IAN SCHREIBER
Game Designer, Author | Cofounder, Global Game Jam
Ian Schreiber has been in the game industry since the year 2000, mostly as a systems designer but occasionally doing programming, scripting, or teaching game dev. He has written three books on game design, and was a co-founder of Global Game Jam.
GDEX 2026 Presentation: Game Designer Spreadsheet Potluck
Every designer that uses spreadsheets has at least one weird trick they like to use on projects. Bring yours to share around the table!
Participants attending are encouraged to have one prepared spreadsheet tip, trick, or technique (ideally, bring your laptop to demonstrate and have it ready to go). Each item will be added to a google sheet to be shared with all participants at the end of the session.
Don't have anything to share, but you love spreadsheets anyway? Interested observers are also welcome.
GDEX 2026 Presentation: Family Game Design Workshop Series
Making games with your kids is a uniquely memorable parent-child bonding activity while also teaching valuable STEM skills and giving a playable game as a permanent memory of what you made together. But where do you start if no one in your family knows how to make games? This workshop series will get you started making games as a family. Attend any or all.
Session A: Game Design
Where do ideas for games come from, and how do you turn an idea into something playable? You don't even need a computer - in this session we'll learn about designing tabletop games using common items you already have at home, as well as showing how to use these skills for videogame design.
Session B: Game Art and Audio
Most of us aren't master artists or composers, but that doesn't mean our games can only have silent text. In this workshop, you'll learn some tools to make your own game assets on paper or on a computer (even if you don't have the skills yet and have to fake it), as well as how to find free assets online that you can legally use in your game projects.
Session C: Programming
Doesn't making videogames require technical and coding skills that take years to develop? There are actually many easy-to-use tools and game engines that you can get started with quickly, that are entirely free to download and use! In this session we will cover some starting points, as well as ways to set yourself up for success to gain proficiency and start making games quickly.
Session D: Making Games Together
In this session, we discuss the logistics of making games as a family. Who takes on what roles? What kinds of game-making events exist and where can you find them? What are some ways to make sure your game projects are finished in a reasonable time period without destroying anyone's schedule? Here we put together all the pieces to show the process of how to turn an idea into a fully working game.
