When a game successfully captures the passion of its developers, what tool made this possible? The gameplay? The story? The art direction? The most successful games integrated approaches from all these departments before producing the game. While games have come a long way, developers have yet to take full advantage of the medium by incorporating meaning within the very structure of the game. One of the strongest tools to convey meaning is narrative, but the best stories suffer when developed independently of other game elements, like gameplay, game systems, art direction, sound design, and music. Developers of all stripes need to marry these different disciplines to create meaningful products for today's crowded marketplace. Experienced narrative designers and Writers Guild Award nominees Sande Chen and Anne Toole of Writers Cabal invite participants to discuss experiences, techniques, and obstacles encountered while attempting to create more meaning in their projects. This Core Conversation will cover topics such as:* What cinematic directing techniques can artists employ to heighten drama and meaning?* How can narrative be shown through gameplay actions? Can game systems be designed to support narrative?* How can suggesting what cannot be seen not only affect mood, but create meaning?
http://2008.sxsw.com/interactive/programming/panels_schedule/?action=show&id=IAP060369