A MAZE. / Berlin 2019

Schedule:

• 11:00-11:05 Björn Bartholdy, Csongor Baranyai, Gundolf S. Freyermuth: opening words
• 11:05-11:45 Eric Zimmerman: 100 Versions of Losswords
• 11:45-12:15 Hartmut Koenitz: Learning From Biology – Game (System) Design as “gardening”
• 12:15-12:45 Sabine Harrer: Plantations of Play – Colonial Botany in Videogames
• 13:00-13:30 Robert Yang: We Must Cultivate Our Garden
• 13.30-14:30 Game Development as Gardening: panel with Adriaan de Jongh (Hidden Folks), Gabe Cuzzillo (Ape Out), Thomas van den Berg (Kingdom) – moderated by Csongor Baranyai

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Games develop in a way that I can only describe as organic,
in that they tend to start as a core and then grow outward. 
(David OReilly)

A game as playful media and complex system can’t be drafted as a whole beforehand, but has to be grown into its (final?) form through iterations, morphing from version to version, finding its own shape step by step or just evolving forever.

Dissecting and examining the development process of games is key for understanding and mastering not just game design and development, but the increasingly digital world we are in per se. Game Design as Gardening is the academic extension of Devolution, exploring similar topics as the exhibition from a different point of view. Experts from academy, science and research and game development will discuss the growing process of digital games and what that means for digital media.

Game Design as Gardening will be moderated by Su-Jin Song.

Game Design as Gardening is a cooperation between Devolution and Clash of Realities and a part of Devolution #5.

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Keynote: Eric Zimmerman: 100 Versions of Losswords

Many game developers talk about iteration during the “gardening” of development, but in the heat and pressure of releasing a game, we often don’t get to practice it as much as we would like. This session takes a painfully detailed look at the iteration of a single game: the mobile title Losswords. Through dozens of screenshots, mock-ups, and wireframe schematics, this session will trace the development of the game from fundamental changes through the minutiae of detailed refinement. From the core play mechanic to the narrative world to the interface details, developing Losswords meant wandering through a desert of possibilities, not always knowing how to proceed or whether we would make it out of the “garden” alive. Join us for hard lessons learned, both good and bad.

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Hartmut Koenitz: Learning From Biology – Game (System) Design as “gardening”

Games are (digital) systems, in which the elements influence each other and there is a feedback loop between game and player. There are clear parallels to biology as the origins of system theory and an overall systemic understanding of nature. Gardening means to create an ecosystem, in which plants influence each other and where we need to take the environment into account - the climate, seasons, soil, available space etc. Game design as gardening means to learn from this biological counterpart: planning for growth, patient and steady attention, weeding out of unintended effects.

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Sabine Harrer: Plantations of Play – Colonial Botany in Videogames

Plantations of Play looks at game development through the lens of colonial botany. Where does our obsession with open colonizable worlds and the fear of a wild and untamed "Indiepocalypse" come from? One possibility: Our tools of game gardening have deep roots in Europe's bigoted history. Time to unpack some trends and decolonise game gardening.

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Robert Yang: We Must Cultivate Our Garden

Let’s assume we’re all very important, and fifty years from now, scholars will want to study our work and process. Let’s also assume we will still be alive in fifty years too... what materials will we give them, what would help them study our process and this era of game development? In this short lecture, I will talk a little bit about games and research, research as creation, archiving your development process, and why we must begin cultivating this “garden” for future generations to enjoy.

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Game Development as Gardening – panel with Adriaan de Jongh (Hidden Folks), Gabe Cuzzillo (Ape Out), Thomas van den Berg (Kingdom). Hosted by Csongor Baranyai.

An in-depth interview with Adriaan de Jongh, Gabe Cuzzillo and Thomas van den Berg about the development processes of their games. How to grow a game?
How did the game change during its development? Why? Which features were added? Which were taken away? When? What were the interesting design challenges? What was the original vision of the game? How did the idea emerge? How did certain features evolved into their final version?
Hosted by Csongor Baranyai.
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