The GDC Main Stage is back for 2023! In this installment of the GDC Main Stage, 'The Future of Play' is a multi-part presentation about how the game industry is expanding; opening up to new perspectives, opportunities, and challenges. It's about looking forward to the ideas and ideals gaining ground in the industry, and how to make them work for you. Topics include: designing games about experiences unique to marginalized cultures, building a healthy studio culture with a remote workforce, and building a successful user-generated content (UGC) platform that benefits both players and developers. Designing Beyond a Dominant Culture When designing games about experiences unique to a marginalized culture, there are challenges that a person of color finds themselves needing to navigate. Success depends on an intentional approach in team make-up, game mechanics, narrative, and in empathy for the player's experience. Learn about how Outerloop games have made these specific experiences have universal appeal and connect to all players on a human level, while simultaneously dismantling cultural tropes and stereotypes. Building Healthy Studio Cultures While Working from HomeSince the beginning of the pandemic, many studios have had to evolve the way they work to accommodate teams working from home. This talk will examine how to build a remote work culture that is healthy, satisfying, and productive for team members. Jen will discuss her own experience transitioning a studio to remote work, as well as lessons learned over the past year through her conversations with leaders of startups as well as established studios. Because the truth is, when you approach it the right way, working remotely can support the mental health and well-being of teams, individually and collectively. And when your team thrives, your business thrives. User-Generated Awesomeness: Building a UGC Platform that Enables Creators and Players to Thrive User Generated Content has a long and rich history in games, from early modding support in DOOM through Counter Strike, DOTA, Second Life and Garry's Mod to being a core part of Minecraft. In this Main Stage session, Robert Anderberg will cover the key technologies needed to build a successful UGC platform, including core engine features, multiplayer game editing, storage and delivery of user-generated assets and security considerations. You'll learn what worked for ControlZee when building their platform and what absolutely didn't!