Sid Meier to keynote GDC 2010, tell everyone they’re doing it wrong

Sid Meier, the creator of Civilization, has been confirmed as one of the first keynote speakers for this year’s Game Developers Conference.

The Director of Creative Development and Co-Founder of Firaxis, Meier’s keynote is called “The Psychology of Game Design (Everything You Know Is Wrong).” It promises to argue that “real-world, historical and mathematical facts cannot form the foundation of a successful game design” and that instead, “the driving force of a game’s design should be the psychology of the player.

“Using actual examples from Civilization Revolution, Pirates!, and other games,” says Meier in the release, “we’ll look at how including player psychology as a fundamental part of game design can lead us to some strangely counterintuitive places and save us millions of dollars in time and resources.”

“It’s an honor to have Sid Meier, a true pioneer in game development, share his decades worth of insight at the 2010 Game Developers Conference,” said GDC director Meggan Scavio.

GDC will take place Mar. 9 – 13 in San Francisco. Meier’s keynote is on Mar. 12.