# One Page Design Philosophy ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy.webp]] **Creator:** circache (@circa-1337) · **Published:** 2024-10-18 · **Length:** 51:59 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg) > Caption source: YouTube English auto-generated captions downloaded with yt-dlp (`en-orig` / `en` VTT; identical files). ASR mishears proper names (e.g. "Stone Le Brandy" for **Stone Librande**, "Leisure suer," "ston tronics"); outline uses verified public spellings. Timings follow the caption stream and the chapter list in the video metadata. Screenshots from the downloaded video. Added from the user's "Summarize" playlist. circache's description notes this is a visibility reupload of Librande's GDC talk with A/V re-synced; the original session title is **"One-Page Designs"** (GDC 2010 / GDC Vault). ## Outline ### Introduction to design ([0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=0s) to 1:37) - [0:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=4s) **Stone Librande** opens as Creative Director at **EA/Maxis**, ~10+ years in games, hundreds of design docs for audiences from executives to programmers, artists, and marketing. - [0:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=36s) Thesis: among all formats, the **one-page design document** consistently works best. - [0:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=51s) Agenda: pros/cons of standard docs → examples of one-pagers → leave with energy to try them; polls the room for designers who write docs. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t0005.webp]] *Title slide: "One-Page Designs" — Stone Librande, Creative Director, EA/Maxis, GDC 10* ### Traditional design bibles ([1:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=98s) to 7:10) - [1:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=98s) **Design Bibles**: printed, often **100+ pages**, heavy text, bound and handed out as the authoritative "Bible" of the game. - [2:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=131s) 1990s GDC culture of Word **templates/outlines** (he cites **Chris Taylor**'s outline still floating around): fill every checklist cell and "you're done." - [2:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=177s) Anecdote of companies where programmers never meet designers — one-way docs only; that company "is no longer a business." - [3:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=192s) Early example: his **1997** web game **CreatureBall** — walls of text (icons, SFX, UI, physics, art estimates). ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t0330.webp]] *CreatureBall 1997 design-bible page: dense Introduction / System Requirements / What is CreatureBall text* - [4:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=255s) **Leisure Suit Larry's Casino** online GDD (~30 pages, same era); jokey item chart (roses / condoms / disinfectant). - [4:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=288s) **Grim Fandango** design doc (**Double Fine** / **Tim Schafer**): scanned PDF with scribbles, ~**70 pages** — he recommends tracking it down; closing cutscene page as the "please execute this" emotional beat. - [5:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=335s) **Pros**: definitive, thorough, portable offline; writing *is* designing — forcing sentences surfaces commitments. - [6:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=383s) **Cons**: doesn't scale as teams/projects grow; printed updates are painful; hard to search. ### The case for one-page docs (wikis → "only use one page") ([7:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=431s) to 11:19) - [7:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=431s) Era of the **design wiki**. Contrast: at **Blizzard** they struggled to get a wiki; at **EA** everything lived on one. - [7:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=463s) Spore wiki examples (**Spore Hero Arena**, Spore front page) — templates that become spaghetti under team links. - [8:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=497s) Best wiki he used: **The Simpsons** project at EA, because producer **Hans ten Kate** owned wiki hygiene full-time (mind-map of the whole GDD). - [9:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=546s) Wiki **pros**: access, updates, bite-sized chunks, team edits, history. - [9:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=563s) Wiki **cons**: constant maintenance; **hides design relationships**; low-res screen vs print DPI; arbitrary viewport/scroll pain. - [10:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=625s) Shared failure of bibles *and* wikis: "**nobody ever reads it**." Eye-tracking gloss: headlines, pictures, then the scrollbar — too long → bounce. - [11:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=671s) Solution for this talk: **only use one page**. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t0715.webp]] *Transition into design-wiki era / "nobody reads the docs" problem framing on stage* ### Visual design inspirations ([11:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=680s) to 13:58) - [11:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=686s) **Architecture** drafts: elevation vs plan — same page, different audience (client vs contractor). - [11:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=717s) **LEGO** instructions: almost no words; relationships visible that a wiki would chop into separate pages. - [12:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=762s) Kids' **placemats** as always-on one-page information design (dinosaurs, U.S. map icons, etc.). - [13:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=792s) **Minard's** chart of **Napoleon's** march to/from Moscow — line width = army size, temperature, rivers, dates — information density + emotional punch. