look at different tutorials – learn how to structure and deliver a tutorial – brainstorm a mechanic for a fictional game together – come up with ways to tutorial the mechanic – discuss and polish our ideas – sum up what we learned | Rafał Cywicki Anshar Studios |
| From 13:00 to 16:00 | EPSILON | Can They be a Ninja? Writing Human Beings Instead of Archetypes A deep dive into the process of creating relatable characters, covering topics such as how to design a character from scratch, how to take your character from being a function in the plot to someone people love or hate, and how to create a proper context for your characters and tell their stories while making them fit the larger narrative. The workshop will focus on changing the way you see characters in the plots you’re working on — rather than archetypes or props, they will become relatable human beings. Being familiar with Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty will help you a lot during this masterclass! | Tomasz Marchewka CD PROJECT RED |
| From 13:00 to 16:00 | GAMMA | Gamedevs, Peasants, and Empire: Collaborative Worldbuilding Workshop Brief The objective of the workshop is to develop a small island world in teams. The process of worldbuilding will happen through working together in and between teams and achieving consensus in relevant discussions. A few rules will be provided to participants to give them a sense of structure and better understanding of how they should direct the worldbuilding effort. The participants’ goal is to create a believable, comprehensive and quality narrative of the conquest of a newly-discovered island by rival Imperial houses. Participants are primarily responsible for the worldbuilding and narrative elements concerning their own house, but can collaborate in a friendly or hostile manner with other houses, as well as one non-participant faction. Every team will be additionally assisted by a Game Master. Discussions of both the entire worldbuilding and narrative processes, as well as their individual steps, are central to the workshop, and every team’s efforts will be evaluated by their co-participants in regular assessments, earning points for the quality and creativity of their work. It’s worth noting that a team’s house does not need to conquer their rivals in order to achieve victory for their faction, as tragic downfalls can make for better stories than triumphs, and narrative & worldbuilding quality is what’s preferred over a gamified approach. Takeaways for Participants ● Opportunity to work on worldbuilding within a group of experienced narrative & world creators, with a large degree of creative freedom; ● Learning from each other’s experience, and narrative and worldbuilding approaches through cooperation and discussion; ● Opportunity to analyse, and discuss the workings and economic structure of a small medieval state in an in-depth way; ● Improving cooperation skills, as the workshop is geared towards solving problems through discussion, collaboration and ultimately consensus, as opposed to being a competition in strictly pragmatic problem-solving; ● Fun! We wanted to make this team-based effort as enjoyable as possible. | Robert Butkiewicz Fool’s Theory |
Tickets
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION WILL BE OPENED SOON!
Partners
GDSUM 2024 edition is affiliated with Digital Dragons. A full list of partners and sponsors can be found here.
Find us:
AdresS
Park Inn by Radisson, Monte Cassino 2, 30-337 Kraków, Poland
Game Design Summit 2019 zostało Dofinansowane ze środków Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego pochodzących z Funduszu Promocji Kultury.