10 Things Great Designers Exhibit

2. 10 Things Great Designers Exhibit By Gordon Walton BioWare Austin gordonwalton@hotmail.com

3. Who am I? • Gordon Walton, old game guy! • First commercial game in 1977 • Built over 30 games personally • Managed development of over 200 games • Have hired and worked with 100’s of designers

4. What we will cover • Overview of Design Specialties • How Specialties Affect Designer Selection • The 10 Attributes • The Future of Design • Summary • Q&A

5. Overview of Design Specialties • The Design specialty covers a lot of territory • Is a designer a: • Writer? • Algorithm and numbers person? • Scripter? • Creative auteur? • Interface/accessibility expert? • An alchemist of interactive fun?

6. Overview of Design Specialties • The main point is to modify your selection or assignment criteria based on the specialty

7. The 10 Attributes!

8. #10 A Passion for Games (all games) • Many of you might think this is the most important point (and it is darned important!) • Too narrow passion is less than optimal • Passion is a real “edge” for a designer (true for all jobs in fact!)

9. #9 A Breadth and Depth of Knowledge • What is your level of game knowledge? • Across what game platforms? • What do you know outside of electronic games? • Synthesizing knowledge is the key

10. #8 Problem Solving and Analytical Skills • What is your approach to problem solving? • Can you effectively deconstruct complex problems? • How are your logic skills? • Potential Trap: over-analyzing / over-complexity

11. #7 Flexibility • Design can be exciting but also frustrating due to the frequency of changes involved • Design must adapt to match the platform/business constraints along with the player feedback

12. #6 KISS • More's Law (.vs. Moore's Law) • "If some is good, more is better" • This is a common fault • KISS == Keep It Super Simple • Best to cut stuff on paper!

13. #5 Player empathy • Can you see the game from the player's viewpoint? • Can you understand the player’s mental models? • What can you do if you aren’t very empathetic?

14. #4 Continuous Learning • Designers are on a journey to understand the world and translate that to other people for their enjoyment • Learning more is integral to this process – much of creation is knowledge integration not “original ideas” • Part of the learning process is integrating feedback you get from all areas

15. #3 Teamwork – Being a Team Player • Most commercial games are built by teams • What is most important is that the team succeeds

16. #2 A Positive Mental Attitude • While curmudgeons and grumps can sometimes do excellent work… • Who wants to be around them?? • Enthusiasm and a can-do attitude is infectious!!

17. #1 Clear Communication • Design is communication! • Clarity of communication drives the fastest implementation, and the most effective iteration

18. The 10 Attributes • #1 Clear Communication • #2 Positive Mental Attitude • #3 Teamwork • #4 Continuous Learning • #5 Player Empathy • #6 KISS • #7 Flexibility • #8 Problem Solving/Analytical Skills • #9 Broad Knowledge • #10 A Passion for Games

19. The Future of Design • More specialization – big games • More generalization – small games • Do you have the attributes to be a great designer? • If so, there will be lots of opportunities! 

20. Q&A