Toolsmiths GDC 2019 Guide
Posted on 06 March 2019 by Victor Stepanov
There are around 760+ sessions/tutorials/events at GDC 2019, finding the sessions that a tools developer would be interested in takes time. Below you will find a list of sessions that can become the base for your tools developer GDC 2019 experience, whether you plan on attending or you will be viewing post-factum. As like last years guide some talks that are mentioned here are not 100% tool centered, but in any case, can provide inspiration and a different perspective. Understanding how the users of our tools work is paramount for the success of our tools.
Tools Tutorial Day is back for the second year! Geoff Evans and David Lightbown have organized and selected the best Tool Centered Talks from experts around the industry. The Tools Tutorial Day is a day-long collection of sessions that are made by Tools Developers for Tools Developers. The sessions will all be recorded so don’t worry if you can’t attend.
There will be tools centered roundtables hosted by David Lightbown and Geoff Evans. These sessions are not recorded, but we have some community members that are planning to take notes during the roundtables. So if you can’t attend we will have the notes ready in the Toolsmiths Codex in the GDC roundtables section.
- Tools Design Roundtable (hosted by David Lightbown)
- Technical Issues in Tools Development Roundtable (hosted by Geoff Evans)
Key Words & Key Roles
This year the list of topics of interest has grown, and I have tried to make navigating this list easier by providing helper labels that will hint what Tool Developer roles might be interested in this session. Just use the find feature of your web browser and type one of the following key terms.
Here is the list of roles that you can use to search:
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Furthermore, you can search the list by using the following keywords:
- Programming
- UX
- Workflows
- QA
- Pipeline
- VFX
- Art
- Production
- Design
- AI
- Procedural
- Machine Learning
- Visual Arts
How to use this list
- If you are going to GDC, you can follow the links in the list below to create a schedule for yourself. Alternatively, if you already have a plan, you can check and make sure you don’t miss out on anything you would enjoy.
- If you are not going, you can still look forward to watching sessions that you want to see in the GDC Vault.
Sessions marked with Toolsmiths icon - point to sessions that you should consider going to because you are 100% guaranteed to find insight as a Tools Developer.
I’m sure that you can find a session that will inspire you to make something great!
Tools Tutorial Day (Full Day)
Tools Tutorial Day: The System of Tools: Reducing Frustration in a Daily Workflow
- Programming
- 343 Industries
- UX
- Workflows
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Tools Tutorial Day: Tooling for Small Team Workflows
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- Bungie
- Workflows
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Tools Tutorial Day: Shipping Features Responsibly
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- Infinity Ward
- Workflows
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Tools Tutorial Day: Analyzing for Workflow Reduction: From Many to One to Zero
- Programming
- Machine Zone
- Workflows
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
Tools Tutorial Day: Perfecting Workflows: Tool Development to Empower Designers
- Programming
- the Good Evil GmbH
- Workflows
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Tools Tutorial Day: 9 Things Learned While Building Frostbite’s Cinematics Tools
- Programming
- Electronic Arts
- Cinematic Tools
- Lessons Learned
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Tools Tutorial Day: The Science of Customer-Focused Tools Development
- Programming
- Bungie
- User Feedback
- UX
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Tools Tutorial Day: 3D Asset Recognition with Deep Learning
- Programming
- Ubisoft
- Machine Learning
- UX
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Roundtables
Tools Design Roundtable Day 1: Design
- Tool Design
- Design
- UI
- UX
- Art
- Prototyping
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Tools Design Roundtable Day 2: Production
- Production
- Tickets
- Request systems
- Request handling
- User informing
- Communication
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Technical Issues in Tools Development Roundtable Day 1: Pipeline
- Technologies
- Best Practices
- Pipeline
- Asset Organization
- Product Mastering
- Product Patching
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Issues in Tools Development Roundtable Day 2: Tools
- Game Development Tools
- Plug-ins
- Pipelines
- Service
- DCC Tool Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Issues in Tools Development Roundtable Day 3: Assets
- Revision Control
- Asset Production
- Branching/Continuous Integration
- Automated testing
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Artist Roundtable Day 1
- Pipeline
- Asset Tracking
- Tools
- Scripting
- Shaders
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Technical Artist Roundtable Day 2
