作者：Pablo Quarta (Narrative Designer and Producer, Matajuegos)
Atuel is a surrealist documentary videogame about a river that flows across Argentina's Cuyo Desert and how the global climate crisis is threatening its historical ecosystem. Created in collaboration with a team of documentarians, featuring real-world interviews with experts, and focusing on dreamlike portrayals of native species and iconic topography, Atuel is a poetic and meditative game that has gone on to win IndieCade's "Innovation in Experience Design Award" and has been exhibited at documentary festivals, art exhibits, and design museums across the world.
Matajuegos, the game workers' co-op behind the development of Atuel, break down the game's production process, dig into their approach to the documentary genre, and explain the art and design philosophies that made such a hyperlocal Latin American story stand out globally.
Atuel 是一款关于阿根廷库约沙漠中一条流过的河流的超现实主义纪录片视频游戏，探讨全球气候危机对其历史生态系统的威胁。与一支纪录片团队合作打造，采访了真实世界的专家，侧重展现了梦幻般的原生物种和标志性地形，Atuel 是一款富有诗意和沉思的游戏，赢得了IndieCade的“体验设计创新奖”，并在世界各地的纪录片节、艺术展览和设计博物馆展出。
Matajuegos，Atuel 开发背后的游戏工作者合作社，解析了游戏的制作过程，深入探讨了他们对纪录片类型的处理方式，并解释了使这样一个高度本土化的拉丁美洲故事在全球脱颖而出的艺术和设计哲学。
作者：Lenophie Leuliet (Game Designer, Bunstack)
Lots of young indie game devs daydream about making puzzle games despite it being one of the least popular genre among gamers. Let's make that puzzle game actually profitable! This talk covers ways to turn your puzzle game into a gem and reach audiences outside the puzzle niche from a joint design and marketing perspective: From improving the game's overall presentation to correctly teasing its most hidden (and exciting!) mechanics, this talk also tackles ways to facilitate content creators' job of showcasing your puzzle game, a genre most usually avoid. This talk will delve into examples from Pâquerette Down the Bunburrows as well as tricks used by other successful puzzle games such Baba is You, The Witness or Viewfinder.
许多年轻的独立游戏开发者都幻想制作益智游戏，尽管这是玩家中最不受欢迎的游戏类型之一。让我们确保那款益智游戏真的能够盈利！这次讲座将从联合设计和营销的角度讨论如何将您的益智游戏打造成一款珍品，并吸引到益智游戏以外的受众：从提升游戏整体呈现到正确揭示其最隐藏（和令人兴奋的！）机制，这次讲座还会探讨如何简化内容创作者展示您的益智游戏，这是大多数人通常回避的一类游戏。本次讲座将深入探讨《帕奎丽特穿越邦伯罗斯》以及其他成功益智游戏如《Baba is You》、《见证者》或《视窗者》所使用的技巧。
链接：https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-saturnalia-postmortem/901142
作者：Pietro Righi Riva (Studio Director, Santa Ragione)
In this talk, the game director of third person survival horror Saturnalia tells the story of its overly ambitious and troubled six-year development, outlining the radical changes in scope, design and looks that allowed the team to fund the game and eventually ship it.
A rendering style change inspired by a tweet, a mid-development shift from first to third-person, three years of pitching to more than ninety publishers, and the design challenges of a multi-character proc-narrative rogue-lite exploration-driven title inspired by the folklore of Sardinia, Italy. In short, the ups and downs of making a game that was a grand prize finalist at IndieCade and A MAZE, and an IGF Seumas McNally Grand Prize Honorable Mention.
在这个讲话中，第三人称生存恐怖游戏《Saturnalia》的游戏总监讲述了其六年的过度雄心勃勃且饱受困扰的开发历程，概述了在范围、设计和外观上进行的彻底改变，使团队能够筹集资金开发游戏并最终发布。
受推特启发而进行的渲染风格改变，从第一人称到第三人称的中期开发变化，持续三年向九十多家发行商推销的经历，以及从意大利撒丁岛民间传说灵感而来的多角色进程故事魔幻风格探险游戏的设计挑战。简而言之，游戏制作的起起落落，成为IndieCade和A MAZE大奖决赛入围者，以及IGF Seumas McNally大奖荣誉提名游戏。
作者：Jonathan Smårs (Lead Engineer and Designer on Valheim, Iron Gate Studio)
Valheim is a viking survival game that went viral when it was released on Early Access in 2021 reaching a million units in the first month and reaching 10 million in 6 months and has since then been released on xbox game pass.
Jonathan is working as the lead engineer and game designer on Valheim. In this talk he will share insight into the Valheim development journey so far through a patch-by-patch breakdown and managing player expectations spanning multiple years of development during early access and lessons learned along the way, both internal and external challenges that have emerged, and oh - and they bought a horse.
He will also cover how they hope to leave early access in the best possible way so that Valheim can be remembered as an example of early access done right and be a game that can be played for many years to come.
