GDC 2010's Experimental Gameplay Workshop Calls For Submissions

Author: by Staff

The organizers of the Experimental Gameplay Workshop, a staple of the Game Developers Conference since 2002, have issued a call for submissions to the event's 2010 incarnation, being held in March in San Francisco. Games demonstrated at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop, which occupies a standing-room only 2 hour timeslot on GDC's Main Conference days, should "showcase experimental, creative, non-traditional designs and ideas." The submission rules are somewhat open-ended, as the requirement of "experimental" necessarily defies concrete criteria. Past games showcased in early form during the Workshop include co-organizer Jonathan Blow's Braid and early versions of experimental gameplay prototypes that birthed 2D Boy's World of Goo. Other highlighted titles demonstrated at EGP before rising to fame include thatgamecompany's Flower, Keita Takahashi's Katamari Damacy, Valve's Portal, and The Odd Gentlemen's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. "Experimentation involves risk, and our industry is risk-averse. But to remain healthy, we need to embrace risk, learn from our successes -– and more importantly -– from our failures," say the event's organizers. "We strive to support risk-taking and to provide channels for communicating the results. We aim to legitimize and popularize gameplay-oriented research and development." Game proposals for the ninth iteration of the Workshop will be received until Tuesday, January 26, 2010, and "are accepted at the sole discretion of the judges," according to the official website.