GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Game Narrative Summit: Sex Or Death: Achieving Satisfying Midpoints in Interactive Narratives
Amy-Leigh Shaw (Writer & Narrative Designer, Sweet Baby Inc)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Game Narrative
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
Wherever you can find a great narrative midpoint, you'll probably also find either sex or death. They're a great measure of the highest heights of storytelling arcs, but we often find ourselves engaging with them through the narrow confines of traditional storytelling frameworks: it's hard to apply a five act structure to a video game in the same way you might apply it to a blockbuster film... but why would we want to? This session will investigate more effective ways of engaging players in deep emotional arcs, that better reflect the strengths and innovations in storytelling that the medium of gameplay provides.
Takeaway
Attendees of this talk should walk away with a reconsidered awareness of how midpoints fit within the storytelling medium of games, and with fresh ideas of how they could optimize the emotional lows and highs of their narrative arcs to create the greatest impact on players.
Intended Audience
This session is intended for Narrative Design and Writing professionals who are interested in examining the way we construct stories. If you're looking to think technically about a story's midpoint, and how it shifts across the moving target of narrative fiction, then this talk is for you!