《瓦尔海姆》是一款北欧维京人生存游戏，2021年在抢先体验版发布后迅速走红，第一个月销量达到一百万份，在六个月时达到一千万份，并于后来登陆Xbox Game Pass。乔纳森是《瓦尔海姆》的首席工程师和游戏设计师。在本次讲话中，他将透过分阶段的补丁分析和管理玩家期望，分享《瓦尔海姆》迄今为止的开发历程，跨越了多年的抢先体验开发以及经验教训，包括内外部出现的挑战，噢，他们还买了匹马。 他还将讨论他们希望以最好的方式退出抢先体验，使《瓦尔海姆》能够被记住为一个成功的抢先体验示范，并成为一个可以玩很多年的游戏。
作者：Neha Patel (Composer/Sound Designer, Independent)
The sound of Venba was aimed with one thought in mind: ''Hear the sounds of my Indian home''. Neha's motto for creating the soundscape for the game was that it had to be authentic to the culture the game represents. This meant understanding the history, the culture, and of course the cooking methods. Neha will explain the recording process for the variety of foods, using the appropriate kitchenware and being aware of how to best represent the subtilties that are part of everyday life in a South Asian household. A variety of videos demonstrating the recording process as well as their in-game usage will be demonstrated.
Venba 的音效创作以一个念头为目标：''聆听我印度家园的声音''。 Neha 创作游戏音效的座右铭是，音效必须忠实于游戏所代表的文化。这意味着理解历史、文化，当然还有烹饪方法。 Neha 将会解释各种食物的录制过程，使用适当的厨具，并且要了解如何最好地展现南亚家庭日常生活中的细微差别。将展示一系列视频，演示录制过程以及它们在游戏中的应用。
作者：Rez Graham (Creative / Technical Director, Independent)
There are a nearly endless set of engines to choose from out from massive AAA behemoths like Unreal to much smaller engines like Godot or even RenPy. Each of these engines offers a starting point, but they all come at a cost. Some of that cost is financial, but much of the cost is in the form of constraints on the game design or even the technical feasibility of a project. The alternative is to build an engine from scratch, which is often seen as completely untenable.
This session will discuss when and why one might consider building their own game engine. It will walk through the various considerations and break down the cost/benefit analysis. Attendees will gain a value insight into what it would really take to build something simple and usable.
在游戏开发领域可以选择的引擎几乎无穷无尽，从庞大的 AAA 级引擎如虚幻引擎到更小型的引擎如 Godot 或者 RenPy。每个引擎都提供了一个起点，但它们都是有代价的。其中一部分成本是财务成本，但更多的成本体现在对游戏设计的限制，甚至对项目技术可行性的约束上。另一种选择是从零开始构建一个引擎，但这通常被认为是完全不可行的。
这个讨论会探讨在何时以及为什么应考虑构建自己的游戏引擎。它将详细讨论各种考虑因素，并分析成本/收益关系。与会者将深入了解构建一个简单可用的引擎实际需要付出的努力。
Independent Games Summit: A Decade Unveiled: The Brazilian Indie Game Scene's Transformative Journey
作者：Arthur Protasio (Founder & CEO, Fableware)、Bruno Campagnolo de Paula (Course Coordinator, PUC-PR)、Ana Ribeiro (Game Director, Arvore Immersive Experiences)、Thais Weiller (Game Designer and Producer, JoyMasher)、Sandro Manfredini (Business Development Director, Epic Games)
Five diverse game devs come together to share their stories and how they all originated from the same ecosystem: the Brazilian Indie Scene.
Over the past 10 years, Brazil has seen nearly a tenfold increase in the number of game development companies. From 133 incorporated studios, there are now over 1000, with an estimated 10,000 workers in the industry. We revealed this budding indie game industry back at a GDC talk in 2014 and, now, we have come full circle, with an understanding of the reasons why the Brazilian community has experienced this growth. It's been driven by the strength of regional developer communities as well as individual actions that have infused regional DNA into various globally successful games.
Game developers from titles like Horizon Chase, Pixel Rift, Blazing Chrome, and Sword Legacy: Omen will discuss how they learned to deal with this scenario and came out victorious from it. They'll explain how certain definitions of success don't translate equally across the world, highlight diverse cultural, economic, social landscapes that shaped individual achievements, and inspire you to do the same.
五位不同背景的游戏开发者聚在一起分享他们的故事，以及他们是如何源于同一个生态系统：巴西独立游戏圈。
在过去的10年里，巴西的游戏开发公司数量几乎增长了十倍。从133家注册工作室，现在已经超过1000家，该行业估计有1万名员工。我们在2014年的GDC演讲中揭示了这个新兴的独立游戏行业，现在，我们已经全面了解了巴西社区为何会经历这种增长。这种增长受到了地区开发者社区的力量驱动，以及注入地区DNA到各种在全球取得成功的游戏中的个人行动。
来自《地平线追逐》、《像素裂缝》、《烈焰铬合金》和《剑之传承：厄运》等游戏开发者将讨论他们是如何学会应对这种情况，并从中成功脱颖而出的。他们将解释成功的某些定义在世界各地并不一致，突出多样化的文化、经济、社会景观如何塑造了个人成就，并激励你做同样的事情。
作者：Andreia Gaita (CEO, Principal Tech Lead, Spoiled Cat)
C# is a very popular language, and there are a lot of C# developers out there. There is a constant desire for these C# skills to be transferable across game engines, and this is especially true given the recent events surrounding Unity, and the increasing popularity of alternative engines targeting the indie dev market.