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t1120.webp]] *Inspiration segment: architectural / LEGO / placemat / information-graphic lineage for one-pagers* ### Diablo design examples ([13:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=839s) to 19:12) - [13:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=839s) At **Blizzard North** on **Diablo III**: UI **flowchart** on legal-size paper; a programmer hung it on the wall *because it looked cool* — spark for "make docs people want to hang." - [15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=900s) Early prototype **"dhack"** (Diablo × Rogue/Hack style) — draw the town/cave stack instead of prose; iterate with scribbled meeting notes. - [15:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=947s) Two years later: entire **Act 1** on **tabloid** (and bigger) paper — "paper comes in all sorts of sizes." - [16:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=995s) Not a level-designer build map: a **musical-score** view of the campaign — waypoints, monster models/AI, expected player level/time (e.g. level 13 at **Winterstone**). ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t1630.webp]] *Zoomed Diablo-era Act 1 one-pager detail: Winterstone / WiddowsTier / CathedralofLostHope zones with monster lists and isometric path* - [17:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1072s) Combat: concept art vs the real "**football**" X's-and-O's of 2D mouse-click atoms; then compose atoms into skill one-pagers. - [19:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1152s) Disclaimer: he no longer works at Blizzard / isn't on Diablo III (crowd reaction to a colleague still there). ### Simpsons game design ([19:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1153s) to 23:08) - [19:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1153s) First EA project after Blizzard North: lead level design on **Springfield** / **The Simpsons** game — show maps are useless for layout. - [19:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1185s) **Cardboard boxes + sticky notes** on the design-pit table as a literal one-page / war-room model everyone had to walk around. - [20:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1230s) EA **plotters** → giant printed Springfield maps → cut-out 2D standup art → denser poster; ~**25 interior** one-pagers per building for outsourcing (physics, edible props, etc.). ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t1915.webp]] *Springfield cardboard/plotter table map with pushpins — physical "one page" war room* - [22:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1328s) Live **Illustrator** dive: Quik-E-Mart, police cars, callouts; vector zoom down to a scratch-off mini-game — all still one printable sheet. ### How to create one-page docs ([23:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1389s) to 27:00) - [23:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1405s) Starter template checklist: **title** (if you can't name why you're making it, stop), **date** every print (version discipline), **lots of white space** (don't posterize a bible page of text). - [24:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1451s) Layout recipe: **main illustration** in the center + surrounding callouts / notes / bullets. - [24:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1483s) Tool rant: almost everything in the talk is **Adobe Illustrator**; **Photoshop** is "nasty" for agile move/scale/rotate and plotter DPI (Springfield file ~**2 MB** vector vs huge rasters). - [25:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1528s) Example: **Creature traits** placemat from a pet-training prototype — physical / playful / creative blends. - [26:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1574s) Start with a **flowchart** of the core loop (player action → creature needs/moods/training → feedback). ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t2310.webp]] *How-to section: template / white-space / Illustrator guidance on the GDC slide deck* ### Spore storyboarding & related techniques ([27:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1621s) to 31:50) - [27:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1621s) Anti-pattern: Googled "**bad flowchart**" (health-bill graphic) — so intentionally opaque it becomes propaganda; don't do that to rivals *or* your team (joking aside). - [27:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1669s) **Storyboards** of the *whole game* with timing marks (not just cutscenes) — good for marketing/executives; flesh panels later. - [28:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1715s) **Spore** continent march diagram inspired by Minard: space + time + brain-power axis; discourage beach-camping T-rex stomping jellyfish; design target duration *before* playtests only measure it. - [29:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1793s) Robot-game one-pager with a central "**hypno**" illustration meant to stop hallway traffic, then layered detail for cross-department readers. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t2700.webp]] *Spore / storyboard / time-axis design examples mid-talk* - [31:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1884s) Personal "holy grail": fit an **entire game** on one page — keep pushing until diagrams "explode." ### Unit relationship diagrams ([31:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1911s) to 33:45) - [31:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1899s) Module-relationship overview for the robot arena game (how modes/hubs connect) vs in-faction unit relationships. