Published , by Josh Hawkins
Published , by Josh Hawkins
GDC 2021 is still a few months away, but you can get in on the fun a little early with the GDC Showcase, which features live AMAs, as well as re-broadcasts as popular sessions from previous GDC conventions. If you’re interested in a deeper look at the GDC Showcase 2021 schedule, then we can help.
The GDC Showcase is set to take place between Monday, March 15 to Friday, March 19, 2021, with various broadcasts and AMAs (ask me anything) set to premiere from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. PT each day. You can find a condensed version of the GDC Showcase 2021 schedule in the tables below.
*All times are in Pacific.
| Monday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Title | Session Type | Speakers |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Classic Game Postmortem: 'Deus Ex' | Discussion | Warren Spector (Otherwise Entertainment) |
| 10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Fandom-Ready: Creating Fiction in the Age of Fan Consumption | Discussion | Julian Quijano (Beautiful Glitch) |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. | Keys to Next Level Game Growth (Presented by Google) | Partner | Brenta Dance (Google), Paula Wang (Google Asia Pacific) |
| 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Diversity and Inclusion Starter Kit | Discussion | Johanna Thomas (Avalanche Studios) |
| 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | Quad Mesh Simplification in Frostbite | Discussion | Ashton Mason (Electronic Arts) |
| 12:25 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. | AMA: Sucker Punch Productions Co-founder Brian Fleming talks 'Ghost of Tsushima' | Live | Brian Fleming (Sucker Punch Productions) |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Next-Generation Game Development on Nvidia RTX GPUs (Presented by NVIDIA) | Partner | John Spitzer (NVIDIA) |
| 1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. | GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. Prof. Lindsay Grace | Live | Lindsay Grace (University of Miami) |
| 2:40 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. | Expanding Your Mobile Games Business – New Platforms, New Audiences (Presented by Xsolla) |
Partner |
Chris Hewish (Xsolla), Max Fomichev (Pixonic), Anton Reinhold (Nexters) |
| 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Exploring Hidden Stories in the World of 'XCOM 2' | Discussion | Justin Rodriguez (Firaxis Games) |
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Title | Session Type | Speakers |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Unity for All 2021: Tech and Creator Showcase (Presented by Unity Technologies) | Partner | Kat Straffod (Unity), Ralph Hauwert (Unity), Rus Scammell (Unity), Geraint North (Arm), Brandi House (Unity), Ashley Alicea (Unity), James Stone (Unity), Lousie Scully (Unity), Christina Gua (Unity), Jessica Lindl (Unity), Gabe Brown (BigBox VR), Ted Gill (Unknown Worlds), Nathaniel Bell (Insomnica Games), Mathias Gregoir (Amplitude Studios), Tim Raulin (Amplitude Studios), Steve Collins (King), Nathan Hitchcock (Giant Enemy Crab), Felix Shade (Morbid Metal), Leo Saalfrank (Ferocious) |
| 10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Making Magic: A Business Model for Divergent Thinkers | Discussion | Guha Bala (Velan Studios), Karthik Bala (Velan Studios) |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. | Top Features for Programmers and Artists in Unity's Latest Releases (Presented by Unity) | Partner | Andrew Bowel (Unity) |
| 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Fizzy Brushstrokes: The Art of 'Knights and Bikes' | Discussion | Rex Crowle (Foam Sword) |
| 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | Unity Fireside Chat: The Next-Gen Console Opportunity (Presented by Unity) | Partner | Mike Geig (Unity), Bennie Terry III (Oddworld: Soulstorm) |
| 12:25 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. | AMA: Q&A with Obsidian Entertainment's Carrie Patel | Live | Carrie Patel (Obsidian Entertainment) |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Independent Games Summit: Crafting A Tiny Open World: 'A Short Hike' Postmortem | Discussion | Adam Robinson-Yu (Independent) |
| 1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. | GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. 'Spelunky' Dev Derek Yu | Live | Derek Yu (Mossmouth) |
| 2:40 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. | Streamline Your Game Developing Workflow with Visual Scripting in Unity (Presented by Unity) | Partner | Ashley Alicea (Unity) |
| 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | The Music of 'BATTLETECH': Big Sound on a Budget | Discussion | Jon Everist (Everist Sound, LLC) |
| Wednesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Title | Session Type | Speakers |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Future of Gaming: Quality and Connection (Presented by Facebook) | Partner | Jason Rubin (Facebook), Michael Verdu (Facebook), Dean Takahasi (GamesBeat at VentureBeat), Denny Unger (Cloudhead Games), Michael Carter (PlayCo) |
| 10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Making Marketing Mistakes | Discussion | Victoria Tran (Innersloth) |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. | Unlock New Audiences with Motivation-Led Creative (Presented by Facebook) | Partner | Leon Lin (Facebook) |
