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NDA Jam 2: Team Leader
I was a creative director at my studio for a week! We had another awesome game jam week at Doborog. Last time, we all made projects by ourselves. I designed an FMV game about aliens preparing their own for an Earth invasion vis-à-vis silly stock videos. At the beginning of our game jam weeks, we…
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Can Running a Kickstarter Be Fun?
I ran two Kickstarters in what feels like a lifetime ago, but I’m still on the Kickstarter creator mailing list. In a recent email, Kickstarter announced that Nicole Amato, their Games Outreach Lead, would be at Gen Con and was available for meetings. Nicole is an accomplished game designer and writer, who co-ran the publisher…
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The 8 Games I Played at Gen Con
I was having a conversation at 16-Bit, a barcade in Indianapolis that attracts many Gen Con attendees. Gen Con is the board game convention I went to last week. It was night time and I was speaking with a few other designers on the patio over drinks. The topic was the experience of playing games…
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Bring Your Own Cards Game
I made a new card game for you to play! This is ALL-CARDS, a competitive storytelling deckbuilder for two players where you can use any cards you want. There are no official cards, no booster packs, no starter sets. ALL-CARDS is compatible with all trading cards, sports cards, tarot cards, even postcards, as long as…
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Project Mismanagement
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my current slate of side projects. That’s because it’s a mess! I have three ongoing projects in various stages of completion, which is not great. Ever since I went full-time at Doborog, my current studio, I’ve been hoping to keep my slate to: (1) job and (1)…
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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…
👋 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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