- Pipeline
- Asset Tracking
- Tools
- Scripting
- Shaders
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Technical Artist Roundtable Day 3
- Pipeline
- Asset Tracking
- Tools
- Scripting
- Shaders
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Game Audio Programming Roundtable Day 1: Game Integration
- Programming
- Audio
- Game Engine Integration
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
Visual Effects Roundtable Day 1
- VFX
- Techniques
- Approaches
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
Visual Effects Roundtable Day 2: Artistic Lens
- VFX
- Art Direction
- Art
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Visual Effects Roundtable Day 3: Technical Lens
- Techniques
- Approaches
- Technology
- Post Processing
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
UX Roundtable Day 1: UX Design in the Industry
- Design
- Visual Arts
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- DCC Tool Dev
UX Roundtable Day 2: Methods
- Design
- Visual Arts
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- DCC Tool Dev
UX Roundtable Day 3: Tools
- Design
- Visual Arts
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- DCC Tool Dev
Animation Roundtable Day 1: Anticipation
- Visual Arts
- Programming
- Technical Animator
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Animation Roundtable Day 2: Staging
- Visual Arts
- Programming
- Technical Animator
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Animation Roundtable Day 3: Follow-Through
- Visual Arts
- Programming
- Technical Animator
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Games Research and User Experience Roundtable: Bringing Experts and Beginners Together (Presented by IGDA)
- Advocacy
- UX
- UR
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Automated Testing Roundtable Day 1: Process
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- QA
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Automated Testing Roundtable Day 2: Legacy
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- QA
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Automated Testing Roundtable Day 3: Implementation
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- QA
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Preventing Bugs: The Dark Matter of Early QA Roundtable Day 1: Definition and Execution
- Production & Team Management
- Design
- Processes
- Techniques
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
Preventing Bugs: The Dark Matter of Early QA Roundtable Day 2: Communication
- Production & Team Management
- Metrics
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
Production
Bungie’s Force Multipliers: Production Engineers
- Production & Team Management
- Bungie
- Support
- Game Dev Role
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Tech Toolbox
- Indie
- Tools
- solutions
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
(Super)Humans of New York: Managing the Many Faces in ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’
- Visual Arts
- Production & Team Management
- Insomniac Games
- Technical Animator
- TD
- Tech Artist
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
Level Up Your Jenkins Reporting
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- Electronic Arts
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Marvel’s New York: A Case Study in Empowering Your Artists
- Production & Team Management
- Insomniac Games
- Best Practices
- Kanban Board
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Machine Zone: Operating Free-to-Play with Rapid Release Cycles (Presented by Machine Zone)
- Sponsored Session
- Production & Team Management
- Machine Zone
- Processes
- Content Releases
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Shotgun for Production Management in Games (Presented by Autodesk)
- Sponsored Session
- Production & Team Management
- Autodesk
- Solutions
Ship Faster, Crash Less, and Retain Players: A Story from QC Games and Backtrace (Presented by Backtrace)
- Sponsored Session
- Production & Team Management
- Backtrace
- QC Games
Version Control
Pipeline Support for Feature Branches in ‘Destiny’
- Programming
- Bungie
- Content Merging
- Data Caching
- Workflow
- Agile
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Remaster
Beyond the Remake of ‘Shadow of the Colossus’: A Technical Perspective
- Programming
- Bluepoint Games
- AAA
- Remaster
- Technical Requirements
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Game Preservation Best Practices: A Real Life EA Case Study
- Electronic Arts
- Production
- AAA
- Remaster
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Programming
The Future of Scene Description on ‘God of War’
- Programming
- Sony Santa Monica Studio
- Pipeline Dev
- DCC Tool Dev
Bridging the Open Source and Game Industries Roundtable (Presented by IGDA)
- IGDA
- Programming
- Open Source
- Advocacy
- Tool Lead
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’: A Technical Postmortem
- Programming
- Insomniac Games
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool Lead
Back to the Future! Working with Deterministic Simulation in ‘For Honor’
- Programming
