Game Narratives and Nonlinear Storytelling

With Dr Heidi Colthup, Dr Michael Cook, Professor John Wills and Joannes Truyens

Video games are used today to tell any kind of story imaginable, through a wide variety of different techniques and media, but one thing many videogames have in common is their need to account for an unpredictable audience who might make unusual decisions, miss critical pieces of a story, or intentionally try to cause chaos. How do storytellers, writers and narrative designers adapt their skills to these challenges? What help might researchers offer to support their creative work in the future? Join a panel of expert researchers, designers and writers to hear perspectives on this exciting and ever-changing creative space!

Professor John Wills is a Professor in Film and Media at the University of Kent. He is the author of Gamer Nation: Videogames and American Culture (Johns Hopkins UP) , and with Esther Wright, Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth and Violence in the Video Game West (Oklahoma UP). 

Dr Heidi Colthup is a lecturer in Film and Media at the University of Kent. She is a writer whose work has focused upon creative storytelling and narrative in video games.

Dr Mike Cook is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Informatics at King's College London. His research centers around AI, procedural generation in games, and how technology can shape and support creativity in people.

Joannes Truyens is an award-winning writer, designer and narrative director from London. They're best known as the creator and lead designer on Neurocracy, a narrative-driven mystery game presented in the form of an online encyclopaedia.