Amy-Leigh Shaw

my little essay in this is called “I Would Like to Be Included in this Narrative” and it’s about casting as a technique in procedural storytelling to create granular, personalized moments

Attention people who think Stella is funny and cool (that’s you, reading this) — With Stella’s blessing I am organizing a fundraiser event (probably a livestream) to try and raise as much money as we can to replace the $24k that was stolen from her! Please DM me if you’d like to be involved!

And here it is, everyone - The Game Narrative Kaleidoscope book is out now!

You're in for a treat and many unexpected, delightful & thought-provoking pieces.

Here's a cheat code: if you want to read my essay, turn to page 122.

(And there's a *podcast* as well?)

The podcast also begins today. Co-hosted by @jon.inkle.co and @sagarberoshi.bsky.social of @thechineseroom.co.uk: we'll interview Kaleidoscope authors about their article and their craft.

The first two eps are live, including Darby McDevitt, writer of Black Flag, on subverting gameplay for drama

The index of authors is insane: here's the index of authors in full. Each person was asked to write a short piece about one specific thing they care about. The result is a book about EVERYTHING.

(And it's affordable, < $20 paperback)

📖 THE GAME NARRATIVE KALEIDOSCOPE ❄️ is out NOW!

www.inklestudios.com/kaleidoscope

100+ essays on writing & narrative design, with articles from the writers of Baldur's Gate 3, Control, Call of Duty, Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Sam and Max...

ALSO the Kaleidoscope Podcast with 2 full eps!

There are SO MANY good little nuggets in here! I was very lucky to include a quick primer of my own about writing barks - very excited for my copy to arrive 💛💛💛

Absolutely delighted to say - this is out now!

We've also launched a podcast to go with, the first two eps of which are live, including an amazing interview with @darbymcdevitt.bsky.social, writer of Black Flag.

New eps weekly, we have some amazing people lined up. Genuinely thrilling.

Woooooh! 🎉🎮
This book is a delight. The format itself is playful, low-pressure and inviting, and it's pack full with gems and insightful, bite-size commentary. And: affordable!

Honored to have contributed with a small note on Economy as a Narrative Tool, a subject near and dear to my heart... 👀

@iamleyeti.bsky.social is in this, as well as a wealth of other amazing narrative voices.

Check that shit out!

This quite brilliant compendium of new articles by writers from across the games industry is now available.

It's a great read if you're interested in any form of storytelling and a must for anyone interested in Narrative Design and game writing.

Also I wrote one, which... is nice.

I wrote words in here, I hope you like them.

This project is fascinating to me—an excellent book and it began with an open call, not an exclusive curation mandate. A grab bag of tons of writers from different backgrounds who saw the call and responded with whatever insight was meaningful to them. And it works! I like the essay I wrote for it.

Was absolutely thrilled to be part of this! Really proud of my chapter. Check it out!

This book is an absolute treasure trove of insights from all different perspectives in 100+ short chapters dealing with a huge range of topics about the craft. Can’t recommend it enough!

Delighted to have my chapter, “Cite your sources!”, in amongst all the the excellent contributions.

There are a bunch of wonderful essays in here & it's a great resource for writers at any level wanting to learn more about writing for games. You can find my essay "Enhancing Romance Through Interactivity" on page 376. Thank you to @jon.inkle.co and @inkle.co for giving me the chance to contribute!

Excited to be launching this! Many of the articles in the book are absolute gold, and it’s just so *dense*.

Well done to @jon.inkle.co for executing this so beautifully, and looking to listening to the podcast myself.

And on a personal level I’m super proud of how the book cover turned out!

Indie games aren’t exempt from shitty bosses

“At times, team members were told to stop working with no warning or quietly replaced without notice. Some woke up to find access revoked, removed from chats, and often left completely unaware of their actual status at the studio.”

Again, the indie scene has a problem with lead devs like this

“What you may not know is that the original artist and creative director was removed from the project shortly after the visual foundation was completed. Shen dismissed her without offering credit, residuals, or any future involvement.”

I wish this was rare behaviour.

I'm begging the small local community groups in Ireland to please consider reframing their use of AI design work this way. The amount of drama and theatre groups in my sphere that I see using AI posters now just makes me sad.

A green to purple gradient background with white writing, some in the shape of a circle, some within that circle. The circular writing reads: “Let’s talk : Story & Narrative : Let’s talk : Online-only : Let’s talk : 9th - 13th of March” The text inside the circle reads: “Hey! I’m Amy-Leigh. I’m a writer & narrative designer. I won’t be at GDC this year, so instead I’m making space for calls. Want to chat? Reach out, and we’ll find a good time. TTFN!”

✨📝 NOT GOING TO GDC? 📝✨

Or maybe you are, & you were hoping to catch me there?

I won’t be attending GDC this year, so if you were hoping to chat about writing & narrative design, I’m keeping some slots free for calls in my calendar for the 9th-13th of March.

Just let me know! 💛

Zangoose, I choose you!

"Zangoose is ignoring you"
"Zangoose drinks all your Potions"

“Zangoose stole your pokeball!”
“Zangoose put YOU in the pokeball!”

"what?! Zangoose is evolving!"
"Zangoose is now....Horrible Zangoose!"
"Zangoose is trying to learn Honk!"

“It’s a lovely day in the town, and you are a horrible Zangoose.”