By Daniel McCoy Ragnarok is the cataclysmic destruction of the cosmos and everything in it – even the gods. When Norse mythology is considered as a chronological set of tales, the story of Ragnarok naturally comes at the very end. For the Vikings, the myth of Ragnarok was a prophecy of what was to come…
By Daniel McCoy The first systems of writing developed and used by the Norse and other Germanic peoples were runic alphabets. The runes functioned as letters, but they were much more than just letters in the sense in which we today understand the term. Each rune was an ideographic or pictographic symbol…
By Riot Games WHO: Bill Barteldes SUMMONER: Bilby MAIN: Bard TITLE: Writer DISCIPLINE: Publishing TEAM: Skins & Events DEGREE: English /PLAYED@RIOT: 4 years Why did you pursue a career in video games? I’ve always loved games—some of my earliest memories are from watching my parents play adventure games on our Apple…
By Michael Arndt Analysis of the First Acts of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles.
By Michael Ardnt Michael is the Screenwriter of Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I put this lecture together in 2006, when I started work at Pixar on Toy Story 3. It looks at how to write an “insanely great” ending, using Star Wars,…
In Chinese mythology, Hou Yi (后羿) is considered to be the greatest archer of all time. He is best known for marrying the moon goddess, Chang’e (嫦娥), and for shooting down nine of the ten suns. Once an immortal who lived in the Jade Emperor’s palace, Hou Yi decided to become human to…
By Seth’s blog Great stories succeed because they are able to capture the imagination of large or important audiences. A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with…
By The narrative department Nothing captures our imagination quite like made-up worlds. Remember Richard Scarry’s Busy Town? Those books were our first hint to our 3-year-old brains that there was a WHOLE LOT going on outside our front door. Then, as we got older, we discovered Narnia…and Themyscira…and Hogwarts…and Middle…
By John Staat and Collin Chambell@Polygon When John Staats landed his first job in the game industry, he was surprised to learn he’d be working — in a central role — on one of the biggest games ever made. His new employer was Blizzard Entertainment, and this was early 2001. The…
By Lis Moberly There’s rarely a day where I don’t listen to a podcast or watch a YouTube video. While many people suggested thick books on game writing and narrative, some of the most useful resources were podcasts and YouTube channels. For me, the information was more accessible and easy…
