Alisha Thayer
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alishathayer.bsky.social
Alisha Thayer
@alishathayer.bsky.social
310 followers 140 following 33 posts
Design Director and Technical Design Advocate
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Well, those are magic words. I’m in.
My 5 year old was doing a maze and I heard him sigh in mild frustration as he said, “Oh, GAME DESIGNERS!”
… do you want a no-fail chocolate chip cookie recipe? I have one that is stellar. I’d be happy to share!
Rachel did you know I learned that I need glasses recently? Did you know it was at GDC? Did you know it was RIGHT BEFORE I GAVE A TALK AND COULDN’T READ THE SPEAKER NOTES WELL ENOUGH?! (This got resolved; thankfully the session rooms are MUCH better lit than the practice rooms!)
Why is staying up so hard nowwwwwww
Reposted by Alisha Thayer
That's a wrap for me for #gdc this year! I'm exhausted, happy, and excited for next year. Thanks to everyone who came to my talk; I felt incredibly loved and supported!

Annnnd now, back to work!
I now know to warn the audience in the future 😆
You guys did so great! I left feeling inspired! Great job to all three of you.
Reposted by Alisha Thayer
GDC's just about a week away & I've seen all the talks for Rules of the Game & I bet you'll like them as much as I do!

We're Thursday at 3:30, come see what rules will be shared by @carlaeng.bsky.social @ekanaut.bsky.social @nfalstein.bsky.social @harvey1966.bsky.social @alishathayer.bsky.social
I'll be at GDC this year presenting in schedule.gdconf.com/session/rule...!

I'll be doing a talk on technical design called "Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the One-Off," which covers lessons for technical designers on how to balance technical order with creative chaos. Stop by if you're around!
Rules of the Game 2025: Uncommon Techniques from Insightful Designers
20th March, 2025 05:00pm - 06:00pm - Every designer knows that game rules are what create gameplay, but figuring out the rules we use ...
schedule.gdconf.com
I also spent today on slides! Happy to have it done.
I can recognize that the end result is beautiful in its own right, certainly! But it is always a complex feeling.
I think what you are experiencing is pretty normal. I never seem to reach a sense of pride. I reach a kind of recognition that might grow in fondness over time, but I think the intimate knowledge of the game’s flaws, failings, and deviations from what I set out to do prevent a pure sense of pride.
Big thank you to @richardrouse.bsky.social for assembling such an incredible group. I'm humbled to be among them!
I’ll be speaking at GDC 2025 as a contributor to "Rules of the Game 2025: Uncommon Techniques from Insightful Designers"! Join me in practically exploring how technical designers can balance healthy creative chaos with game stability and content-at-scale. schedule.gdconf.com/session/rule...
Rules of the Game 2025: Uncommon Techniques from Insightful Designers | 2025 Schedule | Game Developers Conference (GDC)
Attend 750 sessions for game designers, programmers, artists, producers, audio, business, and marketing professionals over 5 days at GDC.
schedule.gdconf.com
I just taught my four-year-old son, a natural lawyer and min/maxer, how to earn money. Pray for me.
Nice seeing it get a little more lively over here!