But how transferable are C# skills from engine to engine? How do you evaluate the viability of the C# support on an engine you don't know? AOT, JIT, Mono, what are all of these words? You want to embed C# in your engine, how do you do that?
This talk will cover what you need to know about C# and the .NET ecosystem in the games industry, clarifying the jargon, going over existing engine support, explaining platform constraints, portability, and providing pratical examples of how to embed C# in a game engine, as well as relevant online resources.
C# 是一种非常流行的编程语言，世界上有很多C#开发人员。人们一直希望这些C#技能可以在不同的游戏引擎之间转换，尤其是考虑到围绕Unity发生的最近事件，以及针对独立开发者市场的另类引擎日益增长的受欢迎程度。
但是，C#技能在不同引擎之间到底有多容易转换？你如何评估在未知引擎上的C#支持的可行性？AOT、JIT、Mono，所有这些词是什么意思？如果你想要将C#嵌入到你的引擎中，该如何做呢？
本次交流将涵盖你在游戏行业中需要了解的有关C#和.NET生态系统的知识，澄清术语，介绍现有引擎的支持情况，解释平台约束，可移植性，并提供如何在游戏引擎中嵌入C#的实际示例，以及相关的在线资源。
作者：John Austin (Founder, Pontoco)
You've probably heard this debate before. It's a common belief that challenge and approachability are incompatible – that making a game more challenging inherently makes a game less approachable. And yet, we can have both! In fact, many recent indie hits are successful precisely because they thread this needle. In this talk, John Austin will break this problem down on a (not too) theoretical level and build a framework we can use to talk about difficulty in games. In the second half, he will explore concrete strategies and case studies from recent indie games that we can leverage to adjust approachability in our games – without compromising on challenge or the inherent vision of the game.
你可能之前听过这场辩论。一种普遍观念认为挑战和易接近性是不相容的 - 认为使游戏更具挑战性会使游戏变得不易接近。但是，我们可以两者兼得！事实上，许多最近的独立游戏作品之所以成功，正是因为它们成功地平衡了这一点。在这次讲座中，约翰·奥斯汀将会将这个问题拆解到一个（不太）理论层面，并建立一个框架，让我们能够讨论游戏难度。在后半部分，他将探讨最近独立游戏中的具体策略和案例研究，我们可以借鉴这些内容来调整我们游戏中的易接近性 - 而不会牺牲挑战性或游戏的固有愿景。
作者：Kells Tate (CEO, Peachy Keen Games)
Despite a failed first Kickstarter, a very tiny game budget, a duo making a game for the first time, and a global pandemic, Peachy Keen Games' debut game Calico outsold all expectations and even rose to top 10 best sellers on Switch's store front for a week at launch! But how did that happen? Cozy games are on the rise, but it's getting harder to stand out in the niche. Kells Tate will go over the story of what went into the success of a cozy game, and how to reach players as a small team by prioritizing emotional connection.
尽管第一次的Kickstarter众筹失败了，游戏预算很少，一对第一次制作游戏的团队，全球大流行的流感肆虐，但 Peachy Keen Games 的首款游戏《Calico》却超出了所有人的期望，甚至在上市当周登顶了Switch商店的畅销榜前十！但是这是如何发生的呢？舒适类游戏正在兴起，但在这一细分市场脱颖而出越来越困难。Kells Tate 将介绍《Calico》成功背后的故事，以及如何通过优先考虑情感联系来吸引玩家，从而作为一支小团队取得成功。
作者：Galen Ryder (Software Engineer, Red Hook Studios)
Darkest Dungeon cast an intimidatingly large shadow over it's sequel with it's signature presentation style and strong visual identity. Darkest Dungeon II transitioned the series from 2D to 3D with the goal of maintaining the same distinctive visual style and presentation but pushing the bar as high as we could go. This talk will cover, in detail, the approaches, challenges, and trade-offs made in pursuing this goal. In particular, the challenge of achieving a robust presentation pipeline as one programmer with many artists to support.
Discover how the visual communication of features was gravely important for keeping everyone on the same page. How rapid previsualization influenced the way tools were built for sequencing animations and visual effects. Missteps that caused wasted time and lessons learned.
Aspiration unites the hopeful!
《最黑暗的地牢》以其独特的呈现风格和强烈的视觉识别覆盖了它的续作，投下了一道庞大的阴影。《最黑暗的地牢II》将系列从2D转变为3D，旨在保持相同独特的视觉风格和呈现方式，同时将标准提高到极致。本次讨论将详细探讨在追求这一目标过程中采取的方法、挑战和权衡。特别是，在一名程序员与众多艺术家共同支持的情况下，实现强大的呈现流程的挑战。
发现视觉传达功能对于让每个人保持一致非常重要。快速预览如何影响了为动画序列和视觉效果构建工具的方式。导致浪费时间的错误和吸取的教训。
志向团结希望！
Independent Games Summit: Cult of the Twitch: How 'Cult of the Lamb' Used Twitch Integration to Reach a Massive Audience
作者：Harrison Gibbins (Lead Gameplay Developer, Massive Monster)、Thomas Tuts (Founder, Streaming Toolsmith)
Cult of the Lamb was one of the biggest independent games of 2022, selling over 1 million copies in the first week and reaching over 140 thousand concurrent viewers on Twitch on the day of release. Was Cult of the Lamb having Twitch Integration a major part of its success?
