GDC Courses

Water Rendering in Far Cry 5

Explore AMD and Ubisoft's innovative water rendering system for Far Cry 5, featuring realistic waterfalls and lakes through advanced materials and techniques.

• YouTube
• 49 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

What Cats Can Teach You About Empathic Game Design

Explore how designing games for cats can enhance empathic game design for humans, offering unique insights into user engagement and interaction principles.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

The Sound of Horror - Resident Evil 7 - Biohazard

Capcom's audio team reveals innovative techniques for creating immersive, realistic sound in Resident Evil 7, covering music, foley, character textures, and automated triggers.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 6 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Age of Empires II - Definitive Edition - How Forgotten Empire Revived a Classic

Explore the revival of a classic RTS with lead developer Bert Beeckman, discussing updates, new content, and the challenges of modernizing a beloved game while preserving its essence.

• YouTube
• 1 hour
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

The Gamer's Brain - UX of Onboarding and Player Engagement

Explore UX strategies for effective game onboarding and player engagement, focusing on discovery, active learning, and immersion to enhance the gaming experience.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Paid Acquisition for Smartphone Games - A Scrappy, Practical Guide

Practical strategies for marketing and growing smartphone games on app stores, covering paid acquisition, keyword optimization, and leveraging platforms like Google Play and Unity.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Environment Design as Spatial Cinematography - Theory and Practice

Explore spatial cinematography in game design through GTA V Online examples, covering composition, depth, shapes, leading lines, and more for effective environment creation.

• YouTube
• 58 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Character Pipeline and Customization System for Far Cry Primal

Explore Ubisoft's innovative character pipeline for Far Cry Primal, transitioning from 3DS Max to a cross-software approach using Python and ShaderFX, enhancing efficiency and customization in game development.

• YouTube
• 59 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Tips from the Trenches - An Indie Guide to Contracting

Explore strategies for successful freelance contracting in game development, covering project structures, pricing models, and essential tools for achieving desired outcomes.

• YouTube
• 36 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Game Preservation Best Practices - A Real Life EA Case Study

Explore EA's game preservation challenges and best practices for AAA sports franchises. Learn processes applicable to various development teams for safeguarding gaming history.

• YouTube
• 44 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Horizon Zero Dawn - A QA Open World Case Study

Explore Guerrilla Games' QA strategies for Horizon Zero Dawn, including test automation, team management, and overcoming challenges in open-world game development.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

How to Make Games and Influence People - Leading Your Team Effectively and Healthily

Explore effective team leadership in game development, covering workplace psychology, stress management, communication skills, and conflict resolution for indie and mid-sized studios.

• YouTube
• 33 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Crowdfunding Your Video Game in 2019

Explore crowdfunding strategies for video games in 2019, covering platforms, project types, and successful campaign techniques with industry expert Thomas Bidaux.

• YouTube
• 32 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Replicating Chaos - Vehicle Replication in Watch Dogs 2

Explore vehicle replication techniques in Watch Dogs 2, including trajectory compensation, network latency handling, and realistic player-to-player vehicle collisions.

• YouTube
• 32 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk

Math for Game Programmers - Harmonic Functions and Mean-Value

Explore harmonic functions and mean-value parameterizations for procedural geometry in game development, with applications in mesh manipulation and UV generation.

• YouTube
• 30 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Conference Talk