Talk by Richard Lemarchand: Preproduction and The Game Design Macro

In connection with DADIU days, Richard Lemarchand is visiting Copenhagen, and Games Denmark are happy to be able to host a key note talk in our offices on Vesterbro. This is an opportunity to experience a true trailblazer within the industry, and learn from an expert within the field of game design, storytelling and production.

Introduction to the theme:

When a game production goes wrong, it’s often because preproduction was either done improperly, or maybe skipped altogether. In this session, we’ll discuss the great value that a proper preproduction phase brings to the game design process, with a particular focus on a special kind of game design document called the “game design macro.” This is a lightweight, modular version of the traditional game design document that facilitates Agile-style planning, saves time on bureaucratic processes, and liberates design thinking from overcommitment to ideas that aren’t working.

The session will give practical tips for creating your own game design macro, will show examples of game macros from Naughty Dog, thatgamecompany, and USC Games student projects, and will explain how and why this key document helps us to make better games on time and to high quality. There will be time for discussion and brainstorming—we’re looking forward to the session!

Please note that this event has limited seating. If you are not attending afterall, please release your ticket so that another can attend.

About the speaker:

Richard Lemarchand is a game designer, educator, writer, and consultant. He worked at Naughty Dog for eight years where he led or co-led the design of all three PlayStation 3 games in the Uncharted series. He also helped to create the game series Gex and Soul Reaver at Crystal Dynamics. He is now a Professor of Cinematic Arts in the USC Games program, teaching game design, development, storytelling, and production, and is the author of A Playful Production Process, for Game Designers (and Everyone), published by the MIT Press in October 2021.