Raph Koster, Octodad devs join GDC Next speaker lineup

GDC Next 2014 featuring ADC is fast approaching, and today the organizers are happy to announce two more great talks that will take place at this year's November conference. Game industry veteran Raph Koster will be returning to GDC Next to lead a practical session on how developers can cultivate creativity, while Octodad: Dadliest Catch developers Phil Tibitoski and John Murphy will share what they've learned from making an ambitious, quirky game as a small indie studio. GDC Next and ADC, which aim to highlight practical ways for developers to increase the creative and financial success of their projects, are taking place simultaneously on November 3rd-4th, 2014 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This year, GDC officials are happy to welcome game industry veteran Raph Koster back to GDC Next to lead a session on creativity titled "Practical Creativity." Koster's pitch is straightforward: It's a world of clones, of derivative ideas, of repackaging games in genres, and it can be hard for game makers to be creative. All too often, creativity is treated as a magical talent that few have, when it's actually a skill that anyone can learn and improve with practice. Koster plans to dig into the science of creativity, then offer practical straightforward steps that any game designer or developer can make use of in order to get more creative. Attendees should come ready to actually try his techniques out during the talk, as Koster promises that everyone who shows up will walk away with a brand-new idea for a game. Over on the Production track, attendees can join Young Horses' Phil Tibitoski and John Murphy as they discuss the methods they've used to create a successful game, work better as a team, and learn to love again in "There and Dad Again: The Octodad: Deadliest Catch Postmortem." Murphy and Tibitoski will seek to shed light on how a young studio can create development processes and studio culture by drawing on old-school industry mentors, indie pals and the team's communal-gut instincts. In addition, attendees will learn how a small team's production methods and studio culture can be positively informed by each other as they develop. And conference organizers look forward to announcing more talks in the weeks before this year's GDC Next featuring ADC, which takes place November 3rd-4th, 2014 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For additional details about GDC Next and ADC or to register for the event, visit the conference homepage. Gamasutra, GDC and ADC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.