Game Writers Summit

September 15-16, 2009

The two day Game Writers Summit at GDC Austin is dedicated to the art and craft of game writing, game narrative and interactive storytelling. This is the premier event in the world for discourse on, and learning about, the subject of videogame writing.

The audience includes a broad swath of writers with a variety of reasons to have an interest in the subject. This includes established game writers, up-and-comers, writers from other fields interested in what it takes to write for games, and more… Developers, publishers, producers, media, analysts and academics with an interest in gamewriting will all be in attendance.

Learn more about the Game Audio Summit Advisors here.

Check back for session updates or sign up to receive our newsletters here.

Game Writers Summit Special Events

Game Narrative Review Poster Session
Wednesday, September 16th: 12-1pm
Location:  Outside Room 11AB
*Note, this is open to All Access and Summits and Tutorial Pass holders only

The Writers Summit at Austin GDC is proud to present the winners of our annual Student Game Narrative Analysis competition. The winners, representing schools including the Guildhall, Digipen, and RIT, will present their conclusions and show off their work in poster sessions. Presenters will show their analyses of various titles ranging from classics of the genre to today’s best-sellers, taking a look at games from a fresh, narrative-driven perspective.

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Writer's Track Mixer
Wednesday, September 16: 5:30pm
Location: Outside Ballroom G

Join the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and your fellow writers for cocktails and a lively discussion on how to promote the professional and artistic interests of writers in the videogame industry.

Game Writers Summit Advisors

These industry professionals have volunteered their time and effort to help develop the sessions for the Summit. Their dedication is critical to the success of the conference and ensuring high-level quality content is provided to attendees.

Lev Chapelsky, Chair
Co-Founder and GM, Blindlight

Lev Chapelsky is a founding partner and general manager for Blindlight, a Hollywood-based production services company that works exclusively for the videogame industry, providing game producers with consultative advice on working with outsource talent and production resources, as well as a full-service producer of outsourced project work. Blindlight’s core service disciplines include story development, script writing, celebrity acquisition, and voiceover production.

Since its founding in 2000, Blindlight has earned over 200 game credits and its client list has grown to include 19 of the top 20 game publishers. Blindlight continues to work as part of the extended development teams on original game properties including the HALO, SPLINTER CELL, ELDER SCROLLS, FALLOUT, INFAMOUS, and GUILD WARS franchises, as well as on dozens of film and TV licensed properties.

Lev holds a B.F.A. degree from Notre Dame, an M.B.A. from UCLA, and a degree in International Business Management from The Stockholm School of Economics.

Susan O’Connor, Chair
Game Writer, Susan O'Connor Writing Studio

Susan O’Connor has been writing stories for games since 1998. Her portfolio features over 20 titles in a variety of genres, including first-person shooters, action-adventure titles, and open-world games. Her client list includes Activision, Ubisoft Montreal, THQ, Take-Two Interactive, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, and Vivendi.

She has been a speaker at several industry conferences, including GDC, the Montreal Game Summit, the Vancouver Game Summit, and the Austin Film Festival. In 2005, she founded the Game Writers Conference, now a part of GDC Austin. Her work has been featured in Gamasutra, Edge, and OXM. In 2006, she was a co-recipient of the DICE Best Character award for GEARS OF WAR; in 2007 she was a co-recipient of the GDC Best Writing award for BIOSHOCK. She is currently working on FAR CRY 2 and an unannounced project for Radical. She lives in Austin Texas - and yes, she wears a cowboy hat in the summertime.

Tom Abernathy
Tom Abernathy is a writer at Microsoft Game Studios in Seattle.  A graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, he has worked for nearly thirty years as a professional writer, filmmaker, theater director, actor, composer and musician.  His game credits include Activision Studios’ HEAVY GEAR and numerous award nominations for his work on DESTROY ALL HUMANS! and DESTROY ALL HUMANS! 2 for Pandemic Studios, where he was a Senior Writer/Designer.  His most recent projects are Pandemic’s upcoming SABOTEUR and SCENE IT? BOX OFFICE SMASH! (as well as several other unannounced projects) for MGS.

Richard Dansky
Manager of Design/Writer, Red Storm Entertainment

The Central Clancy Writer for Ubisoft and the Manager of Design at Red Storm Entertainment, Richard Dansky was named one of the top 20 game writers by Gamasutra earlier this year. A ten year veteran of the industry, he's worked on games in the GHOST RECON, SPLINTER CELL, RAINBOW SIX and FAR CRY series, among others. Richard is also the author of the critically praised novel Firefly Rain, and a former director of the IGDA Game Writing Special Interest Group. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and their inevitable cats. You can find him online at http://www.richarddansky.com.