Join Cult of the Lamb's Lead Gameplay Developer, Harrison Gibbins and Twitch Integration Developer, Thomas Tuts, as they give an in-depth look at how the integration was designed and developed, the hurdles that were faced as well as an in-depth look at how well Cult of the Lamb performed on Twitch.
《羊之教》是2022年最重要的独立游戏之一，在首周售出超过100万份，发布当日在Twitch上同时观看人数达到了14万。《羊之教》之所以取得成功，Twitch整合是否是其中一个重要因素呢？
加入《羊之教》主要游戏开发者Harrison Gibbins和Twitch整合开发者Thomas Tuts，他们将深度探讨这一整合的设计与开发过程，所面临的困难，以及《羊之教》在Twitch上表现的深入分析。
作者：Abhi Swami (Creative Director, Visai Games)
Venba is a pretty different game in it's story, setting and gameplay. As a result the development process for the game was also equally unique and faced a variety of different challenges. Creative Director Abhi will talk about what it was like to take Venba from concept to release, finding funding and an audience while the team worked other full-time jobs for most of it's development. Abhi will also cover the challenges in adapting real world recipes without compromising on cultural authenticity.
Venba 是一款在故事、背景和玩法上都非常不同的游戏。因此，这款游戏的开发过程也同样独特，并面临着各种不同的挑战。创意总监 Abhi 将会谈论将 Venba 从概念到发布是怎样的经历，他们是如何在团队大部分成员全职工作的情况下寻找资金和观众。Abhi 还将讨论在不影响文化真实性的前提下，如何挑战着将现实世界的食谱融入游戏中。
作者：Joe Mirabello (Founder and Director, Terrible Posture Games)
So you've released that Indie-Game you've been working on for five years and now you're wondering... what's next? You've refined your pipeline, honed your skills, and spent years building up a great team and studio to work at, but unless you find yourself in a runaway hit situation, it's time to get serious. You're not AAA, but you're no longer a spare-time Indie... you're Post Indie. In this deep dive into a small studios' ten year history, we examine the blurry line between "hobby studio" and "career", between niche products and AAA brands, and between staying scrappy and being professional, all while building a reputation, surviving a bleak landscape, and, above all, being a steward for the livelihoods your team has entrusted to your leadership.
你已经发布了那款你花了五年时间开发的独立游戏，现在你可能在思考接下来该做什么了。你已经完善了你的开发流程，磨练了自己的技能，花了数年时间建立了一个优秀的团队和工作室，但除非你的游戏成为了一款十分成功的作品，否则就是时候要认真面对现实了。你并不是AAA游戏，但也不再是一个业余独立开发者... 你是“后独立”了。在这个深入探讨小工作室十年历史的故事中，我们将探讨“业余工作室”和“职业工作室”之间模糊的界限，探究小众产品和AAA品牌之间的差距，以及在保持灵活与专业之间的平衡，一边建立声誉，一边在艰难的行业中生存，最重要的是，如何成为团队生计的守护者，因为他们已经把领导权委托给了你。
作者：Jordan Magnuson (Independent Game Maker, NecessaryGames.com)
In "Designing for Difficult Topics and Complex Emotions: How Poetry Can Help Us Make Better Games," Jordan Magnuson explores the intersection of lyric poetry and game design. Challenging traditional frameworks, they demonstrate how poetic principles offer fresh insights into crafting meaningful gaming experiences. Drawing on many years of experimental game making experience and insights from their recent book, "Game Poems: Videogame Design as Lyric Practice," they present practical strategies for using poetic devices in games. Using examples from both well-known games as well as their own portfolio, Jordan reveals how embracing lyric poetry can help game designers evoke complex emotions and navigate difficult topics. This talk is ideal for game designers seeking innovative approaches to deepen narrative engagement and emotional resonance in their games.
在《'Designing for Difficult Topics and Complex Emotions: How Poetry Can Help Us Make Better Games'》中，Jordan Magnuson 探讨了抒情诗与游戏设计的交汇点。挑战传统框架，他们展示了诗歌原则如何为打造意义深远的游戏体验提供新的见解。凭借多年的实验性游戏制作经验和最近著作《Game Poems: Videogame Design as Lyric Practice》中的见解，他们提出了在游戏中使用诗歌设备的实用策略。通过介绍知名游戏以及他们自己的作品集，Jordan揭示了 embracing lyric poetry 如何帮助游戏设计者唤起复杂情感并应对困难议题。这个讨论对于寻求创新方法深化叙事参与度和情感共鸣的游戏设计师而言非常理想。
作者：Inna Hansen (Art Director, Triple Topping)、Martin Kvale (Audio Director, Noknok Audio)
This lecture takes a dive into the process of color design as part of art in video games and compares it to the process of finding and executing the same effects in audio. It is about finding the feel, direction, storytelling and building associations to make a stronger impact with what the game is trying to do. If you ever wanted to describe what and sound you want to a sound designer only by using color, we got you covered. Inna Hansen(Art director of TripleTopping) and Martin Kvale (sound designer for Keeper, Manifold Garden and GoNNER) will provide comparisons, similarities and in working with color in audio and art for games using
这次讲座深入探讨了在视频游戏中的艺术中的色彩设计过程，并将其与在音频中找到并执行相同效果的过程进行比较。它关于寻找感觉、方向、叙事和建立关联，以使游戏所试图做的事情产生更强烈的影响。如果你想要仅通过使用颜色向声音设计师描述想要的声音和感觉，我们已经为你准备好了。Inna Hansen (TripleTopping的艺术总监) 和Martin Kvale（《守护者》、《无尽花园》和《枪纳》的声音设计师）将提供比较、类似之处以及在使用颜色来处理游戏中的音频和艺术方面的工作。
链接：https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-i-am-fandom-and-so-can-you/901967
作者：Lindsay Ishihiro (Writer, Artist, Product Developer, Independent)
How do you do, fellow kids? Join writer, artist, and product developer Lindsay Ishihiro as they demystify the untameable beast known as transformative fandom: fanfic, fanart, cosplay, memes, and more. In this session, they talk about fandom's history, why it forms, and how you can (and why you should!) interact with it, nurture it, and use it to your advantage to organically promote your game in ways money can't buy... without sounding like a dweeb.From the product development standpoint, they go over how to tap into your fandom to create merchandise that people actually want to purchase, and how to develop fanwork policies that protect your IP while also honoring the magnificent, untamed creativity of your fans.