| 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Dveloping a UX Mindset on Fortnite | Discussion | Celia Hodent (Independent) |
| 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | From the Burder of Waterfalls to the Benefits of Bidding (Presented by Facebook) | Partner | Mary Kim (Game Hive), Phil Suh (Zynga), Amit Bhojwani (Facebook) |
| 12:25 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. | The Casual (but Regal) Swipe: Creating Game Mechanics in 'Reigns' | Discussion | Francois Alliot (Nerial) |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Art Direction Summit: Better, Stronger, Faster: 3D Concept Art for Environemental Production | Discussion | Patrik Rosander (Fatshark Games) |
| 1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. | GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. Mohawk Games | Live | Leyla Johnson (Mohawk Games), Soren Johnson (Mohawk Games) |
| 2:40 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. | Squad Up! - Social and Multiple in VR with POPULATION: ONE (Presented by Facebook) | Partner | Chia Chin Lee (BigBox VR), Gabe Browner (BigBox VR), Omid Yazhanshenas (Oculus) |
| 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | AMA: Q&A with 'Demon's Souls' Creative Direction Gavin Moore | Live | Gavin Moore (Sony) |
| Thursday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Title | Session Type | Speakers |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Billions of Gamers. Thousands of Needs. Millions of Opportunities. (Presented by Intel) | Partner | Roger Chandler (Intel) |
| 10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Making Great VR Games: A Postmortem on Skydance Interactives 'The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners' | Discussion | Chris Busse (Skydance Interactive), Guy Costantini (Skydance Media) |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. | Take Games to the Max with Intel Dev Tools (Presented by Intel) | Partner | Intel |
| 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Dream Daddies and Fearful Fathers: How Indies Can Cope With Being Terminally Online | Discussion | Leighton Gray (Game Grumps) |
| 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | Challenges and Opportunities in Gaming Innovation on the PC (Presented by Intel) | Partner | Kim Pallister (Intel), Michael Lewis (Take-Two Interactive), Jeff Pobst (Hidden Path), Albert Säfström (Coffee Stain Publishing) |
| 12:25 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. | AMA: Q&A with Yacht Club Games' David D'Angelo | Live | David D'Angelo (Yacht Club Games) |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Level Design Workshop: The Illusion of Choice | Discussion | Jim Brown (Epic Games) |
| 1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. | GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. Game Marketing Pro Chris Zukowski | Live | Chris Zukowski (Return to Adventure Mountain LLC) |
| 2:40 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. | Gaming is Shaping the World (Presented by Intel) | Partner | Marcus Kennedy (Intel) |
| 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | 'Homefront' to 'God of War': Using Music to Build Suspense | Discussion | Winifred Phillips (Generations Productions LLC) |
| Friday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Title | Session Type | Speakers |
| 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Glassic Games Postmortem: 'Ms. Pac-Man' | Discussion | Steve Golson (Trilobyte Systems) |
| 10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. | Tools Live Longer Than Games Do: What I Learned About Tools Development From Games Industry Legends | Discussion | David Lightbown (Ubisoft) |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. | Animation Bootcamp: Cuphead Process and Philosophy | Discussion | Jake Clark (Studio MDHR) |
| 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Low Poly Modeling: Style Through Economy | Discussion | Ethan Redd (Independent) |
| 11:50 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. | Dealing with Scope Changes in 'Heat Signature' and 'Gunpoint' | Discussion | Tom Francis (Suspicious Developments) |
| 12:25 p.m. - 12:55 p.m. | AMA: Brian Horton, Creative Director on Insomnica Games' 'Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales' | Live | Brian Horton (Insomniac Games) |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Replicating Chaos: Vehicle Replication in 'Watch Dogs 2' | Discussion | Matt Delbosc (Ubisoft Toronto) |
| 1:35 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. | GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. Disco Elysium writer Justin Keenan | Live | Justin Keenan (ZA/UM Studio) |
| 2:40 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. | Level Design Workshop: The Level Design of 'God of War' | Discussion | Rob Davis (TBA) |
Now that you know the GDC Showcase 2021 schedule, you can tune into the shows and check out all the past broadcasts. Many of the sessions will also be available on demand, so you can enjoy them even if you miss their initial live appearance. For more info about GDC proper, make sure you keep your browsers tuned to our GDC news page.