Organizers for this year's Game Developers Conference announced today that industry luminary Sid Meier will be keynoting the event on Friday, March 12, from 10:30-11:30am. The Director of Creative Development at Firaxis will give a presentation called The Psychology of Game Design (Everything You Know Is Wrong).
The keynote description reads: "When designing a game, particularly one based on real-world or historical topics, it might seem that hard facts, physical principles, painstaking research, and mathematical formulas would provide the foundation for a successful game. Wrong. These and many other seemingly useful tools will have to take a back seat to the real driving force in game design: the psychology of the player. ... Using actual examples from Civilization Revolution, Pirates!, and other games we’ll look at how including player psychology as a fundamental part of game design can lead us to some strangely counterintuitive places and save us millions of dollars in time and resources. Along the way we’ll learn why AI’s should not be too smart, how nuclear weapons are like knocking over a chess board, and why gamers can’t be trusted."
Meier is one of the true visionaries of game design and is often referred to as the "father of computer gaming." He's, of course, best known for the Civilization franchise, which has sold over 9 million units worldwide. In 1999, Meier became the second person ever to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's Hall of Fame. More recently, in 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Conference. He's currently working on Civilization Network for Facebook.
"It's an honor to have Sid Meier, a true pioneer in game development, share his decades worth of insight at the 2010 Game Developers Conference," says Meggan Scavio, GDC Event Director.
