Game Narrative Kaleidoscope Podcast

Over and Over Again

We're joined by game creator, curator and bestselling novelist Holly Gramazio (Dicey Dungeons) to discuss the simple magic of doing more work than anyone might reasonably expect. How do we find pleasure - and reward - in writing hundreds and hundreds of variations that a single player will never see? And how does the work fit into the wider context of writing for games?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Unsilent Protagonist

We're joined by narrative designer and writer Kaitlin Tremblay (Ambrosia Sky, A Mortician's Tale) to discuss writing for protagonists who talk to themselves. Games do this all the time; so how do we frame it to make it coherent, and maximise our opportunities for storytelling? With a lot of examples drawn from their most recent game, Kaitlin shows us how they approached writing character-first self-talk that carries the game's narrative.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

In The Moment

Telltale Games alumnus Chuck Jordan (The Curse of Monkey Island, Sam & Max) joins us to talk about strategies that can put the player into the dramatic moments of a game's story. How do we balance the need for agency, and the expectations of genre, when our focus is giving players a great moment they've been looking forward to, followed by another, and another...

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Simulations, Questions, Dialogues

Academic and game writer Seva Khusid (Harvest of Names) joins us to talk about the balance between what we simulate, and what we pass over to the player to simulate for us. Does narrative work best when it's outside of the system? How do we balance understanding the system of a game, and being in it? And are all games, ultimately, destroyed by us trying to break the fourth wall and master the underlying code?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Translucent Lies and other "Dirty Narrative" Techniques

Narrative designer and screenwriter Alex Epstein (We Happy Few, South of Midnight) about gaps, lies and narrative tricks that make our worlds feel bigger than they are - especially other characters who lie. How do make players feel safe, if no one in the world can be trusted. How do we teach players to read between the lines when characters are lying?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Biographies: The Quick and Dirty Way

Bertine van Hövell (Old Skies, Stellaris) talks to us about creating characters for LARPs by creating their biographies. How can adding a contradiction to a person's backstory spice up a character and give a steer on roleplaying that character? And how do we bring that idea over into a computer game, where the player has no one to judge or feed off their performance?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Why I Love Text Parsers

We talk with Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond) about the joys of implementing a text parser-based game in the 2020s - but also about creativity as a process and craft as hard-work with no shortcuts. How do we find our way through a project when we don't know where we're headed? And how do we welcome players into a game that's unlike anything they've played before?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Set-ups, Attempts, Complications and Pay-Offs

We're joined by Josh Labelle (Disney Dreamlight Valley, Kim Kardashian's Hollywood) to talk about the bare bones of what makes a story - and how that plays out over episodes and seasons of a live-service game with a hugely invested fanbase. How much do we play to expectations, and how much do we play against them? And how do we tell when a story is hooky enough to feel satisfying at the end?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Blending In by Standing Out

Pedro Giglio (Town of Zoz, Cobra Kai 2) joins us to talk about bringing local detail to a global market. How do we adjust our material to make sure it connects with people from different cultures? And how do we broaden the audience's understanding of the world without being seen as being worthy? We chew over the balance of humour and specificity that lets us go big, broad and scrappy, while treating sources with respect.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Poems Make Games Better

Adriana X. Jacobs is an Associate Professor of Hebrew Literature, and also a game writer and designer. This week she talks to us about the use of poetry in games: the use of text and spoken performance to slow the player down and draw them deeper into the world of the game, in a way that more immediate world-building can't always achieve. But does it need to appeal to everyone to be worthwhile?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Choose Yourself

We're joined by Josh Boykin (Lancer Tactics) to talk about how we bring ourselves into the work that we do - especially in a world full of injustice and very real political risk. How does being vunerable lead us to tell better stories? And how do we make sure we stay on the right narrative path when faced with so many conflicting goals and pressures?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Your AAA game should be more mundane

We're joined by Emma Kidwell (Civilisation VII, Midnight Suns) to discuss the quieter, mundane moments that make a blockbuster game sing, by bringing out the humanity of the characters and realities of their world. How do we structure the story to allow for these moments? And how important is the player's choice of whether or not to engage?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Let’s make an 80 Days tabletop roleplaying game

We're joined by TTRPG designer Graham Walmsley (Cthulu Dark, Cosmic Dark) to discuss his approaches to creating table-top games. How do we create a coherent world when don't have control? How do we know when our mechanics are working?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

You're Not a Bad Writer, You Just Don't Get the Assignment

When writers join a project, they're not always fully aligned with that project's tone and style - sometimes, it hasn't even been defined yet. Today we talk with Jill Scharr (Destiny 2, The Lamplighters League) about that crucial process of getting aligned with the game, the vision and the team. How do we promote good on-boarding for new writers? How do we, as writers, explore concepts to find the style that's right for the game? And what do we do when this process is difficult, or isn't working?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

