LevelUp - Game Design

Join us for a deep dive into the world of game design as we welcome four leading designers working in the games industry today!

Doors will be open at 7pm with the talks starting at around 7:30pm. Each talk will be followed with Q&A and there will be opportunity after the session for networking!

Level UP - An Exploration of Game Design is an event for designers to learn, share knowledge and expand their network. The event is open to all levels of experience, aimed for anyone looking to improve their skills including students and professionals alike - so come along, listen, network and enjoy a few drinks!

Please note, during the talk, photos and video recording of the talk are strictly prohibited. Photos might be taken at the event, before and after the talk, for future event promotional purposes, by attending you are giving your consent.

Big Pixel is sponsoring the event, allowing us the use of their space and refreshments.

Event Details

Address: Big Pixel Studios, 2 Westland Place, London, N1 7LP

Time: doors open 7.00pm, talks begin at 7.30pm

The venue is disability accessible with a lift at the front door.

All bathrooms are gender neutral.

The nearest tube station is Old Street which is a 5 minute walk from the venue. Please let one of the GEL members know on the night if you feel unsafe walking by yourself and we shall arrange it so that you do not have to leave by yourself.

Street parking is available.

Our Speakers

Ioana Cazacu - Junior Game Designer - Mojiworks

IT’S (A)LIVE: Letting design evolve with your audience in a live game

While relatively new to the industry Ioana has had her fair share of experience with launching both successful and unsuccessful games. This has made her somewhat of an advocate for player centric design. She believes that understanding and sympathising with the people who play the games we make is the most important and sometimes most overlooked aspect of game design. Her goal is to make games more accessible and enjoyable for as many people as possible while also staying true to her own creative vision.

Joel Beardshaw - Lead Game Designer - ustwo games

Designed with Care: How we chose the 12 objects in Assemble

In the talk, I'll cover how we decided on the selection of levels that made it into the game, and how the process brought people together.

Joel is a lead game designer at ustwo games, and has most recently shipped Assemble with Care for Apple Arcade. He's worked in level design for most of his career and it's still the thing that he identifies the most with. 3 years ago he moved to London from Birmingham where he had worked for 9 years at Swordfish and Codemasters on games like Toybox Turbos and 50Cent: Blood On the Sand. More recently he has been experimenting with making shorter & more personal games, Instagram filters as games and contributing to the Meditations game project.

Tom Kinniburgh - Mobile Gaming Free to Play Consultant

How to succeed with HyperCasual games in 2020

Tom is a game designer at heart but a mobile industry veteran in body. Having worked in both publishing, game development and middleware services all on mobile he's got a great sense of the market and complexities that any mobile studio needs to face. He actively works on multiple gaming projects as well as writing candidly about the business of game design on his site www.mobilefreetoplay.com.

Samantha Webb - Freelance Writer and Narrative Designer

Getting Started with a Story Bible

Samantha is a freelance writer and narrative designer as well as an international speaker on game and narrative design. She has previous experience with Riot Games and Ubisoft, and is currently the narrative lead for Broken Roads, a post-apocalyptic Australian RPG. She also writes for Yokai Moon, a turn-based strategy game made by an all-woman microstudio. She has an MA in Game Design from Brunel University, mentors junior writers, and sits on the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Video Game sub-committee.

James Older - Lead Game Designer - Big Pixel

Using player expectation to your advantage

How using a players existing knowledge can be utilised to get them to the "Fun" as quickly as possible.

James has over eight years of experience, specialising in Mobile Free to Play. He's worked across multiple genres (RPG, Simulation, Arcade) and within these genres, he has dedicated himself to creating experiences with depth while still being accessible to the broadest possible audience.