GDC: A Florence Postmortem

Let’s have at another great session from GDC that focuses on the unique decisions behind Florence. Ken Wong, Mountains’ Creative Director, talked about the way their small team managed to build such an emotional experience.

“In this 2019 GDC session, Mountains’ Ken Wong discusses the journey of designing Florence, covering the game’s inception and turbulent design evolution, and how the game achieved its emotional resonance.”

The talk unveiled, for example, that their approach is based on some key points. First, their game design approach is all about iterations, so they test ideas step by step to make sure that all the mechanics work and add to the experience. Another important point is playtesting — they invite friends and fellow developers, not telling them about the game they’re making. They also think that making short games is not a bad thing.

Make sure to watch the full talk and discuss it in the comments.