Storytelling has long been an essential part of how wisdom is passed from generation to generation, and now video games are part of that process.
Indigenous societies often use traditional storytelling to share and celebrate core cultural values as well, and developers can help share those stories through games like E-Line Media’s Never Alone.
However, to authentically and accurately represent such stories and values, the development process must be handled in direct partnership with the indigenous people themselves.
At GDC 2015, E-Line Media’s Sean Vesce and Never Alone writer Ishmael Hope will explore how game makers can create relevant, successful commercial games based on under-represented cultures that also have meaning and social impact in their talk “Adventures in Storytelling: Telling the World’s Stories Through Games.”
If you want a behind-the-scenes look at how the game’s unique art style was crafted, check out “Never Alone: The Art and the People of the Story” from E-Line art director Dima Veryovka. The talk will detail how a small art team focused on understanding the core essentials of a world culture and developed strong visual style to reflect their values, art and mythology while supporting gameplay.
Veryovka will also talk about the process of creating characters and environments in Never Alone and how they have been inspired by traditional Alaska Native art painting, drawing, sculpture, clothing, masks, scrimshaw and honed through collaboration with Alaska Native elders and artists.
Full details on these and all other announced talks is available now in the online GDC 2015 Session Scheduler, where you can begin to build your conference week and later export it to the up-to-the-minute GDC Mobile App, coming soon.
GDC 2015 itself will take place March 2-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2015, visit the show’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.
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