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

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

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/)

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/)

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 website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

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

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/

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

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 the website: https://www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope/

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

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

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

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

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 (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/)

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/)

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/)

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/)

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/)

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/)

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/)