Design
Design the Games Players Never Forget
An unforgettable game begins with a thoughtful design. From core mechanics and systems to player psychology, worldbuilding, and progression, the Design track explores how great ideas become amazing player experiences.
From the First Interaction to the Hundredth Hour…
Great game design creates moments players remember.
Whether you’re developing your first prototype or leading design for a franchise, the Design track covers the tools, frameworks, and real-world case studies behind game development.
Gain insights from in-market games, production-tested workflows, and postmortems that can help you solve design challenges.
Past Session Topics
Keep Players Engaged
Learn the strategies behind creating meaningful player interactions through progression, combat systems, rewards, and mechanics.
Better Gameplay
Explore encounter design, controls, moment-to-moment gameplay, pacing, and how the smallest design decisions can impact a player’s experience.
Player-First Design
Discover how studios approach onboarding, usability, retention, accessibility, and worldbuilding to make a memorable first interaction.
Prototype, Test & Iterate
Unlock practical approaches to turning ideas into polished gameplay. From rapid prototyping, playtesting strategies, user research, feedback analysis, and interactive techniques that help teams improve player engagement.
Pushing Design Forward
Hear how designers are utilizing emerging technologies, experimental mechanics, AI-powered workflows, and evolving design practices to reshape how games are imagined, built, and played.
Designing Beyond Launch
Gain insight into how teams are adapting gameplay systems over time, using player data, feedback, ongoing interactions to refine balance, expand content, and support long-term loyalty.
Who Should Attend?
AI Designer Combat Designer Data Analyst Data Scientist Economy Designer Level Designer UI Designer UX Designer Systems Designer Narrative Designer Independent Developers Lead Designer Game Designer
Inside the Design Process
From gameplay systems to level design, explore past talks, deep dives, and postmortems where designers break down the thinking behind some of their game’s most memorable moments.
