EVENTS to look forward to

An evening with Naughty Dog
Thursday, January 22, 2009
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Brace yourself for a rollicking ride as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune lead game designer Richard Lemarchand dishes the dirt about the way that California-based Naughty Dog develops their games.
Uncharted was Naughty Dog’s first game for the PlayStation 3 and presented a unique set of challenges to the developer of the smash-hit Jak and Daxter series. Using examples from the development of Uncharted, Lemarchand will describe the fast, collaborative, iterative way that things get done at “the Dog” and how the studio nearly doubled its size without losing its company culture.
He’ll also describe the cornerstones of the Naughty Dog development philosophy which include a strong focus on pre-production, recognizing the differences between macro and micro design, embracing change, playtesting, and lots and lots of elbow grease. Naughty Dog is famous for their flat, un-bureaucratic studio structure, open and honest team communication and the fact that they’ve never missed a deadline, despite not having anyone at the studio with the job title of producer.
This talk will be of interest to anyone involved or interested in the production and design of digital and interactive media, who wants practical examples of ways to optimize their creative processes.
This talk will include practical design and production methods based on honesty and hard work that foster both individual contribution and team strength. Some of the lessons learned by the Uncharted team during the course of their first great adventure into PlayStation 3 territory will be used to highlight the differences between preproduction and full production, and to show how staying focused on your goals helps to ensure that you ship a great game.

About this Event’s Speaker

Richard Lemarchand
Lead Game Designer

Richard Lemarchand is the Co-Lead Game Designer of the newly-announced Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and was the Lead Game Designer of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. He also worked on Naughty Dog’s Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing, and helped create the successful game series Gex, Pandemonium and Soul Reaver at Crystal Dynamics.
He has made story-based character-action games the main focus of his career and is a hands-on designer who enjoys the practical business of building out a game in common-sense ways, while keeping design standards high. He’s not afraid to take on any job, no matter how dirty, and his role at Naughty Dog includes production as well as design. He loves the artistry, craft and innovation of the emerging literary form of video games, LOVES working at Naughty Dog, and is excited to be speaking at Gnomon School of Visual Effects!
Watch the Trailer for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Event Details

When: Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Meet & Greet: 6:00 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Place: Gnomon School of Visual Effects
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038
This event is FREE of charge!
Please visit the Gnomon Store – extended hours during special events.
(thank Alex for the heads up on these great events)
Events at Gallery Nucleus

Coraline Production Artists Panel
February 7, 2009
2:00PM - 4:00PM

Jab Strong Fierce (Street Fighter Tribute Show)
April 25, 2009 - May 11, 2009
Opening Reception / Apr 25, 7:00PM - 11:00PM
2:00PM - 4:00PM