Dec 13th

SpilBar 52: Play me a story

When: Tuesday, Dec. 13th, 16:00 - 19:30
Where: Cinemateket, Bio Asta, Gothersgade 55, 1123 København K

Games can be a powerful narrative medium. Joining visuals and audio with interactivity gives games unique possibilities in conveying story, characters, moods and narratives. So what is narratives in a digital game? Is it literally just any story that is being told through the medium of the game? And how do you make sure the game conveys the narrative that you want the player to experience?

For this SpilBar, we have invited Lukáš Kunce from Amanita Design, Astrid Refstrup from Triple Topping, and Thomas Howalt from DADIU to each give us their take on, how to work with stories and narrative in digital games, each representing different approaches, genres and games.

For this SpilBar, we also welcome game demos or prototypes to be exhibited and played in the foyer after the talks. If you have someting you want to show, use this form to sign up to demo your game at SpilBar 52.

Program, SpilBar 52 @ Bio Asta – Cinemateket

16:30: Welcome

16:35: Making games with untold stories – Astrid Refstrup
An inspirational talk and how we worked with stories of trauma in our upcoming game Dead Pets Unleashed; A Feminist Punk Game about: Struggling punk band, Dead Pets, are still looking for their breakthrough after almost 10 years. Gordy has big plans for the group, but when you turn 30, life starts to get in the way.

17:00: Working with story and actors – Thomas Howalt
Reflections on working with story development and voice acting with examples from Thomas Howalt’s experience, most recently as the story editor of Gerda – A Flame in Winter by Portaplay.

17:25: Break

17:40: The Surreal Worlds of Amanita Design – Lukáš Kunce
Amanita Design has been around for almost 20 years, and ever since the first Samorost they’ve been delivering distinctive adventure games, each with its own theme and style. The studio is always focused on creating not just a video game, but also a tangible world that you can believe and immerse yourself into, even if it’s surreal or fantastical. The talk will introduce Amanita Design’s approach to games in general, the importance of art and audio as well as their sources of inspiration.

18:30: Snacks, refreshments & game demos

About the speakers

Astrid Refstrup, she/her, is the CEO of Triple Topping games, a feministic, award-winning studio. Astrid was the co-writer and director of Welcome to Elk. Currently, she is the game director and co-writer of Dead Pets Unleashed. She is also an advisor to the game fund Kowloon Nights.

Thomas Howalt is a teacher at the National Film School of Denmark and DADIU. Background in theater, games, film, and other stuff as writer, director, producer, etc.

Lukáš Kunce grew up not just playing tons of games, but also writing about them for magazines. After gathering experience in a few non-gaming companies, he joined Amanita Design to help the team with the communication and production side of things, and has been involved in the development and release of games like CHUCHEL, Creaks or Happy Game.

Everybody is welcome and no sign-up needed 

Join SpilBar’s Facebook group here.
Join the mailinglist and receive mails about SpilBar events here.