The pre-production phase of game development can be a time of great flexibility for a designer. With only a few constraints there is a sense that the “sky is the limit” and that anything is possible. During this time it can be tempting to design the ultimate (unbuildable) game. But your real job is to define the constraints and to communicate the boundaries quickly and clearly to the team.

In this two-day workshop, Stone Librande will talk about the pre-production process and show real-world examples of paper prototypes, conceptual illustrations, and one-page design documents. Attendees will gain hands-on experience by building their own paper mock-ups of video games, creating design documents, and participating in a “Design Jam” session. At the end of the workshop Stone will be available to give you suggestions about your personal game ideas and to provide tips about how to convert those ideas into clear, concise plans.

Stone Librande, a Lead Designer at Riot Games, has worked in the game industry for over 10 years on games such as Diablo 3, Spore, and SimCity. In addition to his full-time job designing video games, he also teaches game design courses at Cogswell College and at Carnegie Mellon’s ETC program. He runs design seminars at the Game Developers Conference and at other locations around the world. An avid game collector, Stone’s walk-in closet holds more than 300 card and board games, including 30 that he has designed himself.

This workshop is ideal for game designers at any level, from students to working professionals to anyone interested bringing their game design concept to fruition.

Tickets on sale now. Space is limited, don’t miss out!