SAN FRANCISCO – Jan. 22, 2020 – Organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2020 will host ‘The Developer’s Impact,’ the second annual installment of the GDC Main Stage and a follow up to last year’s talk, ‘The Developer’s Journey.’ The multi-part presentation will be delivered by three esteemed game creators: Osama Dorias, lead game designer at Warner Brothers Games Montreal, Ziba Scott, the “Optimist” at Popcannibal, and Lyndsay Pearson, lead producer and GM for The Sims at Maxis, a studio of Electronic Arts.
Each of these three game makers has deep and varied development experience, and will share with the GDC community their struggles and triumphs implementing socially conscious design decisions within each of their distinct projects. The GDC Main Stage presentation, ‘The Developer’s Impact,’ will take place at the Moscone Convention Center’s West Hall, on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
Developer Osama Dorias will detail the creation and evolution of a game parable that took on themes of xenophobia and Islamophobia by drawing on his own personal story as a Muslim Arab in the West. Developer Ziba Scott of Popcannibal will describe the creation of Kind Words, his team’s project in which the prime gameplay mechanic allows strangers to anonymously articulate worries and share supportive responses that can deal with everything from romantic concerns to sexual abuse to suicidal thoughts. To cap off the presentation, Lyndsay Pearson, who leads The Sims’ development team, will describe how efforts to encourage diversity deep into the DNA of the development team has resulted in more creative perspectives and has expanded the player base to include largely underserved gamers.
“The GDC Main Stage affords us the opportunity to go beyond the typical talks to discuss the real-world impact that game creation has on both the makers and consumers of these games,” says Katie Stern, general manager of the Game Developers Conference. “As the world gets flatter and gaming becomes a more pervasive source of entertainment for people, we can bring these voices into the fold and find ways to make games that speak to more players and expand what games are capable of. We’re excited to have Osama Dorias, Ziba Scott and Lyndsay Pearson speak to their experiences and open the way for others to express theirs.”
GDC 2020 passes are now available at a discounted rate through January 29. For more details on the Game Developers Conference, please visit the GDC’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Official photos are available via the Official GDC Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/
