Organizers are working hard to pack the 2018 Game Developers Conference full of fascinating, practical sessions and events, including one great talk from the folks at Firaxis Games about the level design of XCOM 2.
Firaxis' Brian Hess served as lead level designer on the hit tactical turn-based game, and in his Design track talk "Plot and Parcel: Procedural Level Design in XCOM 2" he'll walk you through the trials and tribulations of designing and implementing such a system, as well as the benefits it offers and problems to avoid.
You want to be there, because attendees of Hess' talk will get to hear how the XCOM team at Firaxis survived the transition from the handcrafted levels of 2012's tactical strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown to the procedural levels of XCOM 2 and beyond.
Expect to walk away with a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of implementing a procedural level design system, and how you can get the most out of the content you create for your games.
And of course we have lots more GDC 2018 announcements to make in the coming months. For more information about GDC 2018 visit the show's official website, and subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.
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