Workshop @ the ITU: Designing Better Game Characters with Ps

[Miguel]

Hi all,

I am happy to announce a workshop that Katherine Isbister will run at the
ITU, June 3 & 4th. The workshop is focused on character creation and how
can we rethink and improve the tools for character creation using
psychology. It is a very hands-on workshop, based on small tasks, play and
analysis of games, and group discussions.


Entry is free, industry is welcome, and feel free to join all the
workshop, or only those sessions you may be interested on.

The workshop takes place at the IT University GameLab, in the Atrium. For
any questions, contact miguel@itu.dk.


Designing Better Game Characters with Psychology:
A Game Avatar and Character Design Workshop
Katherine Isbister, Ph.D.

In this 2-day workshop, we'll take a psychological approach to making good
design decisions about game characters, both avatars and NPCs. The
workshop builds from material in Better Game Characters by Design: A
Psychological Approach, a book nominated for the Game Developer Magazine
Frontline award, written by the instructor. Game design students will
learn a powerful approach to crafting characters; industry practitioners
can sharpen their skills and think about why what they do works, from a
whole new angle. (Note: this is not a tutorial in art or animation! No
prior skill in these areas is needed for the workshop).

About the Instructor
Isbister has deep expertise in character design and research. She has
worked with game and social software companies including EA, Ubisoft,
Hangout.net, and others, and has lectured on character design at
well-known venues such as the Game Developers Conference, the Montreal
International Game Summit, and the Nordic Game Jam. Her Ph.D. work focused
on character design, and her book about game character design was
nominated for a Game Developer Magazine Frontline award. Isbister is on
faculty at ITU’s Center for Computer Game Research, and is also an
Associate Professor at New York University’s Polytechnic Institute, where
she holds a joint appointment in Digital Media and Computer Science and
Engineering. (http://www.katherineinterface.com)

Schedule
June 3:
10-11 a.m. Introduction to taking a psychological approach and first
impressions
11-12 a.m. talk about favorite characters and why you like them, bring
back images to share and discuss with the group

2-3: talk about face/body/voice characteristics and character design
3-4: begin brainstorming character ideas in team

June 4:
10-11: finish up brainstorming and then present out to others
11-12: presentation on avatar creation systems and meaningful choices

2-3: try out several of these systems and discuss
3-4: brainstorm ideas for avatar creation systems; present to one another
4:00 brief wrap-up and thanks

[jonaz.dk]

Hørte Is-bister på GDC for nogle år siden. Inspirationelle thumbs up her fra.

[Zacker]

Jeg har arbejdet med Katherine, og hun er en bestemt dygtig til sit felt og også god til at formidle det på en letforståelig måde.