USC
University of Southern California
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MFA Student - 3rd Year

Teddy Diefenbach (tdiefenbach)

http://www.teddydiefenbach.com


I earned my B.A. in Music & Computer Science from Columbia University, and have designed games for Microsoft Studios, Disney Online Studios, and Gameloft. Last year I was a lead on Quicksilver, a USC Advanced Game Project. In a mixture of hard work and dumb luck, my game Din was featured alongside games such as Minecraft and World of Goo in IndieGames.com's "250 Indie Games You Must Play". I am now working on my thesis, The Moonlighters http://moonlightersgame.com








  • Teddy Diefenbach wrote a new blog post: The Importance of Level Design to Systems Designers   2 weeks, 6 days ago · View

    The IMD has cultivated a strong and valuable focus on rapid prototyping to test out new design concepts and interaction systems. The ability to rapidly test ideas is a powerful tool in a designer’s skillset, and for me in my First and Second years in the program, it became an appealing tool. I learned to [...]

  • Teddy Diefenbach wrote a new blog post: On The One-Week Project   2 weeks, 6 days ago · View

    Every Spring in the IMD graduate program, the Second Year students have entered into a week-long grueling tradition lovingly known as The One-Week Project. For this one-week assignment, the class is given a theme and a design challenge, and are asked to create an interactive experience with their own unique touch. The entire department then comes together [...]

  • Teddy Diefenbach unlocked Hedy LamarrHedy Lamarr   2 months, 1 week ago · View

  • Teddy Diefenbach wrote a new blog post: Don’t Make Yourself Miserable   2 months, 1 week ago · View

    The Indie Games Summit at GDC is a series of talks full of passion and motivation for creating new games free of the traditional publisher model. It’s easy, amidst all this enthusiasm, to shed practical thinking for more exciting thoughts of 48-hour game jams and constant crunch. Here in the IMD grad program, our work [...]

  • Teddy Diefenbach wrote a new blog post: Game Complexity, and Perceived Complexity   2 months, 1 week ago · View

    Andy Nealan closed out this year’s GDC with a final-hour talk on analyzing the complexity of a game’s systems, and how to make a complex system more comprehensible to players. While staying out of the clouds of design philosophy and in practical, mathematical evaluation of game design, he gave an extremely inspirational and highly practical [...]

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   3 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    Poor Backchannel. It’s standing right here while we disregard it.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months ago · View

    Michael, your Pecha Kucha last year was awesome, especially because you’re still alive.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    Just create a card deck full of cards that reflect your various interests, nouns you like, whatever. Then use that deck for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE for all creative endeavors.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    I feel like this card system is how Michael Bay picks his new projects… and actually that might be sort of fantastic.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    Good recommendation, Sarah. Room of mirrors, it is!

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    How about a room that’s 100% whiteboard paint, all walls, floor, and ceiling? That would be pretty useful actually. Oh! And tables painted with whiteboard paint.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    Graffiti room in the new Interactive building?

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    META Note: Jeff created this IMD website, so he controls all opinions here, or something.
    We can probably tag him as @jwatson if we have any questions there aren’t time for.

    Also, if he says something you disagree with, just say #bugreport ;)

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    Oh, sorry.
    IMD Seminar 1/18/2012 – Jeff Watson!

    GO! GO!

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 1 week ago · View

    Next steps: SKA Reality

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    @swiscombe but transmedia isn’t about forcing people to go to different places to get the complete story. Each piece needs to still be rewarding and self-contained, if you ask me at least. It’s about offering them the option of going different places to explore deeper/wider.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    artistic: The creators want to produce transmedia to explore their characters/world more
    business: People will be searching for content anyway. They may not be ASKING for more content of their favorite show, but if they’re on a video site just browsing and find a show they already like, you’re hooking that attention

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    Yea, it’s interesting, I think oftentimes the motivations are more artistic and business for the creators than it is to feed an audience hunger.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    And don’t forget to wear your helmet.

  • Teddy Diefenbach posted an update in the group 511 Seminar:   4 months, 2 weeks ago · View

    Yes, you’re right. The Sound of Music: The Book is my favorite book.

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