humor
Slides from GDC 2008
March 16, 2008 Filed in: Graphics &
Images
Back in February, Joystiq offered some great
coverage of the 2008 Game Developers Conference,
and some of that coverage included overviews of
some of the presentations given at the
conference – including photos of slides! Here
are some slides from the conference that caught
my attention and some lessons we can take from
them. (All images in this post come from Joystiq.)
The slides are infused with the requisite corporate branding – from the PS3 background of the slides to the Playstaion Network logo in the top left corner. Bullet points poulate the slides, and what is up with that image of the PSP? It looks like some pulled it off of Google Image Search and copied it onto the slide with no editing. Have they no one at Sony who can use Photoshop? Could no one remove that white background?
For such a huge corporation, they had cheap-looking slides. By contrast, Microsoft's slides were virtually bullet-free and featured beautful screenshots of the games they were discussing.
In the first slide, Bioshock's lead developer Ken Levine pays tribute to an internet cult icon named Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw (who is famous for his extremely fast-paced, witty, and usually vulgur game reviews). The second slide is from a Blizzard presentation, and they reference Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy through the graphic, the slogan "Don't Panic," and even the font used for the slogan.
Let us not forget that the audience at this conference was probably 95% male, and Valve Software knew how to attract attention to their main point in such a setting!
If you've ever played Katamari Damacy (or any of its sequels), you've probably had that very same thought: WTF? (If you have not played Katamari Damacy, stop reading this article, and go get it right now. I'll wait right here.) The game exudes bizareness, and this simple slide communicates that fact very directly.
Visuals in a presentation can amuse, offend, engage, inspire, or just bore your audience. Look at how most of the slides in this post stand out from Sony's back at the top. Sony took a tried-and-true approach to PowerPoint, but others break from that mold and create more engaging experiences (just like the games some of these presenters create). Instead of being lost in a sea of sameness, take the time to be different so you too can stand apart from the crowd.
But I don't recommend any of you use topless women in your presentations. Trust me on this...
Corporate Is Not Better
Naturally, Sony hosted multiple sessions at GDC, and the slides below are from two different presentations, but you might not know that from looking at them.
The slides are infused with the requisite corporate branding – from the PS3 background of the slides to the Playstaion Network logo in the top left corner. Bullet points poulate the slides, and what is up with that image of the PSP? It looks like some pulled it off of Google Image Search and copied it onto the slide with no editing. Have they no one at Sony who can use Photoshop? Could no one remove that white background?
For such a huge corporation, they had cheap-looking slides. By contrast, Microsoft's slides were virtually bullet-free and featured beautful screenshots of the games they were discussing.
Play to Your Audience
A game developers conference is going to be filled with geeks, so what better place to throw some truly geeky references into the material?
In the first slide, Bioshock's lead developer Ken Levine pays tribute to an internet cult icon named Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw (who is famous for his extremely fast-paced, witty, and usually vulgur game reviews). The second slide is from a Blizzard presentation, and they reference Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy through the graphic, the slogan "Don't Panic," and even the font used for the slogan.
Let us not forget that the audience at this conference was probably 95% male, and Valve Software knew how to attract attention to their main point in such a setting!
Simpler Is Often Better
In a talk about independent gaming, the developers of Everyday Shooter put up what is probably my favorite slide from this conference.
If you've ever played Katamari Damacy (or any of its sequels), you've probably had that very same thought: WTF? (If you have not played Katamari Damacy, stop reading this article, and go get it right now. I'll wait right here.) The game exudes bizareness, and this simple slide communicates that fact very directly.
Visuals in a presentation can amuse, offend, engage, inspire, or just bore your audience. Look at how most of the slides in this post stand out from Sony's back at the top. Sony took a tried-and-true approach to PowerPoint, but others break from that mold and create more engaging experiences (just like the games some of these presenters create). Instead of being lost in a sea of sameness, take the time to be different so you too can stand apart from the crowd.
But I don't recommend any of you use topless women in your presentations. Trust me on this...
Bear With Me
January 29, 2008 Filed in: Links
image by Randall Munroe
I have to try this sometime. If you like this, visit xkcd for more simple but funny comics.
A Weekend Laugh
May 11, 2007 Filed in: Links
I've indirectly linked to
this video before, but here it is for those
of you who missed it. Happy viewing.
Life After Death by PowerPoint
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If this type of humor interests you, be sure to check his site out.
Life After Death by PowerPoint
Add to My Profile | More Videos
If this type of humor interests you, be sure to check his site out.