If you have any interest in level design you'll want to check out the popular Level Design Workshop at the 2019 Game Developers Conference next month, where you'll get a chance to learn from folks who have worked on everything from big-budget blockbusters to arresting indie games.
Notably, if crafting believable, authentic levels where it feels like real people live and work is important to you, check out the GDC 2019 Design track talk on "'Hitman' Levels as Social Spaces: The Social Anthropology of Level Design."
Presented by IO Interactive level designer Mette Podenphant Andersen, this Level Design Workshop session will consist of three sections. First, Mette will cover framing and the analysis that sparked a change in the way the Hitman 2 team approached level design.
Next, she will present an analysis of what happens when you look at game spaces as social spaces, and how that played out in the pre-production design of the levels in Hitman 2.
Finally, Mette will discuss how the results of this exercise resulted in coining some new phrases and concepts that affected Hitman 2 from pre-production onward!
The Level Design Workshop will also play host to fantastic talks like "Building New York in 'Marvel's Spider-Man': It's Still Just Level Design", in which Insomniac's Josue Benavidez will share the fundamental level design principles that shaped Marvel's Spider-Man, and "Rewarding Exploration with Collectibles and Gatherables", a talk from writer and designer Leah Miller that's all about the best ways to place collectible items and other gatherables in your levels. Don't miss it!
For more details on these (and many more!) talks, check out the GDC 2019 Session Scheduler. There you can begin to lay out your GDC 2019, which takes place March 18th through the 22nd at the (newly renovated!) Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Bring your team to GDC! Register a group of 10 or more and save 10 percent on conference passes. Learn more here.
For more details on GDC 2019 visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent company Informa