Important: RSVP via Meetup is mandatory to attend the talks, due to limited seating capacity. Please note that registration won’t be required to attend the event from 21:00 for the game showcase part.  

Talk & Play is a free event, taking place every two months, that provides the opportunity to game enthusiasts, players and makers to meet in a friendly, relaxed and safe environment. Everybody’s welcome, regardless of their background and knowledge level: if you like games, we’ll make sure you have a good time! This is NOT an event only aimed at developers.

Talk & Play is kindly sponsored by Kickstarter, a global community built around creativity and creative projects. Make sure to check out Drip, their new tool to support creators on an ongoing basis.

HOW IT WORKS

The event is structured in two parts:

— TALK: Short game-related presentations + announcements from the community

— PLAY: All participants are welcome to bring games they’ve made or are still working on so that the audience can play them – a perfect opportunity to discover and play new games, collect feedback and, who knows?, maybe find collaborators for future projects.

THE TALKS

Lilith Pásztor: How Games Tell Stories – Looking at Narrative and Interactivity from a Literary Perspective
Storytelling in video games is unlike any other medium, because the player is reader, protagonist and co-author at once. But what does that mean for the building of suspense, emotional immersion, and plot structure? A satisfying story requires predetermination, but the player needs the autonomy to act. Using literary, structural, and transmedial theory, this talk examines this paradox and other complexities of storytelling unique to video games.
—
After a brief career as a pirate and a failed mutiny, Lilith somehow convinced the Literature department of the FU Berlin to let her write a master thesis on non-linear video games. Now she works as a freelance writer, editor, and translator. She has long given up piracy, but sometimes she can still hear the Trade Winds sing.

https://lilithkpasztor.wixsite.com/videogamenarrative

/ / / / /

After the talk, we’re going to try something new: a “pitching” session, during which a selection of game makers will briefly present their projects, that you’ll be able to play in the second part of the evening.

We’ll be also introducing the Talk & Play Ambassadors, who’ll support first-time attendees and make sure they have someone to talk to!

THE GAMES

Here’s the games that will be shown during the second part of the evening, from 21:00:

— A Stubborn Tale by Philipp Christopher Mallmann
— AbteilungF
— Aeon of Sands – The Trail by TwoBitsKid
— Anubis’ Challenge by Noblemen VR
— Chessfinity by Steffen Römer // orkitec
— Der Die Das by DeFunc Art
— Dubio by Richard Boeser and AJ Kolenc
— Fightlings: The Card Game by Thoughtfish
— Galactic Glitch by Crunchy Leaf Games
— Jojojo by Hard Question Studio
— Oddinary Highway by Dash & Dot game studio
— Starfallen by Wayfire Games
— Stay Hydrated by Claude Fehlen, Melissa Müller
— Sternkind by Dennis Kurzeja
— The Fermi Paradox by Anomaly Games
— Tiff by Murillo C. dos Santos
— Unforeseen Incidents by Backwoods Entertainment

Game showcase registrations are now closed. You’re still welcome to bring your game, but we can’t guarantee there will be space to show it – please check with a member of the team.

AGENDA 

— 19:00 Doors  (if you arrive earlier you’ll have to wait outside, sorry!)

— 19:30 Talks start

— 21:00 Game showcase & networking: play games and chat with their creators, or just hang around and meet new people

— 23:00 The end

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Our Safe Space Policy encourages the behaviour at Talk & Play. We request that everyone who is affiliated with and participates to the event honours it.

Our event is documented by Julian Dasgupta, who’s been taking pictures for years. Documentation is important for us, as it helps promote the event and attract a new, wider and more diverse audience (that’s how it worked so far at least). For those who’d like to attend, but don’t want to be appear in any pictures or videos, we’re going to distribute some neon stickers at the door that you can wear on your chest to make it clear that you don’t want to appear in any picture or video.

The event is free to attend, but donations are welcome. We usually pass around a box after the talks.

SPONSORS

Talk & Play is kindly sponsored by Kickstarter, a global community built around creativity and creative projects. Make sure to check out Drip, their new tool to support creators on an ongoing basis.

FINAL NOTES

Do you have any questions? Would you like to give a talk in the future? Then get in touch!

Talk & Play is organised by BerlinGameScene.com.