GDC 2016: Rhianna Pratchett deconstructs Rise of the Tomb Raider's narrative design

As the 2016 Game Developers Conference approaches, organizers would like to highlight a multi-faceted panel discussion about the narrative design of Crystal Dynamics' Rise of the Tomb Raider that's taking place as part of the GDC 2016 Game Narrative Summit.

The panel, "Raid on Rise: Narrative Creation on Rise of the Tomb Raider," will feature game writer Rhianna Pratchett discussing the finer points of writing the strong story and characters of Rise of the Tomb Raider alongside a cadre of Crystal Dynamics lead narrative designers John Stafford and Cameron Suey, performance director Tore Blystad, senior story artist Jeff Adams and creative director Noah Hughes.

Check it out for a behind- the-scenes look at the narrative process used on Rise of the Tomb Raider, which will showcase how the different disciplines worked together to create the second successful installment of the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise.

And GDC 2016's Narrative Summit will also host a number of other great talks, among them writer Meg Jayanth's session "Forget Protagonists: Writing NPCs with Agency for '80 Days' and Beyond." Plus, don't miss Cassie Phillips' "Crash Course: Branching Stories in Half the Time" talk on player angency in games with branching narratives and Failbetter Games' Alexis Kennedy talking about "Choice, Consequence and Complicity."

As always, more sessions will be announced for GDC 2016 in the coming months. Stay tuned, and don't miss the opportunity to save money by registering for the conference early -- the deadline to register for passes at a discounted rate is Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016.

GDC 2016 itself will take place March 14-18th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information on GDC 2016, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

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