Friday 8th March, Convention Centre, Dublin

 

• 10:00 - 12:00 John Romero -- Intro Level Design

• 12:30 - 14:00 Andrea Shubert -- Making Magic: Collectible Card Game Design

• 15:00 - 16:30 Denman Rooke and Andrew Klimas -- Environment Art for Video Games

 

 

Intro Level Design

John Romero

 

 

John Romero, the multiple award-winning master of abstract level design offers attendees an insight into his design process in this, his first-ever level design workshop. Romero is best known for his work in Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, DOOM II, Quake and in 2016 won a Cacoaward for his level E1M8B. In this workshop, Romero begins by surveying the overall concept of world layout, the breakdown of each level within that world, explores the concept of the level itself and finally discusses how he provides an interesting space which challenges the player and rewards them for their mastery. In groups, attendees put these techniques into practice to develop concepts based on Romero’s techniques. Throughout the workshop, Romero will provide examples and offer critique

 

Bio: John Romero is an award-winning game development icon whose work spans over 130 games, 108 of which have been published commercially. Romero is the "father of first-person shooters" having led the design and contributed to the programming and audio design of the iconic and genre-defining games DOOM, Quake, Heretic and Hexen. Romero is also was also one of the earliest supporters of eSports and a current competitive DOOM and Quake player. To date, Romero has co-founded eight successful game companies including the likes of id Software. He is considered to be among the world’s top game designers, and his products have won well over 100 awards. Romero most recently won a Lifetime Achievement award at the Fun & Serious Games Festival in Bilbao and the Legend Award at 2017’s Develop: Brighton. One of the earliest indie developers, Romero began working in the game space in 1979 on mainframes before moving to the Apple II in 1981. He is a completely self-taught programmer, designer and artist, having drawn his inspirations from early Apple II programmers.

 

Making Magic: Collectible Card Game Design

Andrea Nathan Davis

 

Have you ever wanted to make a strategy card game in the style of Magic: The Gathering or Ascension or Hearthstone? In this workshop, designer of award-winning games Andrea Nathan Davis will share their 20 years of experience and guide participants from concept cards to a physical prototype.

 

Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, though one is not required. Other materials for the workshop will be provided.

 

• We will examine the design of several leading strategy card games, and analyze one in particular (chosen by attendees)

• The prototype-playtest-production process will be detailed

• We'll talk through the processes used by industry leaders. Then, together, we will pitch several new card ideas and concepts for the game.

• Physical prototype cards will be created using free software

• High-quality "proxy" cards will be made using Photoshop and Magic Set Editor

• Attendees will leave with a step-by-step guide to create their own card games at home, and (hopefully!) an understanding of the process to make them fun.

 

Andrea Nathan Davis is a designer and producer of digital and tabletop games. Their first commercial game, Acrophobia, won the Gamespot Game of the Year award for online games. They've designed or produced over 20,000 cards for Electronic Arts, Wizards of the Coast, Sony Online Entertainment, and others. Their website is http://andreadavis.xyz.

 

Environment Art for Video Games

Denman Rooke and Andrew Klimas

 

This workshop will lead participants through the process of creating environment art for games. Starting with creating concept art based on a game designer’s description, all the way through to 3D world-building, and lighting. Learn key visual design elements on how to use composition, color, and lighting to guide players as well as aid in the narrative design."

 

• Industry Tips & Tricks

• World-building concept art

• Interpreting Concept Art with Design Layout

• Environmental Storytelling

• Environmental Composition & Lighting

 

Denman Rooke is an Illustrator & Concept Artist. He works as an Art Director & Lead Artist at Romero Games in Galway, Ireland and has experience in various industries including games, film, apparel, editorial, and advertising. His art can be found in projects like Magic the Gathering, Pathfinder, and Behind the Scenes in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Additionally, he has been published internationally in issues of the Spectrum Annual, Digital Artist magazine, and ImagineFX.

 

Andrew Klimas is an Environment Artist with 7 years experience in AAA Game Development. Prior to joining Romero Games, he worked at Blizzard Entertainment as part of the environment team for the award-winning first-person shooter, Overwatch. His work can be seen among the game's multiplayer maps and seasonal post-launch content.