请问各位小伙伴们好！加入作家、艺术家和产品开发者Lindsay Ishihiro，让他们揭开转变性 fandom（变革性粉丝社区）这个难以驯服的巨兽的面纱：包括同人小说、同人绘画、角色扮演、模因等等。在这个环节中，他们会讨论 fandom 的历史，以及它为何形成，以及你如何可以（以及为何应该！）与之互动，培养它，并利用它来有机地促进你的游戏，这是金钱无法购买的...而且不会让你听起来像个怪胎。从产品开发的角度出发，他们将介绍如何利用你的 fandom 制作人们真正想购买的商品，以及如何制定粉丝作品政策来保护你的知识产权，同时也尊重你的粉丝们那个伟大而不受拘束的创造力。
链接：https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-indie-soapbox/902911
作者：Lucas Johnson (Studio Director, Silverstring Media Inc.)、Gerben Grave (Narrative Designer, Multiverse Narratives)、Bahiyya Khan (Game Designer, Writer and Filmmaker, Independent)、Tanya Kan (Director and Executive Producer, Vivid Foundry Corp.)、Kara Stone (Designer, Independent)
Indie Soapbox is the chance for indie devs from diverse backgrounds and projects to come together to share their thoughts, lessons and provocations about indie game dev in this long-standing micro talk format. Attendees enjoy a rich and varied set of themes and topics, all in a punchy format that has something for everyone.
Indie Soapbox 是独立开发者们从不同背景和项目汇聚一堂，分享他们对于独立游戏开发的想法、经验和挑战的机会，采用长期存在的微型演讲形式。参与者可以在简洁的形式中享受丰富多样的主题和话题，内容丰富，适合所有人。
作者：Dana Trebella (Founder, Spoke & Wheel Strategy)、Derek Lieu (Trailer Editor/Founder, Derek Lieu, LLC)
A well planned marketing timeline is an essential but often overlooked part of game production that is crucial for visibility and preparedness. Learn step-by-step instructions to plan the 6-18 month timeline starting with pre-announcement and ending with the game's launch (spoiler alert: it's by working backwards from your launch to your initial announcement). This talk will show the market research necessary to create your timeline, and how to integrate it with the production schedule, public marketing beats, and internal milestones.
You'll also learn common mistakes which can needlessly hurt your game's visibility or lead to crunch. We will share examples from real marketing timelines and mistakes from our projects and you will walk away with a holistic view of marketing and realistic expectations of what you need to plan effectively.
一个精心规划的营销时间表是游戏制作中至关重要但经常被忽视的一部分，对于可见度和准备工作来说至关重要。学习逐步指导，从预告片开始，结束于游戏发布之前6-18个月的时间表规划（剧透警告：通过从发布日期逆向规划到初始公告来实现）。这次讨论将展示必要的市场调研，以创建您的时间表，并如何将其与制作进度、公开营销节奏和内部里程碑相结合。
您还将学习到可能会不必要地损害游戏可见度或导致繁忙计划的常见错误。我们将分享真实营销时间表和我们项目中的错误示例，您将全面了解营销和创建有效计划所需的现实期望。
作者：Matt MacLean (CEO / Designer, Generic Lake Monster)
People might disagree on how much challenge is the perfect amount, but even fans of masochistically difficult games will agree: losing because you made the wrong decision has the potential to be fun, but losing because you're in a struggle with the controller or the interface is the stuff of rage-quitting. Thinking about players with hands, eyes, minds, schedules, and distractions different than your own is neither free, nor easy, but with less demands to cater to the common denominators, independent game studios are best positioned to serve these players. Drawing from four years of success and setbacks making Quarterstaff, an accessibility-focused game, this talk is about using accessibility as a baseline of success and a core design constraint, as well as best practices for making sure usability is an ongoing component of development that makes your game stand out, and not a costly last-minute addition.
