Adam Saltsman of Finji gave a GDC 2026 talk about CorgiSpace, a collection of tiny games and an accompanying creative manifesto. The talk advocates making small, short-development-cycle games with 'short legs on purpose,' separating core ideas from formulaic implementations, and working with the natural 'grain' of tools and processes to find gameplay that is 'easy, but not obvious.' The author, a game design educator and hobbyist developer, reflects on how this philosophy resonated deeply amid the broader crisis in the games industry — mass layoffs, studio closures, and general burnout — finding renewed energy and hope in the practice of small, intentional game-making.
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