Advertise on podcast: Game Narrative Kaleidoscope Podcast

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/)