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Tools for ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’: Editing with Immutable Data
- Programming
- Insomniac Games
- C++
- Pipeline Dev
- DCC Tool Dev
Everyone Watching This Is Fired
- Programming
- Unity Technologies
- Data-Oriented Design
- Problem Solving
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool Lead
Compiling Your Story: Using Techniques from Compiler Design to Check Your Narrative
- Programming
- Design
- Secret Lab
- Open Source Tools
- Pipeline Dev
Math for Game Developers: Understanding and Tracing Numerical Errors in C++
- Programming
- Dtecta
- Floating-Point
- C++
- Pipeline Dev
UX
Building Buy-In: Creating Design Tools for Better Player Experiences at EA
- UX
- EA
- EA DICE
- Buy-In
- Lessons Learned
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Tools for Authoring Branching Dialogue
- Game Narrative
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Conversation
- Editor
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Technical Art
Technical Artist Bootcamp: Cementing Your Duct Tape: Turning Hacks into Tools
- Visual Arts
- The Creative Assembly
- Lessons Learned
- Automation
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Artist Bootcamp: “Understanding Constraints: A Framework for Tech Art Decision Making” & “Tech Art at Scale: Supporting 2,000 Users”
- Visual Arts
- Remedy Entertainment
- SideFX Software
- Art Pipeline
- Large Scale
- DCC Tool Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Technical Artist Bootcamp: The Dual Power of Metanodes in Maya
- Visual Arts
- ArenaNet
- Python
- DCC pipeline
- DCC Tool Dev
Machine Learning
ML Tutorial Day: Machine Learning for Everyday Programming
- Programming
- Activision
- Machine Learning
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
- Tool Lead
Rethinking Your Performance Capture Pipeline with Machine Learning
- Visual Arts
- Ubisoft
- Processing Pipelines
- Motion Capture
- Data Processing
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
A New Era of Performance Capture with Machine Learning
- Programming
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Motion Capture
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
ML Tutorial Day: From Motion Matching to Motion Synthesis, and All the Hurdles In Between
- Programming
- Electronic Arts
- Pipeline
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
The Alchemy and Science of Machine Learning for Games
- Production & Team Management
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Production Services Studio
- Production
- Workflows
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Super Powering Technical Artists Using Deep Learning
- Visual Arts
- Unity Technologies
- World Building
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Unity AI and Machine Learning Tools for Behavior Creation (Presented by Unity Technologies)
- Sponsored Session
- Unity Lab
- Unity Technologies
- Programming
Getting Started with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (Presented by Amazon)
- Sponsored Session
- Programming
- Amazon
Image-to-Image Translation for Content Creation (Presented by NVIDIA)
- Sponsored Session
- Programming
- NVIDIA
Procedural
Procedural Generation of Cinematic Dialogues in ‘Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’
- Programming
- Ubisoft
- Procedural
- Dialogue
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Procedurally Crafting Manhattan for ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’
- Visual Arts
- Programming
- Insomniac Games
- Open World
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’: Procedural Lighting Tools
- Visual Arts
- Programming
- Insomniac Games
- Environment
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Math for Game Developers: Procedural Mesh Animation with Non-Linear Transforms
- Programming
- Hidden Path Entertainment
- Technical Animator
- DCC Tool Dev
Math for Game Developers: Tile-Based Map Generation using Wave Function Collapse in ‘Caves of Qud’
- Programming
- Freehold Games
- Procedural
- Map Generation
- DCC Tool Dev
Math for Game Developers: End-to-End Procedural Generation in ‘Caves of Qud’
- Programming
- Freehold Games
- Procedural
- Generative Systems
- DCC Tool Dev
Advanced Graphics Techniques Tutorial: Four Million Acres, Seriously: GPU-Based Procedural Terrains in ‘Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass’
- Programming
- Croteam
- Procedural Generation
- GPU
- DCC Tool Dev
- Pipeline Dev
Reaching Goals with 3ds Max (Presented by Autodesk)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Procedural
- Pipeline
- Autodesk
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’: A Deep Dive into the Look Creation of Manhattan (Presented by Substance)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Open World
- Procedural Systems
Introducing DirectML: How to Move Machine Learning from Research into Production (Presented by Microsoft)
- Sponsored Session
- Programming
- Team Xbo
- Silicon Graphics & Medi
AI-enhanced content authoring
Art Direction Bootcamp: Building a Creative Future with Artificial Intelligence
- Visual Arts
- Promethean AI
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