人们对于游戏挑战的程度可能存在分歧，但即使对 masochistically 困难游戏的粉丝也会认同：因为做出了错误决策而失败有可能会带来乐趣，但因为与控制器或界面的斗争而失败会导致怒气冲冲地退出游戏。考虑到玩家手部、眼睛、思维、时间表以及其他个人差异，这既不是免费的，也不容易，但独立游戏工作室在服务这些玩家方面处于最佳位置，因为他们没有受制于通用要求。借鉴四年来为以无障碍为重点的游戏《Quarterstaff》取得的成功和挫折，本次讨论是关于将无障碍性作为成功的基准和核心设计约束，以及确保可用性是持续开发的最佳实践，使您的游戏脱颖而出，而不是一个昂贵的临时增加物。
作者：Jennifer Scheidereit (Creative Director, Nyamyam)、Son M. (Creative Director, Narrative Designer, Perfect Garbage Studios)、Kenny Sun (Game Developer, Independent)
What’s an indie game dev to do when the market for project funding appears upside down compared to a mere 12 months ago? Pitching and securing funding is a slog and not for the faint of heart. But it gets easier when you can walk in knowing what to expect from the process, are prepared for the inevitable curveballs thrown your way, and are informed of what NOT to do when it comes to lining up funding for your projects. Developers from across the indie dev landscape share their tales from the pitching and funding trenches to help you better navigate the often rocky road to project funding.
当相比仅仅12个月前，项目资金市场似乎出现颠倒时，独立游戏开发者该怎么办呢？推销和获得资金是一项艰难的工作，不适合胆小怕事的人。但当你了解整个过程中会遇到什么，做好迎接可能出现的意外情况的准备，并知道在为项目筹集资金时不应该做些什么时，情况就会好些。来自各种独立开发者中的开发者分享他们在推销和筹集资金过程中的故事，帮助你更好地应对通往项目资金的这条常常崎岖的道路。
作者：Dr. Jennifer Killham (People Strategy Consultant, TVETM)、Trento von Lindenberg (CEO, Mouldbreaker Interactive)、Don Daglow (Video Games Designer, Don Daglow)、Julien Schillinger (CEO, PandaBee Studios UG (haftungsbeschränkt))、James Laird (Product Lead, Series AI)、Adinda van Oosten (Game Journalist and Educator, Acreates)
Industry has been wracked with studio closure after closure, an increased lack of support, and an ever-tightening job market, leaving many developers feeling frustrated and devalued. But before you resign…. have you thought about starting your own studio to make that change yourself?
To accomplish that, our speakers will provide actionable resources, tools, and best practices to help you embody a developer-centered culture. Topics will specifically speak to the process of building a studio, and address the following questions: What inspired your studio to take a people-first philosophy? How do you walk the walk, and what are the stumbling blocks you've found along the route? With this shift, what worked, what had to change, and why is that unique to this perspective? How has this belief enabled you to recruit and retain diverse employees?
The road to making a better industry is challenging, but the value of making a safe space for developers to thrive in is worth it. The speakers in these talks will share their experiences transparently, believing that each new successful people-first studio will build towards a more sustainable future for independent developers and industry as a whole.
游戏开发领域已经遭受了一波接一波的工作室倒闭，支持不足的困境以及日益紧张的就业市场，让许多开发者感到沮丧和被低估。但在你选择放弃之前，你有没有考虑过自己开设一个工作室，来做出改变呢？
为了实现这一目标，我们的演讲嘉宾将提供可操作的资源、工具和最佳实践，帮助你营造一个以开发者为中心的文化。演讲主题将具体涉及建立工作室的过程，并解答以下问题：是什么激发了你们的工作室采取以人为本的理念？你们是如何践行这一理念的，以及在前进的道路上遇到了哪些阻碍？随着这种转变，哪些做法奏效了，哪些不得不改变，而这种独特的观点又为何被启用？这种信念如何帮助你们吸引和留住多样化的员工？
通往创造一个更好工业的道路充满挑战，但为开发者提供一个安全成长空间的价值是不言而喻的。这些演讲者将公开分享他们的经验，相信每一个成功的以人为本的工作室都将有助于为独立开发者和整个产业构建更加可持续的未来。
Independent Games Summit: Releasing an "Evolving Demo": A Postmortem for 'Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles'
作者：Tomas Sala (Creator, Tomas Sala)
"Why launching an evolving demo is a good idea, but not always" In this talk, solo developer Tomas Sala will do a brief post-mortem on the evolving demo he launched for The Falconeer: Bulwark.
He'll explain the difference between doing an evolving demo (a free experience that is updated and improved publicly) and a paid Early Access release, Sala will discuss pro's and cons of both scenario's and what motivated him to do this open development thru a steam demo.
He will discuss why the evolving demo worked great for his latest game, but why it might not be the best option for every game or even for every phase of development. Other developers can use his valuable insights to choose the best option for the game they are working on.
