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Here is @celiahodent.com opening the #GameUXSummit 2025! I am looking forward to talking with many game UX folks over the next 2 days.

Very interesting to see the differences between job titles in the West, and in China. I have seen the 'planner' one as well at Japanese studios, and was always surprised to see it there too.

Now the second talk, by Jean-Luc Potte. Fantastic title, great reaction from the audience.

He is using a great comparison: If you are from outside of games, and join as the first UX designer in a studio, you are like a Vault Dweller from Fallout. Everyone on the surface is built with grit from experience and shipping, while you have boundless optimism and think you have easy solutions.

So when your ideas and very well researched content does not get implemented, it doesn't mean your methods are bad, it's that the surface world works differently. So you have to adjust yourself. You will panic in that your work isn't being used, and you're blocked. This is sad, but normal.

So you have a choice: 1. Do way more UX research, and build documentation on Confluence. 2. Or, just change a single line of text in the game. The second option is more worthwhile. This will feel weird initially, but it is better to do and learn.

(This talk needs to be seen by every single junior in the games industry. It is an absolute font of veteran knowledge.)

Duuuuuude what a talk. Incredible work, and so true for anyone who joins the games industry. The Vault Dweller comparison is so good. It instantly makes you understand you're not wrong, it's just that the world runs differently outside your Vault.

Next, The Long Dark and UX Permaculture, presented by Jess Butler

(Interesting job title for Jess: Presentation Director. Which crosses UI, UX, and VFX. The talk is also about the holistic UX, so the integration of all elements into one. A role like this makes sense within that process)

The cosmic horror behind a HUD