ML Tutorial Day: Toward Deep Generative Models in Game Development
- Programming
- EA SEED
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool Lead
Testing
Automated Testing: Using AI Controlled Players to Test ‘The Division’
- Programming
- Ubisoft
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
AI for Testing: The Development of Bots that Play ‘Battlefield V’
- AI
- Electronic Arts
- Testing
- Bots
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
Automated Testing of Gameplay Features in ‘Sea of Thieves’
- Programming
- Rare
- Infrastructure & Reliability Dev
AI
Balancing Nightmares: An AI Approach to Balance Games with Overwhelming Amounts of Data
- Programming
- Production & Team Management
- Square Enix Co
- Pipeline Dev
- Tool Lead
Experimental AI for Games
- AI
- Solutions
- Tool Lead
Audio
Audio Bootcamp XVIII: How a Systemic Approach to Game Audio Increased Creativity and Productivity for ‘Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’
- Audio
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Iteration
- Productivity
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Magic Markers
- Audio
- Design
- Disney Games
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Animation
Animation Bootcamp: Animation Tricks of the Trade
- Visual Arts
- Sony Santa Monica Studio
- OddBird
- Moon Studios
- 'Cuphead'
- The Molasses Flood
- League of Geeks
- Technical Animator
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Maximizing Animation and Cinematic Content Workflows for ‘Just Cause 4’
- Visual Arts
- Avalanche Studios
- Maya
- MotionBuilder
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Pipeline Dev
Animation Bootcamp: ‘God of War’: Breathing New Life into a Hardened Spartan
- Visual Arts
- Sony Santa Monica Studio
- Animation Process
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Animation Bootcamp: Animation Microtalks
- Visual Arts
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Vicarious Visions
- Chump Squad
- Harmonix Music Systems
- Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
- Kotaku
- NexonOC
- BioWare
- Pocket Gems
- Google Daydream
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Maya 2019: Faster Animation, Artist Workflows, and the Future (Presented by Autodesk)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Autodesk
- Allegorithmic
Introducing the New Animation Rigging Features (Presented by Unity Technologies)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Unity Technologies
- Technical Animator
New Animation Features in Unreal Engine (Presented by Epic Games)
- Sponsored Session
- Programming
- Visual Arts
- Epic Games
Visual Arts
Art Direction Bootcamp: Building Worlds Through Shape Language
- Visual Arts
- Patrick Faulwetter Studio
- Art Direction
- Visual Language
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Creating a Deeper Emotional Connection: The Cinematography of ‘God of War’
- Visual Arts
- Sony Santa Monica Studio
- Cinematic
- Lessons Learned
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Keyframes and Cardboard Props: The Cinematic Process Behind ‘God of War’
- Visual Arts
- Sony Santa Monica Studio
- Pipeline
- Animation Process
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
The Art of ‘Afterparty’: The Devil’s in the Details
- Visual Arts
- Night School Studio
- Workflow
- Production
- DCC Tool Dev
- Tool UX/UI Designer
Low Cost Facial Scanning Using Photogrammetry in ‘State of Decay 2’
- Visual Arts
- Undead Labs
- Low Budget
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Autodesk & Unity: Powering Immersive Experiences with Connected Workflows (Presented by Autodesk)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Pipeline
- Autodesk
- Unity
Causing Chaos: The Future of Physics and Destruction in Unreal Engine (Presented by Epic Games)
- Sponsored Session
- Programming
- Visual Arts
- Epic
- Interactive Worlds
Clarisse iFX: The Revolutionary Environment Creation Tool for Concept Artists and Art Directors (Presented by Isotropix)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
The Division 2: A World of Materials (Presented by Substance)
- Sponsored Session
- Visual Arts
- Ubisoft Redstorm
- Red Storm Entertainment
VR/AR
McLaren Fast-Tracks Supercar Design Using VR
- VR
- Vector Suite
- 3D Sketch
- Design Process
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Evolving Mixed Reality: Designing on the Real World
- VR
- Unity
- Magic Leap
- Microsoft Research
- Development Tools
- Solutions
- Tool UX/UI Designer
- Tool Lead
Leadership
Leadership: Working at the Heart of the Team 2019
- Production & Team Management
- Shonkventures
- Big Huge Games
- EA Motive
- Oculus
- Tool Lead
Producer Bootcamp: What, When and How? Managing Information in a Positive and Productive Way
- Production & Team Management
- System Era Softworks
- Tool Lead
Producer Bootcamp: A Producer’s Guide to Enabling Intrinsically Motivated Teams
- Production & Team Management
- Netflix
- ILMxLAB
- Tool Lead
Creating High Performing Teams: Cast an Ensemble
- Production & Team Management
- Rovio
- Tool Lead
Producer Bootcamp: Fix Your Broken Meetings
- Production & Team Management
- Volition
- Tool Lead