Game Narrative Kaleidoscope Podcast
Jon Ingold from inkle and Sagar Beroshi from The Chinese Room host a podcast about interactive storytelling. They talk with contributors to the Game Narrative Kaleidoscope collection about the craft of writing for games and narrative design. Each episode focuses on the challenges and techniques behind creating branching stories and player-driven experiences.
Episodes
Episode 35: Seva Khusid
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 t
Episode 34: Alex Epstein
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 ch
Episode 33: Bertine van Hövell
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 perfor
Episode 32: Julia Minamata
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?
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Episode 31: Josh Labelle
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 hoo
Episode 30: Pedro Giglio
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, bro
Episode 29: Adriana Jacobs
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 every
Episode 28: Josh Boykin
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
Episode 27: Emma Kidwell
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 GN
Episode 26: Graham Walmsley
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 Lauren
Episode 25: Jill Scharr
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 w
Episode 24: Pietro Polsinelli
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.inklestudio
Episode 23: Philippa Warr
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/
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Episode 22: Anna C. Webster
"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
Episode 21: Nessa Cannon
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/kaleid
Episode 20: Kevin VanOrd
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 (htt
Episode 19: Deborah D'Antonio L.B. Almeida
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/
Episode 18: Konstantinos Dimopoulos
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/
Episode 17: Anthony Jauneaud
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/
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Episode 16: Raquel de Miranda
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
Episode 15: Eric Stirpe
'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 in
Episode 14: Anna Megill
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,
Episode 13: Pete Stewart
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
Episode 12: Ed Stern
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.
Episode 11: Taage Storey
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 i
Episode 10: Giles Armstrong
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
Episode 9: Jill Murray
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.inklestudio
Episode 8: Holly Nielsen
Cite Your Sources!
Historian and game writer Holly Nielsen (Amberspire, Neurocracy) joins us to discuss ambiguous worldbuilding and the use of biased and unreliable narrators in historical sources. Should your world have a solid foundation? Or is everything up for debate?
For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/
Music by Laurence Chapman
Episode 7: Ian Thomas
A Smorgasbord
Join us as narrative expert Ian Thomas from The Chinese Room expands the boundaries of story design. What can computer RPGs learn from a live-action roleplaying game set in the world of The Three Musketeers? And how do we encourage players to trust the story, and act the part?
For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/
Music
Episode 6: Kate Gray
Microbranching: Big Reactivity with Small Effort
We're joined by Kate Gray (Moonstone Island, Hello Kitty Island Adventure) who tells us about microbranching in dialogue. Small decisions without long-term impacts can free up the player to funnier in a comedy and more sympathetic in a dating sim. But what do we do with the players who don't engage without a visible pay-off?
For more info the GNK bo
Episode 5: Stark Holborn
Swiss Cheese and Soda Cans: Writing for Proc-Gen Systems
Novelist and narrative designer Stark Holborn joins us to talk about the procedural generation systems of Shadows of Doubt. How do you ensure a generated world has character and style? How systematic do you need to be about writing it? And can we apply those learnings back to more linear fiction?
For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit
Episode 4: Josh Scherr
Call Me by Your Name
Ex-Naughty Dog narrative designer Josh Scherr joins us to discuss the best ways to employ reactive dialogue: in action sequences, puzzle sequences, and the quieter moments in between, with first-hand examples drawn from The Last of Us: Part II and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/
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Episode 3: Mary Kenney
How to Love the Player Who Hates You - Creating after (or during) Gamergate
We're joined by Mary Kenney, narrative director and senior writer (Marvel: Wolverine, Spiderman: Miles Morales), to talk about recovering from online harrasment, and how in a divided world stories - and the compassion required to tell them - are more important than ever.
For more info the GNK book, and to buy, visit the we
Episode 0: Welcome to the Kaleidoscope!
Welcome to the Kaleidoscope!
The Game Narrative Kaleiodscope podcast is a weekly show hosted by Jon Ingold (inkle) and Sagar Beroshi (The Chinese Room). Our aim to is interview every author in the Game Narrative Kaleidoscope Book about their chosen topic, and the wider craft of writing for games.
This quick episode introduces the show and lays out why we're excited to be doing it!
For more info th
Episode 1: Sagar Beroshi
The Keyboard Is Not an Omnitool
We’re writers. We can solve every problem with a stroke of a pen - can’t we? In this episode, the Chinese Room's Sagar Beroshi talks about how to know when less is more.
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/)
Episode 2: Darby McDevitt
Flawless Victory (and how to avoid it)
Black Flag’s lead writer, Darby McDevitt, joins us to discuss character arcs in linear action adventure games, and how the gameplay isn’t always the best driver of the 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/)
