"Board games are software that run on people."

With those words, game designer Tim Fowers opened his GDC 2017 Board Game Design Day talk about the design and development of his acclaimed co-operative board game Burgle Bros.

What's interesting about the Burgle Bros board game is that it was designed to capture the fantasy of the heist: allowing players to experience the tension of planning, pushing your luck, and adapting when things go south.

In his talk, Fowers talked about how about how to recreate these moments using key game choices instead of theatrical presentation. He also spoke to the overlap between video and board game design, and discussed how games are ultimately a test of character and how he used rogue-like mechanics to drive players to critical choices that create emotion and tell unique emergent stories.

It was a fascinating talk, so if you missed it live earlier this year don't miss your chance to now watch it for free over on the GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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