80 Days writer Meg Jayanth believes a game-writer is often seen as a fixer, and the story as a tool to explain mechanics and motivation.

But as part of the GDC 2015 Independent Games Summit, Jayanth spoke about how stories can do much more for players, and for the games themselves.

Drawing on her experience as the writer of the critically-acclaimed 80 Days, she made an argument for the collaborative process she used in conjunction with Inkle Studios to build a machine for telling stories, and how indies in particular are ideally placed to create game stories which engage, surprise, discomfit and delight players.

It was a good talk, and now you can watch it for free via the GDC Vault.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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