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.
Programming Track
Days: Wednesday-Friday
Pass Access: All Access, Core
At the Core Concepts Programming track, you’ll dive deep into the nuts and bolts of game development. From groundbreaking techniques to battle-tested coding strategies, we’re bringing together the brightest minds in game programming. You’ll explore topics like optimizing game performance, tackling complex algorithms, and creating dynamic gameplay systems that enhance player experience.
Together, we’ll unlock new levels of creativity through code, all while building a stronger, more innovative game development community.
Who Attends
Game programmers at all levels, from novice coders to experienced engineers, will find invaluable content tailored to their needs. If you're driven by the pursuit of optimizing game engines, streamlining complex workflows, mastering cross-platform development, or simply coding smarter and faster, this track is for you.
Programming Sessions
Get ready to sharpen your programming skills with sessions that deliver the latest techniques, tools, and workflows shaping the future of game development. You'll dive into practical talks that cover a wide array of topics, such as rendering techniques, AI advancements, and game optimization.
Programming Roundtables
Join peer-to-peer discussions led by expert moderators, where you can explore emerging trends, tackle shared challenges, and debate innovative solutions in an open, collaborative environment. From debugging challenges to the future of programming languages—this is your chance to voice your thoughts, ask questions, and learn from others.
2024 Session Highlights
Anatomy of a Frame in 'Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty'
Charles Tremblay (VP of Technology, CD Projekt RED)
Creating Reactive and Superpowered Allies for 'Marvel's Spider-Man 2'
Jesse Werner (Senior Gameplay Programmer, Insomniac Games)
Obstacle Traversal in the Organic World of Pandora
Joel Nilsson (Senior Gameplay Programmer, Massive Entertainment - A Ubisoft Studio)
