GDC 2010 Microtalks: Big ideas, tiny speeches

The GDC 2010 Microtalks session was a frazzling experience in many ways. The format of the event essentially assures it. Ten lecturers — all from different sectors of the game industry — each spoke for five minutes and each were allowed to use 20 different slides. Naughty Dog’s Richard Lemarchand set the stage for the speakers, announcing the theme of the talks as “come play with us.” The goal of the microtalks, said Lemarchand, was to help game creators capture the “radicalizing exuberance” of games and give them the energy to “transform the world” through the power of play.