A Simple Pawn

A wide-ranging and fascinating conversation with writer and narrative designer Pietro Polsinelli (Football Drama, Becoming Saint) about writing games embedded in history, developing from the theme outwards, the importance of testing, and lessons that games writers can take into wider artistic contexts.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Localisation, Localisation, Localisation

Philippa Warr (Little Kitty, Big City, A Monster's Expedition) joins us to talk about the process of localisation. Can digging into your script in immense detail make you a better writer? And how intentional do we need to be to cross the cultural divides?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

"Tell Me More About That": Writing Characters Using a Devised Theater Approach

We're joined by freelance writer Anna C. Webster (Echoes of Wisdom, Bloodlines 2) about using theatre techniques to bring your characters to life. How much can we let characters drive the writing themselves? And how do we extend this approach to cover wider casts and variable production environments?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Make Something Insane: A Guide To Short Twines

Nessa Cannon (Borderlands 4, Endoparasitic) joins us to explain how making fast, scrappy Twine games quickly and intuitively can develop your portfolio as well as developing your core skills and confidence as a writer. What can we learn by doing things fast?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Two Tips for Better Dialogues

We're joined by Kevin VanOrd (Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2), who tells us about his approaches to writing interactive conversations that keep the player involved at every step. How can a choice point keep the momentum going?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

On the Purpose of Choices, and What Keeps Players Engaged

We're joined by Deborah D'Antonio L.B. Almeida (SideQuest Vol 1, Drintera) to talk about writing and designing choices for the most interesting player experience, and the benefits of using a very structure-first approach to write for games.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

On Entering Cities (In Interesting and Memorable Ways)

Konstantinos Dimopoulos (Zero Parades) is a game urbanist who designs cities for games. How do we bring big urban spaces to life? How do we make the best introductions to these spaces? And should we be thinking more about different ways of presenting them?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Silence!

We talk to Anthony Jauneaud (Night Call, Flat Eye) about the value of silence in conversations. How do encourage players to hold back, and let the other characters do the talking? We discuss how to make stories more dramatic by doing less, and why every game should have a Greek chorus.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Economy and Commerce as Narrative Tools

Narrative designer Raquel de Miranda (Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden) joins us to outline ways to use the economy of the world to drive a game's narrative. What's valuable is a core part of your world, but can it also respond to what the player does? And how would this slot into a bigger open-world game - or a tighter, story-driven one?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

'I don't wanna put my lips on that:' An Ode to Adventure Game Protagonists

We're joined by Eric Stirpe (Fortnite, Minecraft: Story Mode) about adventure game protagonists with minds of their own. What role does the player take if the protagonist's character is already defined? And does putting distance between player and protagonist allow us to have more immoral and complex characters?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Leave Nothing on the Table

Veteran games writer Anna Megill (Control, Guild Wars 2) joins us to talk about coherent storytelling using every part of the game dev team. How do we, as writers, get other creatives invested in the story? How do we integrate diverse ideas, and make sure people feel ownership? And how far can we push the boundaries of how we tell our stories?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

The Bricks & The Gaps: What We Do & Don't Need When Building Worlds

We talk with Total War and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor writer Pete Stewart about how to build worlds that leave the player with questions, even inside the walls of enormous franchises - or of history itself.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

The Tina Fey Hat Problem

We talk to Ed Stern (Brink) about the power and problems of understatement in games. We discuss how to leave room for nuance, surprise and - best of all - deception, with examples drawn from stage magic, theatrics, and the limits and triumphs of cinema. How do we tell the tightest version of our story?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Is It Relatable? Is It Sublime?

We're joined by actor turned narrative designer Taage Storey (Choices) to discuss the relatable and the submlime in games writing. How do produce content that's entertaining, while satisfying the need to be art? Drawing on writing for romance, theatre and mass-market interactive fiction, this is a fascinating discussion on how tone and content don't always go hand in hand, and how conflict is sometimes the wrong lens for drama.

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

The 'Grenade!' Paradox: Writing Better Barks

We talk to Giles Armstrong (Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Helldivers II, and many other games) about the art and craft of writing barks that express character and world-building as richly as possible without overloading the script. How much can we do with the shortest, most disposable bits of writing in a game project?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)

Perfectionists Hate This One Simple Trick

We talk with Jill Murray (Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Subnautica: Below Zero, Assassin’s Creed: Liberation) about how she gets things finished. If you write for your ideal audience member, can you manifest them? And how do you know when a project is nearing completion anyway?

For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

Music by Laurence Chapman (https://www.laurencechapman.com/)