Tim Schafer, Jake Elliott, and Cara Ellison

We are JAM-PACKED with storymakin' knowledge as we talk with Tim (co-founder and creative director of Double Fine Productions, probably wrote/designed/programmed your favorite LucasArts games), Jake (co-founder of Cardboard Computer and writer on Kentucky Route Zero. Maker of artware, music, and games like A (Moth in Relay), We Were You, and The Penguins’ Dilemma), and SURPRISE RETURN GUEST Cara (writer, narrative designer, game critic, and wrote on the recently released Dishonored 2) about using Twine as a design tool, knowing the implementation of your writing, working the fat off your prose style, the hero’s journey being just one bag of tricks that works, the differing emotional states between pitching and working, thinking of structure like Brutalist architecture, the most over utilized/underutilized tools in the storytelling toolbox, the importance of having/not having voice over, fatigue from world-ending stakes, internal writing rules, deciding to use/not use puzzles in adventure games, and whether there’s too much pressure on conclusions. Our Guests on the Internet Tim's Twitter and Website. Jake's Twitter and Website. Cara's Website and Book. Stuff We Talked About Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field Save the Cat by Blake Snyder (Don’t buy this book) Breakfast of Champions: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King Thirty Flights of Loving Virginia Here and There Along the Echo Spider and Web by Andrew Plotkin Emily Short’s blog Sunless Sea Kurt Vonnegut's Writing Rules Jake's GDC 2013 talk - Designing for Mystery in Kentucky Route Zero The Poetics of Space by Cara Ellison Our theme music was composed by 2Mello, and our logo was created by Lily Nishita.