How do you get into games writing? Can you move from writing novels to writing interactive action? And can a writer make a videogame by themselves? (Spoilers: Yes! And Thomas will explain how.)

This workshop will cover:

• Writing great dialogue and engaging characters

• Moving from novel and tabletop RPG writing into videogames

• Branching narrative and interactive fiction

• Visual novels

• Practical and fun narrative exercises

• Creating a game by yourself

• Industry and career advice

This workshop starts with a presentation, but also has some group discussion and some fun, practical exercises. The participants will learn the basics of videogame writing, interactive narrative, and how to make games all by themselves.

Your Workshop Leader

Thomas Welsh is a games writer and fantasy novelist. He was lead writer and narrative director on the award winning Cloudpunk, City of Ghosts, Nivalis, Best Served Cold and more. He has written for numerous game sites including Kotaku and has several short stories in print. Tom has presented at The Games Developers conference in San Francisco, and he won the Creativity Award at the Scottish Game Awards in 2023 for Cloupunk. He is a BAFTA and Society of Authors member and works with The Scottish Book Trust on their Live Literature Programme. He is the author of Anna Undreaming and the bestselling Metiks Fade Trilogy, and is teaching Interactive Digital Narrative at the Glasgow School of Art. Tomfounded his own game studio, “Box of Greebles”, in 2026.

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About the event:

 Running time: 105 minutes including breaks

Venue: Cheviot Room

 Tickets: £20.50/ £18.50 (plus 50p booking fee)

 The event will be take place in-person. Workshops are not recorded. Workshops are not included in a weekend pass.

For our full Games programme, please check out the dedicated Games page.

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