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t3150.webp]] *"Relationships Between Modules" arena map: Home Arena hub, Launch Pod, Brute/Futurism/Alien zones, Assault–Zone Master modes (dated July 24, 2008)* - [32:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1930s) Classic **rock-paper-scissors** factions (Brutes / Aliens / Futurians) felt too cramped (where do MechWarrior / Matrix bots go?). - [33:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=1994s) Redesign: move races to **sides as sliders** (e.g. Futurians from high-damage ↔ fast / "Eve from WALL-E") — tunable ranges instead of three corners. ### Matrix design techniques ([33:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2026s) to 37:55) - [33:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2026s) **Matrices**: solve top-down — pick attributes/classes first (water/nature/metal/fire × archetypes), then fill cells like a crossword; Excel is fine. - [35:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2105s) Real example: **Spore Cell Game** matrix — five levels × weakest→epic cells, parts dropped, etc. - [35:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2136s) Programmer **Jeff Gates** was coding pairwise cell interactions bottom-up; Stone rebuilt a complete top-down interaction matrix as a checklist. - [36:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2183s) Multi-dimension Excel (**Spore consequences** across Cell/Creature/Tribe/Civ → Space): 4 stages × ~3 playstyles (+ skip) ≈ **256** paths — spreadsheet nightmare. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t3400.webp]] *Matrix / Cell Game placemat-style design on the deck* - [37:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2261s) Heuristic: if you **can't** make a one-pager, the design is probably too complex / wrong-shaped. ### Complex systems analysis (Spore consequences) ([37:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2276s) to 43:40) - [38:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2295s) First circular "dreamcatcher" chart of aggressive→Warrior paths — beautiful, wrong (folded Japanese-fan metaphor glued opposite colors together). ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t3800.webp]] *Spore CIV GAME consequence spreadsheet / archetype counts that motivated the redesign* - [39:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2372s) Unfolded fan: Warrior **180° opposite** Shaman — truer, less necklace-pretty. - [40:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2436s) Vector-math insight: each playstyle adds a **vector**; ~**36** outcomes instead of 256 — hand programmers an algorithm, not a giant typed table. - [42:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2529s) Plotting all vectors, then collapsing origins to zero, yields a candy-colored structure people wanted as a wall poster even if they weren't on the feature. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t4340.webp]] *Late Spore-consequences visual after the vector collapse — "Skittles/M&M" wall-chart energy* ### Benefits, conclusion, and Q&A ([43:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2621s) to 51:59) - [43:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2622s) **Team benefits**: people *ask* for copies; share across roles without meetings — but **you** must print and **hand-deliver** (email/wiki links die). - [44:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2685s) Bring **pencils** to meetings; encourage scribbling — working docs, not museum pieces. Shows a **Spore Galactic Adventures** mission page (~64 missions) returned covered in designer notes. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t4800.webp]] *Benefits wrap: hand-deliver prints, pencil markup, Galactic Adventures mission sheet example* - [46:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2761s) **Designer benefits**: forces real understanding; forces concision (tier ideas; abandon <4pt type); surfaces relationships wikis break; aids problem-solving (consequences saga). - [47:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2838s) Closing thesis: design's job is to **communicate an idea** — invent solutions, then get them into the team's heads. Hard work is the point; success = people *want* to see more of the diagram. - [48:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2900s) Slides to be posted on **stonetronix.com**; ~10 minutes for questions. ![[images/One-Page-Design-Philosophy-t5020.webp]] *Q&A / closing: update cadence and "holy grail" whole-project one-pager suite* - [48:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2937s) **Q — update frequency / change callouts?** A: depends; start rough B&W; some weeks are "finish this diagram"; once on the wall, changes are usually subtle — announce big ones. - [50:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=3014s) **Q — suite of one-pagers for a whole project?** A: that's the holy grail he's been pushing for ~10 years; still challenging himself each time. - [50:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=3047s) **Q — bible time sunk in updates vs this method's compress-then-unpack?