"为什么推出一个不断发展的演示版是一个好主意，但并非总是" 在这次讲演中，独立开发者Tomas Sala将简要总结他为《猎鹰手：堡垒》推出的不断发展的演示版。
他将解释进行不断发展的演示版（一个公开更新和改进的免费体验）与付费的抢先体验版本之间的区别。Sala将讨论两种情况的利弊，并解释他做出通过Steam演示进行开放式开发的动机。
他将讨论为什么不断发展的演示版对他最新游戏效果很好，但为什么它可能并非对每款游戏或甚至每个开发阶段都是最佳选择。其他开发者可以借鉴他宝贵的见解，选择最适合他们正在开发的游戏的最佳方案。
作者：Annakaisa Kultima (Founder, Finnish Game Jam)
In this talk, I will take you through some of the quirkiest, heartwarming, creative, and inspiring stories from Finnish game jams. While Finland is officially hailed as 'the happiest country in the world,' it harbors a unique secret: we create games in the most unconventional places. While saunas are a common feature of Finnish game jams, our more exotic adventures have taken place in a wintry cottage, a Sami tent (teepee), planetariums, alongside quantum computers, aboard a Ferris wheel, and even on a tandem bike. When playfully brainstorming new game jam ideas in Finland, you must be cautious because they might just become a reality. Although it's challenging to surpass the rich history of Finnish game jams, the purpose of this presentation is to inspire you to elevate your own game jams. Who knows, one day, someone might organize a game jam at the International Space Station.
在这次讲话中，我将带领大家了解一些来自芬兰游戏开发马拉松的最古怪、最暖心、最有创意和最鼓舞人心的故事。虽然芬兰正式被誉为“世界上最幸福的国家”，但它隐藏着一个独特的秘密：我们在最不寻常的地方创造游戏。尽管在芬兰游戏开发马拉松中桑拿是一种常见元素，但我们更加奇特的冒险发生在冬季小屋、萨米人帐篷（圆锥形帐篷）、天文馆、量子计算机旁边、摩天轮上，甚至是骑在双人自行车上。在芬兰轻松愉快地头脑风暴新的游戏开发马拉松创意时，你必须小心，因为它们可能会变成现实。虽然要超越芬兰游戏开发马拉松丰富的历史是具有挑战性的，但这次演讲的目的是激励你提升自己的游戏开发马拉松。谁知道，也许有一天，有人会在国际空间站组织一个游戏开发马拉松。
Independent Games Summit: Sensitive, Emotional & Intimate: Working with Challenging Themes in 'The Quiet Things'
作者：Kirsty Gillmore (Voice, Performance and Casting Director, Sounds Wilde)
How do we tell stories which are based around sensitive and heavy themes? And how do we endeavor to portray an emotionally challenging, intimate narrative, as unflinchingly as possible, without causing trauma to a development team? Voice & Casting Director Kirsty Gillmore explores how Silver Script Games approached the creation of autobiographical narrative game The Quiet Things, which tells the story of Alice from childhood to late teens and her experiences with child abuse, mental health and trauma, with a deep focus on storytelling through audio. CW: this talk will include reference to themes of childhood abuse, self-harm, mental health, attempted suicide, grooming and sexual abuse.
我们如何讲述围绕敏感和沉重主题的故事？我们如何努力以尽可能坦率的方式呈现令人情感挑战的亲密叙事，而不会给开发团队造成创伤？配音与选角总监 Kirsty Gillmore 探讨了 Silver Script Games 如何着手创作自传故事游戏《The Quiet Things》，该游戏讲述了从童年到青少年时期的爱丽丝（Alice）的故事，以及她经历的童年虐待、心理健康和创伤，着重通过音频进行叙事。注意：这次讲座将涉及到童年虐待、自我伤害、心理健康、自杀未遂、慕赞和性虐待等主题。
链接：https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-the-black-gamic-language/902585
作者：Spencer Garland (CEO/Creative Director, BRENDA ARTS, LLC.)
Hype Williams, but for Video Games?!?
This presentation speaks to the newfound formation of a Black Gamic Language. In a similar way that Gordon Parks, Marvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee, John Singleton, The Wayans Brothers, Ava DuVernay, Cheryl Dunye, Boots Riley, and Terrance Nance developed what Black TV and movies can be, Spencer Garland, along with other developers, are adding their ideas into what Black games can be. What new inherently Black genres can be added to the medium of video games? What characters or worlds can be created? To reference Andrew Benjamin, "Black game devs have something to say!"
This presentation will go over the history of Black life represented in games, understanding media literacy surrounding stereotypical depictions of BIPOC people in games, the history of BIPOC game devs, and who is actively working to dismantle the systems that exclude Black life/joy in the medium. Discourse about BIPOC aesthetics from film and how they can be translated into a gamic medium will also be expressed.
这段内容探讨了关于全新形成的黑人游戏语言。类似于 Gordon Parks, Marvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee, John Singleton, The Wayans Brothers, Ava DuVernay, Cheryl Dunye, Boots Riley, 和 Terrance Nance 塑造了黑人电视和电影的形象一样，Spencer Garland 和其他开发者致力于探索黑人游戏的可能性。在视频游戏这个媒介中，可以加入哪些新的充满黑人特色的游戏类型？可以创造哪些新的角色或世界？用 Andrew Benjamin 的话来说，"黑人游戏开发者有话要说！"
这个演示将讨论黑人生活在游戏中的历史，理解游戏中关于BIPOC人群的刻板印象，探讨BIPOC游戏开发者的历史，以及谁正在积极努力解体排斥黑人生活/欢乐的体制。此外，还将探讨关于来自电影中的BIPOC美学，以及如何将其转化为游戏媒介的讨论。
链接：https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-the-flash-games-postmortem-vol-2/900655
作者：John Cooney (Game Developer, Wonderful Elephant)
Its been five years since The Flash Games Postmortem and the impact of Flash continues to be critical to our understanding of the modern indie game scene. The indie spirit of Flash games provides many lessons in the modern game space through its developer experiences, accomplishments, preservation, and relationships with platforms. In this talk we explore how Flash's historical impact beyond the "Death of Flash" provides modern lessons to developers and how we can best prepare ourselves for the ephemeral and existential concerns of our industry (and our place in it).
