GDC Courses

Surviving Your First Steps into the Management Journey

1 rating

Discover strategies to navigate the challenging transition into management, avoiding burnout and overwhelm while maintaining sanity in your new leadership role.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Brawl Stars: Learnings from the Removal of Loot Boxes

Dive into the impact of removing loot boxes from 'Brawl Stars'. Explore the challenges, subsequent adjustments, and insights gained through community feedback, data analysis, and designer intuition.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

How to Budget Your Indie Game's Promotion Campaign

Learn effective strategies for budgeting and maximizing your indie game's promotional campaign with limited resources. Gain insights on wise spending for impactful marketing.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Building Big Impact, One Brick at a Time - Marginal Gains in LEGO Horizon Adventures

Discover how to implement marginal gains methodology in game development, using LEGO Horizon Adventures as a case study to create compound improvements across your entire team.

• YouTube
• 29 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Urban Planning in Games - Creating Readable and Distinguished Game Environments

Discover essential urban planning principles for creating immersive, readable game environments that enhance player navigation and spatial understanding.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The First 30 Years of Warcraft - The Making of a Game Universe

Delve into the evolution of Warcraft's universe as Blizzard's John Hight reveals how this legendary franchise adapted across decades, genres, and changing player expectations.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

#1ReasonToBe - Women in Game Development from Emerging Territories

Discover diverse perspectives from women game developers across emerging territories as they share personal journeys, motivations, and insights into the global gaming industry.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 3 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Rules of the Game 2025 - Uncommon Techniques from Insightful Designers

Discover uncommon game design techniques from experienced designers who share their personal methods for creating engaging gameplay in 10-minute focused presentations.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 5 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Evolving Worlds from Chaos - The Art-Led Approach of Darkest Dungeon 2's Procedural Generation

Discover how Red Hook Studios revolutionized procedural generation by prioritizing art direction over traditional programming approaches in Darkest Dungeon 2's world creation.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Rules of the Game - Five Tricks of Highly Effective Designers

Discover five unique game design techniques from experienced designers who share their personal "tricks" for crafting compelling gameplay in this GDC session.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

How Interactive Should My Game Story Be?

Explore the balance between interactivity and storytelling in game writing, examining when player agency enhances or hinders narrative impact in different types of game projects.

• YouTube
• 30 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Rendering and Art Tools of COCOON

Dive into the innovative graphical techniques and artistic tools developed for COCOON, exploring the unique rendering methods from the creators of LIMBO and INSIDE.

• YouTube
• 59 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

A Case for Making Your Own Game Engine - When and Why to Build Custom Game Development Tools

Explore the strategic considerations and practical scenarios for building a custom game engine, weighing the tradeoffs against using established engines like Unreal or Godot.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Way We Work - Embracing Human Sustainability in Game Development

Discover practical strategies for building sustainable, people-first game development studios through real-world examples of worker autonomy, hybrid workplace management, and effective hiring practices.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Creating Accountability - 4 Simple Steps for Managers

Discover a four-step model for healthy accountability in management, debunking misconceptions and fostering a positive approach to responsibility in leadership.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Free Video