Narrative Design

Podcast

What a Rickshaw Knows That a Car Doesn't [Podcast]

I ask Kalp Studio's Mannat Jain why she built a game around the ride between two places, and set it in a 1990s Goa that never existed.

RAAHI

The Long Way Around

Kalp Studio built Raahi around the thing most games treat as dead time—the ride between two places—and set it in a 1990s Goan town that never existed.

baby steps

Bennett Foddy's Games Taste Like Gasoline

The Baby Steps game designer reflects on jadedness, embodiment, and building a failson from two decades of human movement

horror comedy

“It's a Horrible Thing to Be Stuck in a Metaphor”

Irish game designer Stephen Gillmurphy meanders through his approach to horror one zine at a time.

Darlene Barahona

Darlene Barahona: Narrative design and the path (not) taken

Drawing from anthropology, screenwriting, and real-world experiences, narrative designer Darlene Barahona crafts interactive worlds that blend cultural understanding with compelling character design.

interactive art

Nick Murray: The intimacy and expanse of interactive narrative

Game designer Nick Murray crafts intimate interactive experiences that bridge poetry, music, and digital art to examine the complex emotions of life mediated by technology.

Virtual Reality

Jessica Shamash: Interactive Stories That Remember You Back

Jessica Shamash and Fable Studio blend VR and AI to create Lucy, an emotionally intelligent virtual character who remembers her interactions with viewers.me

postcolonial

Studio Oleomingus deconstructed colonial histories of India

Studio Oleomingus founder Dhruv Jani discusses how architectural training, postcolonial thought, and Indian political history shape his experimental approach to game design.

interactive narrative

Paula Rogers: Crafting a world of emotional survival

Writer Paula Rogers discusses crafting Neo Cab's emotional survival gameplay, where players navigate a future city as a human rideshare driver in an AI-dominated world.

Virtual Reality

Samantha Gorman brings the present moment into VR

Samantha Gorman and Tender Claws blend VR with live theater, creating innovative experiences that challenge our understanding of presence and virtual performance.

Davey Wreden

Constraints Kickstart Creation

"Everything that's interesting has a strong emotional core," says game designer Davey Wreden, creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide.

Article

Game creator Erin Robinson Swink on the challenge of creating meaningful games

You cannot fail in Gravity Ghost, but it can still move you.