Global Game Jam organizers released a video of the keynote speech given by former Naughty Dog lead designer Richard Lemarchand, game designer and media artist Kaho Abe and president and creative director of thatgamecompany, Jenova Chen, on YouTube.
Global Game Jam is an annual event that takes place worldwide at different physical locations. Lemarchand, whose background includes work on all three core Uncharted games, asks participants to create an experimental game: a game that "does something entirely new, a style that we've never seen before or with a core mechanic that is completely unique."
"You see, I believe that experimental game design is at the heart of what makes games great," Lemarchand said.
Game designer and media artist Kaho Abe speaks about bringing personal experiences into development. According to Abe, games that tell a personal story don't need to be literal.
"You life can live in your work in a way that doesn't always need explanation," Abe said.
"When I talk about my games, I talk about the contexts in which my game exists and the reasons why I made the game in relation to the contexts, but I rarely talk about the deeper personal influences in my games. And the thing is, people don't have to know."
During Chen's presentation, the director talks about the benefits of game jams. Creating games for the long haul can slow developers down, while game jams are a good way to boost confidence, Chen said.
"Sometimes you even get to try ideas you would never have the time to do, and it really helps you to brainstorm and to think outside the box," Chen said.
Watch the video above to see the full keynote. Global Game Jam took place this weekend, running from Jan. 24-26.
