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Design Track: Your Blueprint for Designing Unforgettable Games

GDC Core Concepts is where game development expertise meets real-world impact, running from Wednesday to Friday. Curated by GDC’s Advisory Board—an esteemed group of industry veterans and innovators—these sessions and roundtables are designed to offer expert, relevant, and timely insights that will empower you to stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry. 

You’ll explore six key pillars of game development: Audio, Business & Marketing, Design, Production & Team Leadership, Programming, and Visual Arts, plus critical conversations on Advocacy. Whether you're after tried-and-true techniques, cutting-edge innovations, or insights into new creative approaches, Core Concepts delivers invaluable takeaways that you can immediately apply to your projects. 

Design Track

Days: Wednesday-Friday
Pass Access: All Access, Core

At the Core Concepts Design Track, you’ll dive into the creative heart of game development. This track brings together the brightest minds in game design to explore everything from crafting intricate puzzles to building expansive worlds. We’ll focus on designing systems that players love, integrating seamless narratives, and experimenting with new ways to engage and challenge your audience.

Whether you’re refining UX, creating dynamic mechanics, or working with live services, this is where design innovation takes center stage.

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Who Attends

This track is for game designers at all levels who are passionate about creating unforgettable player experiences. You’ll find the insights and tools you need to succeed—from building puzzle systems, designing immersive worlds, or striving to balance accessibility with creativity. Join fellow designers who are pushing the boundaries of storytelling.

Design Sessions

Get ready to dive into sessions that explore cutting-edge design methodologies. We’ll cover everything from system design and narrative integration to creating intuitive UX and balancing player immersion. You’ll walk away with actionable techniques to build better puzzles, design seamless quests, and shape more engaging, inclusive player experiences.

Design Roundtables

Engage in collaborative discussions that tackle the industry’s toughest challenges and explore emerging trends. These roundtables provide an open, dynamic forum to share ideas, solve common problems, and dive into everything from tool design to effective narrative techniques and how to optimize design collaboration across teams.

2024 Session Highlights

Minigames as Worldbuilding: Designing a Card Game for 'Saltsea Chronicles'

Douglas Wilson (Designer, Die Gute Fabrik)

Ben Wilson (Creative Producer, Die Gute Fabrik)

Customizing a Billion Lightsabers: 'STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor' UX Workbench

Jordan DeVries (Lead UX/UI Designer, Respawn Entertainment)

Design with Localization in Mind: Approaches to Translation Damage Control

Anton Mukhataev (Game Designer, Nine Rocks Games)

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Connecting the Global Game Development Community