With the pandemic, we couldn't make the Game UX Summit 2020 (hosted by Bungie) happen. As we're still figuring out when we can resume in-person events, I (Celia Hodent) wanted to propose a relaxed day of talks, panels, and sharing around game UX. I also wanted it to be the occasion for students and young professionals to ask questions and receive guidance (there are several sessions throughout the day dedicated to answering your questions).

See the final program below. Twitter: use #GameUXsummit and @GameUX_Summit

Code of conduct. All attendees and speakers must read & respect the code of conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M6MAIv5Vd5bBbMaTrNwu9TX03Uyp5EwpKOB__LcRjSs/edit?usp=sharing

The $5 fee will be used for close captioning work. Any remaining money will be donated to a gamedev charity. If you cannot afford to financially participate in this effort, you can use the discount code FREEpls. The number of free tickets being limited, these are exclusively reserved for folks who cannot otherwise afford the participation fee.

This event is ENTIRELY powered by volunteers. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the speakers and event helpers for being so generous with their time. I hope that you'll all have a wonderful day of sharing!

Final Program #GameUXsummit 2020

All times are in PST / GMT-8

• Preamble - 8am-8:55am: Ask Us Anything! With Anouk Ben-Tchavtchavadze (Senior UX Designer at Riot, She/Her), Fey Vercuiel (UI Lead at Jagex, She/Her), Jasmin Dahncke (Senior UX Designer at Mainframe Industries, She/Her), Coraly Rosario (Senior UX Designer, She/Her), and Celia Hodent. Session dedicated to answering students' and young professionals' questions. We can also give feedback on 1-2 resumes / portfolios (registration required, see below). This session WILL NOT be recorded so that the discussion can stay candid and relaxed.

• 9am-9:15am: Welcoming words by Celia Hodent (Summit Founder & Chair, She/Her) & Jennifer Ash (Design Lead at Bungie and host of the next Game UX Summit in-person event, She/Her)

• 9:15am-9:45am: Talk "Building on rock" by Ian Hamilton (Accessibility Specialist, Independent, He/Him). A look at how the game accessibility field has evolved over the past year – how the landscape has shifted, where the industry is currently at, and where it needs to head in future.

• 9:45am-10:40am: Fair Play Alliance Panel. The Fair Play Alliance is a global coalition of gaming professionals and companies working together to develop and share best practices in encouraging healthy communities and player interactions in online gaming. This panel, made up of Fair Play Alliance executive steering committee members, will discuss the goals of the FPA, recent projects, collaborations, and resources made available by the FPA, and some of the things to look forward to from their group. Moderator: Natasha Miller (Senior Research Scientist at Blizzard Entertainment, She/Her). Panelists: Rob Lewington (Senior Director of Safety Operations at Twitch, He/Him), Nate Sawatzky (Trust & Safety Lead at Supercell), & Kimberly Voll (Co-Founder Stray Bombay Company, She/Her). FPA twitter handle: @FairPlayA

• 10:45am-11:40am: Fireside "Game Design + UX Design: Better Together". A fireside talk on why game design and UX design need each other. With Nida Ahmad (UX Designer at Netspeak Games, She/Her) and Marina Díez (Creative Director at 3ofcups Games, She/Her).

• 12pm-12:55pm: Ask Us Anything! (or lunch break) With Mike Mariano (Lead UX Designer at Stream Captain, He/Him), Davison Carvalho (Art Director at Amazon Studios, He/Him), James Berg (Sr Games Researcher at EA, He/Him), and Celia Hodent. Session dedicated to answering students' and young professionals' questions. We can also give feedback on resumes / portfolios (registration required, see below). This session WILL NOT be recorded so that the discussion can stay candid and relaxed.

• 1pm-2pm: Panel "Diversity & Inclusion : Job-Agnostic Allyship and Tips to Support Initiatives". Moderated by Mélissa Canseliet (UX Research Project Manager at Ubisoft, She/Her). Panelists: Rebecca Cohen-Palacios (Director and Co-Founder of Pixelles, Founder and Director of Game and Colour) & Jessica Murrey (CEO/Co-Founder W!CKED SAiNTS Studios). During this discussion, two trailblazers in diversity and inclusion in the digital industry will share their views and advice on questions including : How, regardless of the position in any studio, can one become an ally of diversity and inclusion? What barriers can we encounter while working on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the video games industry and how to overcome them? How would you appreciate the economic factor regarding the subject of diversity and inclusion: advantage or disadvantage to convince studios executives to onboard strongly?

• 2pm-2:40pm: Fireside "How did you start in game UX?" Candid chat with Grace Ling (Designer at EA, She/Her) and Pat Dimaandal (UX Designer, They/Them) about how they started their journey in game UX. Moderated by Celia Hodent.

• 3pm-3:55pm: Fireside with Heather Chandler (Interactive Game Developer, She/Her), Darren Sugg (Creative Director & Game Designer, He/Him), and Celia Hodent. Former co-workers on the Fortnite team chat about production, game design, and UX.

• 4pm-4:55pm: Panel "UX Through Uncharted Waters". Join Niantic's UX designers Coraly, Victor, and Will for a casual chat about the challenges and learnings experienced throughout 2020. They'll share some of the process, methodology, and pipeline changes they've had to make on their teams to adapt to a work-from-home status in a global pandemic. Panelists: Coraly Rosario (Senior UX Designer at Niantic, She/Her), Will Chan (UX Designer at Niantic, He/Him), & Victor Hu (UX Designer, He/Him)

• 5pm-5:15pm: Parting words and announcements. Celia Hodent and Jennifer Ash

• Encore - 5:15pm-6:10pm: Ask Us Anything! With Anouk Ben-Tchavtchavadze (Senior UX Designer at Riot, She/Her), Alan Shen (Principal Experience Design at Riot, He/Him), Jennifer Ash, and Celia Hodent. Session dedicated to answering students' and young professionals' questions. We can also give feedback on resumes / portfolios (registration required, see below). This session WILL NOT be recorded so that the discussion can stay candid and relaxed.

Students, aspiring game UXers, and young professionals: To sign up for a chance to show your portfolio / website / resume, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/tJSPREeC35Qy7Mu49

Note that time will only allow us to give feedback to 2-3 people per Ask Us Anything sessions. The feedback will be exclusively on the format of your material (how to present your work, what might be missing to grab the attention of recruiters, etc.) rather than your art/design itself.

Speakers list

A HUGE THANKS to all speakers and helpers who volunteer their time to make this day of sharing happen <3