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Turn Work Into A Game
I wish I had more time for gaming. There’s a podcast I like called All Elite Arcade, which is hosted by two pro wrestlers who love video games. They talk about pouring hundreds of hours into brand new games. Every. Single. Week. The hosts aren’t college students. They’re working professionals with busy lives. How?! One…
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I Waited a Year for This
Last year, I gave my second presentation at Narrascope, a conference for narrative designers and folks who love thinking about interactive narratives. My first Narrascope talk was about Adventure Snack in 2022, but the show was virtual that year due to a particularly novel form of coronavirus. It was like giving a presentation on Zoom.…
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How to Stop Undersharing
Last Sunday, I sent a newsletter on Father’s Day as a tribute to my dad. This week’s newsletter is inspired by a lesser known holiday. No, I’m not talking about National Take Your Cat to Work Day. I work from home, so every day is National Take Your Cat to Work Day. Maddie loves hopping…
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Game Boy, Game Father
Today is Father’s Day, which got me thinking about how my dad inspired me to become who I am today. When someone describes themselves as a “creative,” it means they’re in a creative profession, like a video director or a copywriter. My dad is not a creative by that definition. He’s a radiologist, but he’s…
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Muppet Funeral
Last week, my wife and I went to Orlando for a Muppet funeral. Or really, more of a Muppet deathbed visit. A few months ago, Disney announced there would be a new Monsters Inc rollercoaster in Disney Hollywood Studios. To make room, they are shutting down and re-theming an area of the park nicknamed the…
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Old Friend Adventures
A project I worked on a few years ago bubbled up from the sea. Honestly, I thought this project might’ve gotten shipwrecked. Over the past few years, my professional seafaring has led to more than one crashed vessel. I’m glad it’s out, because I had a whale of a time making it! Yup, you guess…
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I Let a Reader Pay Me
Last week, I did something I never thought I’d do. I put a “Support” page on my website. You can now support my game development journey with a single or recurring donation of $1 or more. As a thank you, I’ll list you as a “Supporter” on at least one of my game’s credits. I…
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How To Design Immersive Theatre
As the patio on Walt’s Bar got more crowded, my interview with live experience designer Andy Crocker got more personal. In the first half of our interview, we talked about the fascinating work of directing actors on how to improvise with guests in immersive theme park experiences like the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and Ghost…
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How to Act on a Starcruiser
After I published the ghastly results of my theme park design class, a friend of mine reached out with an exciting opportunity! Ryan Sandoval, who created the very funny podcast Finding Pattersby, offered to introduce me to his friend in the theme park biz… Andy Crocker is a live experience designer who worked on Star…
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Welcome to My (Useless) TED Talk
You know those parties where guests give five minute presentations on a topic of their choice? I love them! They’re like a live version of the YouTube videos I watch where the host does a deep dive on the history of a random pop culture topic, like the cultural significance and legacy of Hostess Ninja…
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What If… I Rebooted Adventure Snack?
One of my must-read comics growing up was What If…?, a showcase for the Marvel Universe’s most interesting butterfly effects. For example, “What If Doctor Doom Became a Hero?” or “What If Magneto Took Over the U.S.A.?” or “What If The Hulk Turned a Refreshing Lime Green?” (That last one features a rare team-up between…
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Unsolved Mystery Game
I went to GDC to meet clients, learn from peers, and slap the butt of a giant cat. One of my favorite things to do at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is play the games in the alt.ctrl.GDC booths. These are experimental games made with alternate controllers. Some of my favorites in past…
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The Secret Game Developer Bar in Tokyo
Last week, I wrote about how joining the new game developers union gave me a sense of belonging to the game dev community. That feeling is somewhat new. As an artist, I generally feel like an outsider. A misfit. A rebel, but not a cool way. If I owned a leather jacket, there would be…
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I’m a Union Man
I love the feeling of winning, but I’m not very good at celebrating my wins. When I hit a major milestone in my career or get a big opportunity, I tell my wife, maybe my mom, and that’s usually it. Someone might email me about it and I’ll politely thank them, then quickly divert the…
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What Is The Human?
Two weeks ago, I wrote about completing my first game in Unity as part of my studio’s one week game jam. Since then, I’ve made little progress with Unity. In fact, I absent-mindedly updated the Playmaker plugin and I think I destroyed an entire build? I’m kind of too afraid to look?? 😓 However, I…
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Mystery vs. Mastery
When it comes to making games, I like to think of myself as a mountain climber. Not literally, though! No surly goats, freezing temperatures, or risk of falling hundreds of feet to my doom, thank you very much. I climb the figurative mountains that are creative projects. When something inspires me – usually media from…
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NDA Jam
I’m very lucky. I work at an indie game studio, Doborog. A few weeks ago, my boss said I could spend a whole week making whatever game I wanted, as part of a company-wide game jam. That’s never happened to me before. A boss telling me, “Go nuts for cash!” Years ago, I co-ran a…
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Wanna Adopt a Ghost?