** A: agrees it's **subtractive** art — call out what matters, not all-inclusive. (Recording cuts mid-follow-up on time % and coworker error patterns.) ## Key takeaways - One-pagers win when they are **printable, visual, relationship-preserving** diagrams people hang and mark up — not poster-sized walls of bible text. - Wikis fix update/search pain but often **fragment** systems; one-pagers force you to draw the arrows. - Paper size is a tool (letter → legal → tabloid → plotter); **Illustrator**/vector beats Photoshop for this craft. - If a system **won't fit** a coherent one-pager, treat that as evidence the design is too complex or wrongly framed (Spore consequences → vectors). - Process: print yourself, walk the floor, bring pencils, iterate from scribbles. ## Things mentioned ### People - **Stone Librande** — speaker (then Creative Director, EA/Maxis) - **Chris Taylor** — 1990s GDC design-outline template referenced - **Tim Schafer** — Grim Fandango design document (Double Fine) - **Hans ten Kate** — Simpsons-project producer who owned the design wiki - **Jeff Gates** — Spore programmer on cell interaction rules - **Wyatt** — Blizzard colleague name-checked during wiki anecdote (first name only in talk) - **Napoleon** — subject of Minard's march chart (inspiration) ### Games / projects - **CreatureBall** (1997 web/ActiveX prototype) - **Leisure Suit Larry's Casino** (online GDD example) - **Grim Fandango** (design bible example) - **Diablo III** / Blizzard North prototype **"dhack"**; Act 1 / Winterstone docs; combat skill pages - **The Simpsons** game at EA (Springfield cardboard → plotter map; interiors) - **Spore** (Hero Arena wiki; Cell Game; continent march; consequence/space archetypes; **Galactic Adventures** missions) - Robot / arena combat prototype (Brutes / Futurians / Aliens; Assault, Brawl, Control, Hunt, Racebot, Zone Master) - Pet-training / creature-traits prototype - Mentions as faction reference points: **MechWarrior**, **The Matrix** bots, **WALL-E** (Eve) ### Tools / formats / companies - **Adobe Illustrator** (primary); **Photoshop** (discouraged for this); **Excel** (matrices) - Design **bibles**, design **wikis**, plotters, legal/tabloid paper - **Blizzard** / **Blizzard North**, **EA** / **Maxis**, **Double Fine**, **GDC** - **stonetronix.com** (slide posting) ### Books and texts - None named as published books. Primary texts are internal GDDs, the Grim Fandango design document, and Librande's own one-pagers / GDC slides. ## Biographies ### circache YouTube channel **circache** (**@circa-1337**), ~**728** subscribers at capture. This upload (2024-10-18) is explicitly a **reupload for visibility** of Librande's GDC one-page-designs talk; the channel description says other online copies had desynced audio/video (fixed here) and points viewers to Librande's site named at ~50:00. Sparse public bio beyond the channel/handle; do not invent further identity. ### Stone Librande American game designer; at the time of this **GDC 2010** talk, **Creative Director at EA/Maxis**. Public career summaries: designer/programmer on early **Diablo III** work at **Blizzard** (~2001–2005); later EA/Maxis credits include **Spore** (Cell stage lead designer; Galactic Adventures creative director), **The Simpsons** game, **Microbot**, and lead designer of **SimCity** (2013). Since **2014**, Senior/Lead Designer in **Riot Games** R&D; also teaches game design workshops (e.g. Carnegie Mellon ETC). Frequent GDC speaker (one-page designs 2010; SimCity one-pagers 2013; others). Site historically at **stonetronix.com**. Pronunciation note in later coverage: *Li-brandy*. ## Claims check | Claim | Verdict | Notes / source | | --- | --- | --- | | Talk is Stone Librande's GDC "One-Page Designs" while Creative Director, EA/Maxis ([0:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=4s)) | Accurate | Matches GDC Vault session listing and 2010 slide branding ("GDC 10") visible on-screen; Game Developer / GDC Vault archive the free talk. | | circache upload date 2024-10-18 is the *talk* date | False if misread | Metadata `upload_date` is the **reupload**; original conference is **GDC 2010**. Note uses video `published` for the YouTube object and states 2010 in body. | | Design bibles / wiki tradeoffs as described | Practitioner testimony | Industry-standard complaints; treated as Librande's experience, not a controlled study. Eye-tracking "scrollbar bounce" is paraphrased popular UX lore — he does not cite a specific paper on-camera. | | Grim Fandango ~70-page scanned design doc released then taken down ([4:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=288s)) | Plausible / widely retold | Double Fine / Schafer design materials circulated online for years; exact page count and takedown status vary by mirror — treat as speaker recollection. | | Spore consequence space ≈ 256 paths from stage×playstyle combinatorics ([37:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2228s)) | Directionally consistent | Matches Spore's multi-stage personality → space-archetype design; exact count depends on which skip/neutral rules you include — his figure is a designer's combinatorial sketch. | | Vector rewrite collapses to ~36 outcomes ([41:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2466s)) | Unverified independently here | Presented as his internal math breakthrough; no public formal paper checked for this note. | | Slides at stonetronix.com ([48:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_wLks1kAg&t=2900s)) | Historically true | Later Librande PDFs (e.g. GDC 2013 SimCity one-pagers) still link `stonetronix.com/gdc-2010/`; site availability can change — URL as spoken/on slides. | | "Former Blizzard lead" in circache's YouTube description | Partial / loose | He was a lead designer/programmer on early Diablo III at Blizzard North; not "Blizzard lead" in a studio-wide sense. Prefer his on-stage EA/Maxis title for 2010. |