Writer | Designers Jenna Hume, Dexter Woltman, and Sara Hardin after a successful Superstar Session at PGC - Toronto.

If you attended this year's Pocket Gamer Connects conference in Toronto, you may have spotted three white polos sporting the Brunette Games logo taking the stage. In their Superstar Session, Writer | Designers Dexter Woltman, Jenna Hume, and Sara Hardin gave a presentation titled, "How to Integrate Gameplay and Story," breaking down the importance of seamless narrative integration in mobile games alongside examples of Brunette Games' work in numerous beloved titles. The two-day event was full of opportunities to connect with companies and individuals alike, each with unique ideas and perspectives about the industry. This—along with the chance to finally try the Canadian delicacy that is poutine—made the trip one to remember, and we look forward to the chance for more in the future!

We're happy to announce: Brunette Games team members Dexter Woltman, Jenna Hume, and Sara Hardin will be conducting a Superstar Session at Pocket Gamer Connects in Toronto, July 6-7. As part of their all-Brunette Games panel discussion on "How to Integrate Gameplay and Story," the three writer | designers will share our team's best practices for story and gameplay integration in casual games. We look forward to sharing an expertise honed over 30 released titles and counting! 

Superstar Session: How To Integrate Gameplay and Story

Game writing requires narratives that ultimately serve players and give them agency. Unlike other forms of writing, game writing needs to support the gameplay experience, and vice-versa! Proper integration sees both elements reflecting each other positively. From tutorials to graphics to dialogue, players have a better experience when gameplay and story are aligned. This panel featuring three full-time game writers includes: Why it’s important to integrate story with gameplay. Examples of what good integration looks like. How to improve integration in certain areas.

About Pocket Gamer Connects

Like all activities under the Steel Media banner, Pocket Gamer Connects – and its partner conferences Beyond Games, Big Screen Gaming and Blockchain Gamer LIVE! – are wholly inclusive events. They provide value to a wide range of industry players, from global corporations looking to hone their strategy, down to indie developers seeking a little inspiration and new contacts.

The Connects series tackles the industry from two angles. On the macro scale, we look at global game publishing strategies and opportunities with a focus on the most interesting markets and hottest topics (including global regulation and brand marketing).

On the more micro level, our indie survival talks look at the process of game making, covering everything from creativity through production to sustainability and how you can match the games you want to make with proven business models – and establish the formula for the next billion-dollar game!

For more information about Pocket Gamer Connects, visit their website here.

Find the full Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto schedule here.

By Jenna Hume

Dexter and I had the privilege of attending this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, CA, specifically the Narrative Summit. GDC is an annual conference for the game development community, with lectures, an expo, and networking opportunities. This was a first for both of us, as the 2020 conference Dexter was supposed to attend ended up being canceled (as we all probably know). So we arrived in San Francisco with excitement and anticipation! 

GDC was a truly inspiring experience. Every person we met came with an exciting new story to hear. The sessions we attended taught us new things about game design and narrative that will surely come in handy in our work.

All of the sessions we attended were helpful, but here are the few we’d like to particularly shout-out: Dan Gabriel’s talk on the narrative design in Lost Words: Beyond the Page; Michelle Clough’s take on writing romance and using kindness coins vs. a chemistry casino; Evan Skolnick’s storytelling workshop; and Lucien Soulban’s tips for surviving the monetization of games. These sessions taught us a lot about player psychology, handling heavy topics in gaming, and more. We thank all the speakers for their time and insight shared at GDC.

We also met various writers, designers, and developers, including new and current clients. It was great to finally see everyone face-to-face and have fruitful conversations. These are connections that we hope to continue to cultivate over the next several months.

 Here are some of the key highlights from our trip: 

• Experiencing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time between sessions;
• Chatting with other attendants in the beautiful Yerba Buena Gardens outside the convention center; 
• Attending a writers’ meet-up, where we connected with aspiring writers from across the world;
• And the TransPerfect party, where we closed out our time at GDC, with good company, music, and food.

Overall, our time at GDC was a whirlwind of a week, filled with new insight and friendships. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience, and we hope to return to GDC!

If you’d like to learn more about GDC, look here for more information! Maybe we’ll see you there in the future!