In these cruel, compassionless times, we need less ghost busting and more ghost understanding. Think about Slimer. The little green guy was minding his own business, scarfing down hot dogs and destroying a rich man’s ballroom, something we all dream of doing. For this “crime,” Slimer was subjected to assault by a privately operated, wise-cracking…
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Super Grateful
Game jams are hard. Surviving a natural disaster is much harder. Last month, Gwen Katz, founder of Nightwell Games, somehow did both. Together we finished a game called Cocoanut Hotel for the public domain game jam, even after her house burned down. I wanted to know her story, so this is our interview. This is…
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Something to Feel Normal
Last month, I made a game called Cocoanut Hotel with Nightwell Games founder Gwen Katz for the public domain game jam. Also last month, a little more significantly, we went through the LA wildfires. It was a harrowing experience for Gwen. I wanted to know her story, so this is our interview. When we last…
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Burn, Panera, Burn
Cocoanut Hotel was no ordinary jam game. We developed the game last month in Los Angeles, during the catastrophic wildfires that blazed through the city. More than 18,000 structures were destroyed. At least 29 people died. My phone blew up with text messages and the toxic air felt rough on my lungs, but my wife…
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🥸 Play the First Marx Bros Video Game
We did it! Hooray for Captain Spaulding us! After a month of hard work, some of it while on relaxication, Gwen Katz and I released Cocoanut Hotel, a wacky hotel management simulator based on The Cocoanuts (1929), the first film by The Marx Brothers. 🏨 Play Cocoanut Hotel! (It’s free!) After playing, if you have…
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7 Underrated Public Domain Characters
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a listicle! In the mid-aughts, listicles were how I earned a meager living as a writer. I would get hired by a website to be their internet culture guy, where I’d compile quickie, witty lists of memes and videos with titles like “10 Biggest Slip ‘n Slide…
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The Rules of Relaxication
For the past 14 years, Amanda and I have gone on a trip over New Years. We call them “relaxications,” because they’re distinctly not vacations. On a vacation, you create an itinerary, make dinner reservations, and maximize each and every day for fun, cherished memories. And Instagram likes. After all, can a vacation even be…
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I’m Not Obsessed with Popeye!
Most people start conversations with phrases like, “So, what do you do?” or “Got any weekend plans?” I started more than one conversation last year with, “So, what are you going to do with Popeye when he enters the public domain?” I asked this to a family in line at Disneyland. I have no idea…
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Next Year, I’m Doing Less!
I hope you’re having very happy holidays! My wife Amanda and I are hosting family this week, and seeing everyone laughing and smiling under one roof is truly the greatest gift of all. So… what’s the second greatest gift of all? Frankie Freako on Blu-Ray! With bonus features! Including full audio commentary!!! If you haven’t…
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Death of The Phenomenals
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. We barely made our deadline to ship the first three chapters – available for free on the Dorian app on both iPhone and Android – despite feeling super sick. Done. Amanda and I shipped the first three episodes of The Phenomenals. Shipping a game, even a tiny one, is an…
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The Year I Got My Drone Cloned
I wasn’t sure if I should be writing this. When I was thinking of ideas for Equip Story newsletters, my instinct was to celebrate yesterday’s launch of Clone Drone in the Hyperdome, the VR game I’ve been working on since February. But I had a nagging doubt. Equip Story is about figuring out the most…
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Shivering to the Finish Line
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. I lost a lot of time struggling to establish a narrative pipeline for The Phenomenals, available for free on the Dorian app on both iPhone and Android. I don’t remember much about the day before asset lock on The Phenomenals, our all-important deadline from the publisher. Mostly, I remember I…
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Take The Dubs When They Come
A friend of mine had his wedding the weekend after the election. A few days before, he joked nervously about how the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Celebrate good times, come on! That’s the vibe right now in California, U.S.A.! I texted him back saying maybe what we all needed was a good excuse…
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The Vortex of Wasted Time
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. Amanda and I grapple with my ambitious and unwieldy story map for The Phenomenals, available for free on the Dorian app on both iPhone and Android. I have a tendency to gloss over my negative feelings when it comes to creative projects. I become so focused on finishing – don’t…
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Bad Games Inspire Me
📰 FYI: For the next few weeks, Equip Story newsletters will be faster reads. There’s a good reason for me writing less, besides a mix of lethargy, discombobulation, and general panic that I know I’m not alone in feeling. But I want to keep my good reason a surprise for when I write about it…
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I Don’t Feel Creative
My friend Gwen, a very talented game designer, came over to co-work this week. I asked Gwen if she wanted to cancel, given the election and the vibes of dread. She said sitting around the house by herself wouldn’t help, so she came over. Part of me wanted her to say exactly that. Another part…
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Playing With Toys
When I get to write for a brand I genuinely love, it feels like rolling a nat 20 at the table. This week is the official release of Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds & Realms, a hardcover anthology that’s a fictional journey through the D&D multiverse, accompanied by 50 years of gorgeous D&D fantasy art. I…
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Survive The Panic Dojo
Cyclops (V.O): Previously, on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. Amanda and I figure out a way to make background assets for our game. See them for yourself by playing The Phenomenals for free on the Dorian app, available on both iPhone and Android. I get ambitious when I design games. It’s a gift and a curse. My ambition leads me to…
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Deadlines Are Good, Actually?
