26 - 28 October 2021 Hilton Brighton Metropole

Insight:Inspiration:Networking

DESIGN

ART

AUDIO

BUSINESS

CODING

MOBILE

ROUNDTABLES

INDIE

Discoverability

Blog Guest Blog: The Art of Storytelling

Posted: 6th June 2018

Games are one of the most interactive and immersive mediums available to us as storytellers. They provide the opportunity for players to actively affect the outcome of a scenario in a visceral way which has allowed us, as developers, to explore facets of the human experience in ways film, literature and television cannot.

Games in recent years have pushed the envelope on immersion and found ways to weaponise our interactions with a game, resulting in responses unique to the medium. When we hunt the beast and strip it for parts we feel pride from the kill, but guilt at taking a life. When we are forced to choose between saving one individual over another we feel remorse, but a satisfaction that comes when that decision pays off further down the line.

When I founded my company, I set out to make the games I felt were missing from my Library. I wanted to assemble a team to make something that told human stories from human perspectives, tapping into a wealth of collective experiences to really give the player moments they could relate to – and especially moments they can’t.

In Du Lac & Fey: Dance of Death we never wanted to shy away from important social issues such as abortion, sex, love and race. All of these are framed through the lens of women, as two of the three protagonists in our game are female with very different world views and upbringings. Our third, Sir Lancelot, must grapple with his own demons – monsters that sit outside of the usual male-lead revenge fantasy.

The Victorian era was rife with social upheaval, clashing cultures and contrasting values, and we are proud of the fact that we’ve managed to tell as many of these forgotten stories as possible within the walls of our game. It’s actually extraordinary how many parallels we can draw between us as people, despite there being over one hundred years between us. We have the tabloids and papers on our newsstands now, but this period gave birth to modern day journalism. Stories were fabricated without basis, gossip invented to sell papers, and facts overblown to keep people turning the page.

It is said that history is written by the victors, but, more simply put, it is written by those able to write. There are thousands of stories, both then and now, that’ll be lost to time due to one person monopolising the pen. We attempted to make amends with Du Lac & Fey, offering players a London they will have never seen before. London then is as London is now, a multi-cultural melting pot of ideas, lives and languages that birthed a new era of technology, art and belief. Who better to explore this new world than Arthurian immortals who, after all these years, can look upon this strange, exciting city with fresh eyes?

We are moving into a new era of game storytelling, exploring the way we handle and interact with topics such as mental illness, grief, and different sorts of love. Moreover, the demographic of gamers is shifting, and game developers seem to be accommodating that, or it could well be the other way around? It’s a fascinating time to be working in the games industry, especially when narrative-driven games seem to be at the forefront of our march forward. Above all else, I look forward to an increasing level of diversity in our developers, opening doors to new voices and the new stories those voices can tell.

Jessica Saunders is an Indie developer and and owner of Salix Games

Share this page

LATEST NEWS

Develop:Brighton 2021 Announces Keynote Fireside Chat with Insomniac Games Founder Ted Price & Unveils Conference Programme 21st July 2021

Develop:Brighton Announces Team17’s Debbie Bestwick as Headline Speaker & Develop Star Award Recipient 24th June 2021

Entries Now Open For The Develop:Star Awards 2021 12th May 2021

Develop:Brighton Speaker Submissions Now Open 21st April 2021

Develop:Brighton 2021 Moves to October 2nd February 2021

Develop:Star Awards 2020 Winners Announced 4th November 2020

Offer ends 15 September.

There’s something creative about Brighton, so it’s the perfect place to have the conference.

Graham Devine

Magic Leap

There’s really something for everyone at Develop and the experience of being around like-minded people is really useful.

Grace Carroll

Creative Assembly

Develop is the must-attend event for the games industry in the UK. It’s where we all come together and learn from each other. It’s the best way into the industry and it’s the best place to learn from your colleagues.

Hannah Flynn

Failbetter Games

Develop is a very important place – it’s one of the few developer focussed conferences we have in Europe and that makes it very valuable.

Rami Ismail

Vlambeer

I really like Develop, I really like the intimacy of it and I love the location.. there’s a good diversity of talks going on so there hasn’t been a time when there’s nothing I want to see.

Brenda Romero

Romero Games

I absolutely love coming to Develop, it’s a brilliant, brilliant conference – you just know you’re guaranteed to meet everyone.

Jo Twist, OBE

Ukie

It’s really nice to see some of the younger people in our studio come to Develop, interact with other people in the dev community and make new contacts. I think it’s really important to learn from other people.

Abbie Heppe

Media Molecule

There really is a huge mix of people at Develop - loads of peers that you can learn from and the perfect blend of every element of game development as well.

Alex Moyet

Curve Digital

I’ve been to every single Develop in the last 12 years. One thing you get here is networking - you will meet the most amazing individuals in the video games industry.

Kish Hirani

Terra Virtua

A lot of the opportunities that come from being here are speaking to other developers who are doing exactly the same thing as you. And there are some good parties – it’s very much a pleasurable work experience!

Gemma Foster

Dlala Studios

Get involved today!

There are many ways you can be part of Develop:Brighton - including taking a booth in the Expo or choosing one of the many sponsorship opporunities during the event or at the Star Awards.