Video: Dinner Conversation at GDC on Semiotics of Game Design

by Darius Kazemi on March 28, 2009

in conferences,design,gdc,gdc09

I’ve uploaded a three-part video I took on Tuesday at GDC. This is a dinner conversation between Corvus Elrod, Jeff Ward, Eric Robinson, William Monroe, and Darren Torpey. I’m also there, but I was sick and had no voice at the time, so I’m the silent videographer. It’s about 18 minutes long, all three parts combined.

I haven’t gone back to listen to the conversation, but among the things we discuss are:
  • the semiotics of game design (how meaning is conveyed through mechanics)
  • authorial intent
  • Rodney Dangerfield and Italo Calvino (yeah, that’s one bullet point)
  • use of metaphor
  • Braid
  • Umberto Eco
  • Derrida’s full of shit
  • Battlestar Galactica
  • George Lucas
  • why explicitly Christian games suck, and some examples of games that are Christian in theme but don’t mention anything from the Bible
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Discussions like these are the reason I go to GDC. Not the session content. This stuff is way, way more important to me. I had a few other good discussions like this — but I didn’t get those on video.

{ 2 comments }

David Sahlin March 28, 2009 at 10:53 pm

That was so great, thanks Darius. Almost felt like I was sitting there myself, the conversation was so engaging.

Duncan March 29, 2009 at 4:32 am

Thanks you for sharing that. I wish I could have been a part of that discussion.

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