Missed our panel on writing for video games earlier this year? Fear not: we’re giving that event a second life!
Join The Business of Creating Institute in partnership with the WGF for a dynamic, interactive panel and Q & A with seasoned entertainment professionals to discuss writing and producing for video games.
Topics will include:
The role of Designers and Narrative Designers and how they interact
Differences between creating games at Indies vs. big studios
How a game concept comes together
How to present and get an interview at a big studio
How projects are pitched and funded
How to cross-platform your project
…and more!
Panelists include:
Connie Brammeier - COO and Interactive Entertainment Exec
Stephan Bugaj - Chief Creative Officer at Genvid
Christian Cantamessa, Founder and Game Director at Day 4 Night Studios
Adam Dolin - Writer and Narrative Designer, God of War, God of War: Ragnarök, Horizon: Forbidden West
Russ Nickel - CCO and Game Director at OmniMegaSuperCorp
Jeffrey Yohalam - Narrative Designer and Lead Writer at Ubisoft
Moderated by Jennifer Mangan, Writer/Producer, Beautiful Day Productions and Co-Founder of The Business of Creating Institute.
This event will be held in-person at the WGAW headquarters in Los Angeles and livestreamed via Zoom. Space is limited, so RSVP today.
Doors open at 6:30pm. Event starts at 7:00pm.
Get your early bird ticket for $20 through Mon, September 15! Tickets will be $25 starting on September 16. A ticket purchase is required to receive arrival or login instructions.
If you have any questions about this event, please email us at events@wgfoundation.org.
About the Panelists
Connie Brammeier is a veteran executive and production leader with experience driving game development, immersive experiences, and global production across Disney, Amazon, and major publishers. She has launched complex projects for some of the world’s most beloved IPs, andserved at both startups and global media giants. She guides products that blend storytelling, gameplay, and emerging tech, and brings deep experience working with high-profile IP at Universal, WB, Disney, Vivendi Games, and Spin Master.
As Genvid’s Chief Creative Officer, Stephan Bugaj created and helmed SILENT HILL: Ascension for which he won an Emmy Award, and the currently running DC Heroes United. His wealth of past creative and technical leadership experience includes past roles as CCO of DJ2 Entertainment, the Hollywood company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, Tomb Raider anime, and more; VP of Creative at Hanson Robotics developing the AI personality of the Sophia android and premiering his short films starring her at Cannes; and Studio Creative Director at Telltale Games overseeing creative and story for beloved narrative games including Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Earlier in his career, Stephan spent a dozen years at Pixar on both creative and technical teams, with credits including The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Brave, and Wall-E. Stephan also continues to advise SingularityNet on AI mind design and character development.
Christian Cantamessa is an award-winning filmmaker and video game creator.
He is widely known as the lead designer and writer on RED DEAD REDEMPTION, an international blockbuster that has reached worldwide critical acclaim. His other design and writing credits include SHADOW OF MORDOR, Warner Brothers’ bestseller in the Lord of The Rings franchise, Lara Croft’s reboot RISE OF THE TOMB RIDER, the cult horror MANHUNT and the pop culture phenomenon GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS.
Christian’s feature film debut was the sci-fi thriller AIR (2015), starring Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou, which he wrote and directed and was released worldwide by Sony Pictures.
In comic books, Christian created KILL THE MINOTAUR, a sci-fi reimagining of Greek mythology published by Image and Skybound.
Christian is the founder and co-game director of Day 4 Night Studios, an independent games team he established with a close group of industry veterans, supported by KRAFTON Inc. and 1Up Ventures.
Adam Dolin is a writer and narrative designer with credits on God of War, God of War: Ragnarök, and Horizon: Forbidden West. A WGA and BAFTA award winner, he specializes in bridging storytelling and systems to create compelling, player-driven narratives. Adam has worked across AAA and indie teams, teaches game writing and narrative design at ELVTR, and champions collaborative, cross-discipline storytelling in game development as a freelance consultant.
Russ Nickel is an award-winning screenwriter and narrative designer, and the co-founder of OmniMegaSuperCorp, the indie studio behind the upcoming comedy RPG Ledgerbound. He was the lead writer on the smash-hit Helldivers 2 and co-founded Tappity, a gamified education platform with over 100,000 users. When he’s not writing, he’s probably escaping a room, playing Magic: The Gathering, or drinking what he swears is his last coffee of the day.
Jeffrey Yohalem has written games across five AAA franchises for over 15 years.
He began his career at Ubisoft Montreal. Writing and designing on Assassin's Creed 2, he went on to win the U.S. Writers Guild Award as lead writer of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. After that, he became the lead writer of Far Cry 3, co-created and wrote the fantastical Child of Light, and, more recently, was lead writer of Assassin's Creed Syndicate. Following that, he did a stint on the Tomb Raider and Bioshock franchises. Most recently, he was narrative director and lead writer of Immortals Fenyx Rising.
He has been nominated for a BAFTA, and six times for the Writers Guild Award, the most nominations of any video game writer.