I’m writing this newsletter at the last possible moment! That’s unlike me. In school, I would finish my class assignments the night before, not as class was actually starting like my cooler friends. When it comes to Equip Story, I like to have a queue of three newsletters in the bank. That way, if I…
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No Art Skills? No Problem!
Cyclops (V.O): Previously, on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. I talked about how we wrote and structured the first episode of The Phenomenals. You can play The Phenomenals for free on the Dorian app, available on both iPhone and Android. What would the X-Men be without their ultra high tech mansion compound? It’s hard to imagine an elite fighting force…
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How To Not Compete
You know how people enter a race, but they don’t care if they get last place? They enter for the exercise, or to spend quality time with a friend, or to spend quality time away from family? I don’t know how to do that. When I enter into a competition, I want to win, damn…
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Mutant-Go-Round
Cyclops (V.O): Previously, on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. We jumped forward in time, because the first three episodes of The Phenomenals launched! You can play them for free on the Dorian app, available on both iPhone and Android. Today we’re jumping back in time to talk about the creative decisions that went into episode one.…
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Play the Sexy X-Men Dating Sim
This is a time jump! In the past few newsletters, I’ve been writing about events that actually took place several months ago. How my partner Amanda and I came up with the idea for an X-Men-inspired dating sim, developed the characters and the outline, and had fateful conversations with the publisher. Today, I’d like to…
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The Gravity of the Situation
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously, on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. We received a surprise deadline from Dorian, our publisher. If we wanted their resources, we’d have to publish a “pilot” for our dating sim in just two months! Oh my stars and garters… Amanda and I had a choice to make. Stay in Dorian’s Artist Accelerator program,…
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No Crunch Policy
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously, on Sexy X-Men Dating Sim. Dorian killed one of our mutant cuties, though Amanda and I vowed to keep our beast man alive through not-so-subtle references throughout the game. Jess, the VP of Creator Growth at Dorian (our publisher), was about to lay another bombshell on my creative partner Amanda and I…
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The Death of Our Wolverine
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously, on the X-Men dating sim. Amanda and I finished writing a design doc, which includes bios of our four main muties and outlines for the first 10 episodes. When we submitted the design doc to Jessica Delfanti at Dorian (our publisher), I figured there would be notes. After all, Dorian was funding…
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Deadpool & One Particular Wolverine
🤚 This newsletter contains a spoiler for Deadpool & Wolverine. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you’ve been warned, bub. BTW: Did you get spoiled on the cameos just by happenstance? I sure was, and I saw the movie on the second weekend! There should be spoiler amnesty for at least the first week.…
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X-Men: Exhaustion
Cyclops (V.O.): Previously, on X-Men Dating Sim: Amanda and I developed a cast of superhunkos for the player to date. Next, we began developing the story arc of our visual novel. We kicked this off in a design session after work on a Wednesday. Not a great idea, but more on that in a moment.…
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All Video Game Characters Have Amnesia
👋 I like to answer questions from folks about writing, narrative, and game design. Reply to this email or hit the comment button at the bottom of the article and ask me anything. Well, maybe be not anything. Don’t ask about what happened at the Simmons residence on January 24th at 1:10 am. I know…
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Sexy Superheroes Are Like Tip Jars
Have you ever been to a coffee shop where there are two rival tip jars at the counter? They usually have writing on them, like one that reads, “The Empire Strikes Back,” and the other that reads, “Burn All of Star Wars in a Fire.” People put money into the jar they most vibe with.…
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Gaming’s Best Kept Secret
As a narrative designer, it’s my job to play video games. To be clear, I’m not paid to play games, like a QA tester or the rad teens who worked at the Nintendo tip line in the 1980s. My colleagues just expect that I have played certain games. Usually indie darlings or hit AAA games…
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Who Are the Sexiest X-Men?
In March, Amanda and I were driving to WonderCon in Anaheim, the kid sister of San Diego Comic-Con. WonderCon is like SDCC, but less. Less crowded, less expensive, and less amazing. If you’re in SoCal, it’s easy to make a day out of it, and the out-of-towners can spend a day in Disneyland and call…
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I’m Flipping Out!
Hello from Boston, City of Beans! This’ll be a short update, since I’m currently traveling across the east coast. Last week, I was visiting family in Buffalo. Then I spoke at a game developers conference in Rochester. (More on that below.) Today Amanda and I are visiting my old college campus for the first time…
👋 Hey, I’m narrative designer Geoffrey Golden!
Equip Story is a weekly newsletter about how making games can be as fun as playing games.
For the Love of the Game
Equip Story is my newsletter of self-discovery through game development. I’m Geoffrey, a narrative designer, game maker, and interactive fiction writer from Los Angeles with over 15 years experience. I’ve had commercial success working for studios like Disney, Gearbox, and Ubisoft, but I’ve always treated commercial success as the most important goal for my art. Now I’m looking for something more. →
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