Unite 2016 - What Makes Great Games Great? Game Design with Gigi

This talk goes over the basics of game design and explains the science of deep engagement, also known as Flow (by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). It explores the four requirements of flow, what they mean in practical terms, and a simple way to visualize them so you never forget.
- Curtiss Murphy - MobilityWare

[JigJason]

Usually I skip through videos like this one, but Curtiss Murphy got my interest very early in the video. So I watched the whole thing and I even took notes. Well done!

[Eclipsed_Archon]

This is not only some of the best information on game design I've ever seen, but it's also presented in an amazing way. Presentation is an art, and he nailed it. I had to stop and appreciate that. All I can say is thanks, this will help not only me, but thousands of indie devs, to connect more with the their players, and make more great experiences to be enjoyed!

[worly]

Maybe the greatest video for success, not only for game design but for every kind of design possible. Love it!!!

[racmgames]

I don't usually comment on these videos, but this talks deserves a big thank you. Besides being super informative and helpful, this guy is also a great speaker.

[lbrown]

So damn good. I've talked to Gigi on the forums, really cool dude who knows what he's doing.

[TyCliffe]

This is undoubtedly the best video on DESIGN. Flow, simplicity. Great job, sharing to all of my friends.

[doodlemonstah]

this is amazingly educational not just on videogame design but for making an amazing presentation!!

[JoeCoo]

One of the best talks about game design!

[FloHal]

Amazing conference! I learned a lot of things!

[TricoliciSerghei]

Epic presentation, hopefully we can all use this knowledge to create better games in the future

[Gua]

Hm... This is now probably one of my favorite talks on game design.

[LeRouxBel]

Fantastic talk ! Really enjoyable lecturer, very to-the-point and it makes tremendous sense.

[ganiyusikiru.a.]

Great speaker; Great Presentation! I learn more about the ART of presentation than GAME DESIGN.

[RetroBreak]

fantastic talk. Also love his podcast. Shame he's not making it any more.

[gregorslana]

An amazing talk. Vital informations for anyone trying to design a new game.

[RobertCasas]

Great communicator with great ideas. I will follow.

[magnusm]

One thing. An abstract and sort of subjective part that can't be narrowed down but it's simply: Gameplay you can repeat for hours and not get bored.
You can throw a stick of dynamite in Blood or flow demons apart in Doom a million times but it never seize to be satisfying.
But most importantly: It balances and masters multiple aspects to an art. It captures your emotions. That's a great game.
Psychonauts has the fun lucid and experimental gameplay, the memorable characters and stories, the imagination of literally going into people's minds and their imagination, the setting and the pacing of the game and story and how the story is presented while the gameplay is slowly opened up and always introducing new things in a realistic way that's logical to the world.
They had an idea and they understood it's strengths and what made it work, while also taking the base concept common in all games of the same genre and gave their own twist to it to make it fresh and unique.

Borderlands 2: Guns, story, villain, gameplay, world.
Doom 1: Gameplay, enemies, levels, satisfactory gunplay, soundtrack, level design.
Resident Evil 4: Gameplay style, solid controls, atmosphere, scary and advanced enemies, immersive world.
Red Alert 2: Artwork, unique and balanced units, visually appealing and cartoony art style yet gritty and war like, types of units, strategy structure and again soundtrack.
DIablo 2: Dark atmosphere, difficult and wide skill tree, fun classes to master, many varied and unique enemies, exploring a large open world and discover new areas, looting, the lore and characters, fun spells and powers to improve and master.
Minecraft: Simple sand box base for experimentation and crafty building, memorable enemies, unique enemies and environments to face and you know the rest.
They all master multiple aspects and give you a satisfying feeling. You can play them for hours and never get bored and always comes back.

[zoltangondos]

Easy to learn, hard to master is the way I think

[EvenHummROCKS]

One of the best game design presentations i have ever seen.

[dadlord]

It was absolutely obvious at the time, when games was cool. Each next game was cooler then previous and this was enough for me to continue to play. This days everyone looking for "recipe" to get quick success. Everything got simpler and boring. Sometimes it is just about to continue to produce your type of games with the same team and not trying to become monster-corporation.