自从《The Flash Games Postmortem》已经过去了五年，Flash 的影响力仍然对我们理解现代独立游戏领域至关重要。Flash 游戏中所体现的独立精神为我们提供了许多关于现代游戏领域的经验教训，包括开发者经历、成就、保存以及与平台的关系。在这次演讲中，我们探讨了Flash 的历史影响如何超越“Flash 的消亡”，为开发者提供现代经验教训，并且如何最好地为我们行业的转瞬即逝和存在的担忧做好准备（以及我们在其中的位置）。
作者：Tanya X. Short (Captain, Kitfox Games)
Kitfox is in its third year of a 4-day workweek, only 8 hours per day. It's a massively popular policy at the studio, such that 50% of their staff said in a survey that if they had to change jobs, they would need double their salary to return to 5-days per week, and 30% said they "probably could not be persuaded" to return to 5 days at all. Their Captain and co-founder Tanya X. Short steps up to delve into the details of their implementation, in all its snaggy, hiccupy glory. How do you account for federal holidays, or taxes, or contractors, or employee resilience? And the million-dollar question, she'll even dare to answer "Is it as productive?", with as much evidence as she can muster.
Kitfox正在进行每周4天，每天8小时的工作制，这已经是他们的第三个年头。这一政策在工作室非常受欢迎，以至于在一项调查中有50%的员工表示，如果他们不得不换工作，他们需要双倍的薪水来回到每周5天的工作制，30%的员工表示“可能无法说服他们”回到每周5天的工作制。他们的队长兼联合创始人Tanya X. Short挺身而出，深入探讨他们的实施细节，以所有棘手、困难的光辉。如何考虑联邦假日、税收、承包商或员工的反弹力？而那个价值百万美元的问题，她甚至敢于回答“这样是否有效率”，并提供尽可能多的证据。
作者：Chris Zukowski (Marketing Consultant & Strategist, How To Market A Game)
Best selling, experienced developers, and big publishers have figured out a number of tricks to the Steam Algorithm that allows them to get more visibility on their games. Unfortunately, these tricks are usually only shared among experienced devs or by high-paid consultants. In this talk I will expose these weak points so everyone has a chance to get the most possible visibility for their game.
畅销、经验丰富的开发者和大型发行商已经掌握了一些可以利用 Steam 算法的技巧，让他们的游戏获得更多曝光。不幸的是，这些技巧通常只在经验丰富的开发者之间分享，或者由高薪顾问传授。在这次讲话中，我将揭示这些弱点，让每个人都有机会为他们的游戏获得尽可能多的曝光。
作者：Jessica Shipard (Co-founder & Creative Director, Studio Folly)
Typography is often overlooked in game development, but it can play a vital role in creating exciting and memorable experiences for players. Using her hit new game Gubbins as a case study, Jessica Shipard will share how her discipline as a graphic designer informed the creation of her word game and how she balances the needs for clarity and creative flair in videogames. She'll unravel practical strategies for selecting typefaces and refining designs, for captivating and even humorous game designs. Delving into the unexplored realms of the typographic universe, Jessica will unveil the exciting possibilities yet to be harnessed in the game world.
排版设计在游戏开发中经常被忽视，但它在为玩家创造令人兴奋和难忘的体验中发挥着至关重要的作用。通过她的热门新作《Gubbins》作为案例，Jessica Shipard将分享她作为一名平面设计师的专业知识如何影响了她的文字游戏的创作，以及如何在视频游戏中平衡清晰度和创意风格的需求。她将揭示如何选择字体和优化设计，以制作引人入胜甚至幽默的游戏设计的实用策略。深入探索排版世界中尚未开发的领域，Jessica将揭示游戏世界中尚未被发掘的令人兴奋的可能性。
作者：Derek Lieu (Trailer Editor, Derek Lieu)
Why wait until the game is deep in production before you think of its first trailer? Thinking about what a trailer for your game will look like when you're at the prototyping phase can be an effective lens through which you can assess the appeal and viability of a game idea and show it to collaborators and business partners. Prolific game trailer editor Derek Lieu will share step-by-step instructions and best practices for conceiving game ideas via mockup trailers. More than just speculation, the talk will feature insight and hands-on knowledge from game developers who've used a trailer-first method of prototyping ideas and how it helped them make and market their games.
为什么要等到游戏进入深度制作阶段之后才考虑第一支预告片呢？在原型阶段思考游戏预告片的展示效果，可以有效地帮助您评估游戏创意的吸引力和可行性，并展示给合作者和商业伙伴。资深游戏预告片编辑 Derek Lieu 将分享逐步指导和最佳实践，通过虚拟预告片构思游戏创意。这不仅仅是空想，分享中还会包含那些使用预告片优先方法进行创意原型制作的游戏开发者的见解和实战知识，以及这种方法如何帮助他们制作和推广游戏。