Justin Keenan and Argo Tuulik from Studio ZA/UM speak with Rebekah Valentine

Join Rebekah Valentine, a Bay Area-based journalist with IGN who focuses on investigative reporting, industry analysis, and stories about how the games we love get made, as she sits down with the team from Studio ZA/UM, responsible for smash-hit Disco Elysium.
Grab a cuppa and listen to Justin and Argo as they cover what it takes to build such an expansive narrative.

Kim Belair and Meghna Jayanth

Join Kim Belair and Meghna Jayanth, both of whom worked on the award-winning Sable! Kim and Meg have both worked on an incredible number of story-rich titles so strap yourselves in for a deep dive into the world of creating narrative-driven games.

Gareth Damian Martin from jump over the age speaks with Austin Walker

Join Austin Walker, IP director at Possibility Space and previous writer for Paste, Gamespot, Giant Bomb and Waypoint, as he sits down with Gareth Damian Martin, award-winning writer, designer and artist behind the critically acclaimed In Other Waters and the soon-to-be-released Citizen Sleeper. You can expect plenty of insight into how Citizen Sleeper was developed and how tabletop roleplaying can inspire Indie design!

Adam Hines FROM NIGHT SCHOOL Studio speaks with Kahlief Adams

Join Kahlief Adams, host and founder of the Spawn On Me podcast, as he sits down with Adam Hines, co-founder and lead writer at Night School Studio! Grab your favourite fireside snack and listen to Adam and Kahlief discuss how do we craft “good” conversations and what does that mean? Enjoy hearing a range of stories from one of the team responsible for a deep portfolio of games including OXENFREE, Afterparty, and Next Stop Nowhere.

Adapting the past. Bringing Myths, folklore and local culture into video games

Dave McCabe, Jess Campbell, Stephen Downey and Thomas Hislop

Join the developers of The Pale Beyond, Jennifer Wild and The Darkside Detective, as they break down how they drew inspiration from, and incorporated local histories, myths and folklore into their respective game worlds.

Creating Friends: Interacting with Your Characters IRL

Claire Jia, Luca Le Fae, Nafisah Tung and Omniboi,

Team OFK sit down to talk with each other, and one of their creations. They discuss what it's like building a narrative that combines the creative team with virtual characters - the narrative opportunities, and the pitfalls. Featuring Claire Jia (Co-Writer), Omniboi (Composer), Nafisah Tung (Co-Art Director), and Luca Le Fae (Virtual Band Lead Singer)

History Repeats - New Stories from the Past

Chella Ramanan, Daisy Fernandez, Florent Maurin, Francois Alliot and Jared Tan.

Games let us experience people and places beyond what we can see in real life. These developers use that power to take us back in time. Making a game in a historical setting has unique challenges to balance accuracy with gameplay for a modern audience. This panel will discuss various questions about narrative games that take inspiration from the past.

innovating the detective genre in narrative games

Lucas Pope, Mark Brown, Tim Sheinman and Victor Breum

The panel will be considering how deduction and detective mechanics has been and can be further integrated into the narrative genre. We will consider ways of increasing player immersion and getting them using their big sexy brains. On the panel are some of the foremost innovators and thinkers in this area.

Shocking Developments: Subverting Expectations with Game Stories

Antony Johnston, Heather Albano, Richard Rouse III and Xalavier Nelson Jr.

How do you keep surprising players with game stories? This panel features designer/writers on everything from Resident Evil Village to Hypnospace Outlaw to A Study in Steampunk to The Church in the Darkness, and they'll discuss how they write stories that you immediately want to play but which will also challenge your expectations. Come hear how they twist genre conventions or tackle new themes or even come up with something so shockingly different you just have to play it.

Story is where the heart is (or: How VanCity devs evoke emotions in games)

Arthur Protasio, Daniel Mullins, Greg Lobanov and Leanne (Lan) Roed

Welcome to an intimate chat about the role of emotions in crafting games! From tense spooky card games to colorful musical journeys, grim revenge tales, and heartfelt games of cribbage, four indie devs based in Vancouver, Canada, share what inspired them to weave new stories and if the outcome paid off: Daniel Mullins (Inscryption / Pony Island); Greg Lobanov (Wandersong / Chicory); Leanne Roed (Cribbage With Grandpas / Heart Projector); Arthur Protasio (Sword Legacy: Omen / Angest).

the art of the twist

Greg Lobanov, Sam Barlow, Sarah Northway, Tanya X. Short and Xalavier Nelson Jr.

Everyone remembers a good twist -- something you didn't quite see coming, and which knocks you down, changing everything about the story. But it's easy to get wrong, as any reader (or writer) will tell you! Four game designers will talk about the unique tools (and challenges) they use to create unique twists and turns in interactive plots. Listen to lessons learned from designers of Her Story, Chicory, Boyfriend Dungeon, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Telling Lies, Immortality, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Dog Airport Game and more.

The Question of Content Warnings & Filters in Videogames

Claris Cyarron, Dr Raffael Boccamazzo, Sy Raffoul and Tanya X. Short

Increased awareness of mental health has spurred debate about content warnings in videogames. For creators, maintaining the freedom to tell their (messy, complex) stories is often a struggle. However, ways to reduce harm are important to consider. Sit down with creators from Glitchhikers and Boyfriend Dungeon, and a psychologist from Take This, to chat about responsible storytelling, managing player expectations, and the ongoing effort to craft safer digital spaces.

Trials of Narrative Gameplay Design

Annie VanderMeer, Ata Sergey Nowak, George Ziets and Mascha Camino

Join us to discover the intricate journey of trying to push the boundaries in narrative design. Together with esteemed and experienced panelists we will be discussing our journey to find fun and challenging core gameplay in narrative-focused games without resorting to established mechanics like combat. Let's discuss how to push the medium from the narrative angle!

the craft of writing for games

Hannah Nicklin, Jake Elliott, Matthew Seiji Burns and Chella Ramanan
To celebrate the release of her book in May 2022 - Writing for Games, Theory & Practice - Narrative Designer, Writer & Studio Lead at Die Gute Fabrik hosts a panel full of some of her favourite writers in games. Join the panel for a 45 minute discussion of all things games writing. Featuring Jake Elliott (Kentucky Route Zero), Matthew Seiji Burns (Eliza), Chella Ramanan (Before I Forget), the panel will discuss the craft of writing for games with some of the best in the game.

Wholesomeness and grief: How to make tea for cats

Len Predko, Saffron Aurora and Stephanie Cooke

In this conversation, Saffron Aurora (Creative Director), Len Predko (Community Manager), and Stephanie Cooke (Writer) seek to dissect the wholesome games discourse beyond the 280 character limit. Wholesomeness and Grief: How To Make Tea For Cats’ is a deep-dive into the co-option of ‘softness’ queer theory, cuteness in capitalism, and the separation of meaning and context that occurs in the distilling of aesthetics and branding.

the joy of diverse romance in games

Hannah Flynn, Dani Lalonders, James Chew, Luther Patenge and Tanya X. Short

Writers and developers behind a heady melange of romantic and sexy indie games talk about the joys and challenges of creating diverse romances in their work.