We’re thrilled to introduce the expert panel who will be judging the Game Writing SIG Arcjam! These ten industry veterans bring decades of combined experience in game writing, narrative design, and game development. They’ll evaluate the shortlisted games and provide personalized feedback to help the standout project leaders grow as game writers.
The Judges
C.J. Kershner
C.J. Kershner is a WGA and BAFTA-nominated writer and designer, and the head of Polyhedron Productions, a narrative consultancy and independent developer founded in 2015 and located in the wilds of New York. With 25 years of professional experience, he has helped ship dozens of AAA and indie games across a variety of genres, and currently leads development on the post-apocalyptic comedy trash collection game, Keepin’ it Reel Fishing, for the Playdate handheld console. He is also the co-organizer of the CNY Game Devs community and a mentor with Gameheads Oakland.
Frances (Frankie) Wakefield-Harrey
Frances (Frankie) Wakefield-Harrey is an experienced Lead Narrative Designer currently writing the cozy story behind the hit game Love & Pies at Trailmix Games. Her work spans mobile, VR, and console, with credits on Love Island: The Game, The Walking Dead, Vampire: The Masquerade, and Reach (VR). She has held roles at studios including nDreams, Preloaded, The Chinese Room, and io Audio. Frances is passionate about character-driven storytelling, cross-team collaboration, and creating meaningful game experiences, as well as mentoring emerging narrative talent.
Jarory de Jesus
Jarory de Jesus is a game developer who specializes in narrative design, implementation, and programming. As a developer he’s worked on properties such as Madden, Marvel, and Star Wars as both a Narrative and Technical Designer. Jarory is also a community organizer for Black in Gaming (BiG) and a member of the Latinx in Gaming community as well as President of the board for Global Game Jam. His current studio, Coquito Games, is the culmination of his years of experience and passion for telling stories from under-represented voices.
Kelly Bender
Kelly Bender has worked in the video game industry for over 8 years as a Narrative Designer & Game Writer, and has worked on 30+ published video games (AAA, AA, indie, mobile & VR). He also teaches the Game Writing Bootcamp at Game Design Skills.
Natasha Skult
Natasha Skult is the CEO & Creative Director of MiTale, an independent game and software development company from Finland, focusing on narrative-driven games. She is an active member of the Finnish and international games industry as Chair-Emeritus of IGDA and Lead Organizer of W Love Games and Finnish Games Week. Besides industry work, she is also active in academic research and finishing her doctoral degree teaching courses in game design and game (digital) art production at University of Turku in Finland and Ashesi University in Ghana.
Maria Borys-Piątkowska
Maria Borys-Piątkowska is currently working as a Lead Narrative Designer/Writer at Flying Wild Hog studio, working on Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. She has worked on story and character design, dialogues and in-game texts, has directed VO and been responsible for localization across multiple games, including Evil West and Shadow Warrior 3. Outside of her main work, she is an avid speaker at various game conferences, an Advisory Board Member for Futuregames Warsaw, a Women in Games Ambassador, and lectures narrative design.
Ranko Trifkovic
Ranko Trifkovic is a Narrative Designer and Game Doctor with more than 25 years of experience and over 50 released titles as well as a consultant, mentor, and speaker. He works with passionate indies to transform their vision into an unforgettable experience by “doctoring” what’s already there and helping it shine. To support writers breaking into the industry, he created an 8-week mentorship program based on his experience with screening and interviewing narrative hires.
Arden Osthof
Arden Osthof is a non-binary narrative and game designer. They have worked on well-established franchises at Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Mainz; shipping Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 and helping the Anno strategy series break into the international market through their multi-lingual expertise. They’ve published a chapter in the book Digital Love: Romance and Sexuality in Games titled Designing for Romantic Attachment based on a qualitative survey of a wide range of players. A storyteller at heart, they believe narrative is an interdisciplinary effort to create context for what the player does, why they do it, and why they should care about it. Now they have embarked on a new adventure as a freelancer and consultant to help indie teams deliver gripping stories.
Kate Dollarhyde
Kate Dollarhyde is a Peabody, Nebula, and GLAAD Media award-winning game designer and writer of speculative fiction. She is a lead narrative designer at Obsidian Entertainment, where she has written for Avowed, Pentiment, The Outer Worlds, and the Pillars of Eternity series. Her short stories have been published in Fireside Fiction, Lackington’s, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and other magazines. Previously, she was the co-editor-in-chief of the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons.
Justin Keenan
Justin Keenan is the Narrative Director for Zero Parades: For Dead Spies at ZA/UM Studio. Before that he was a writer on Disco Elysium and Disco Elysium: The Final Cut. He has also published short stories, taught fiction, and spoken about branching dialogue and narrative design at GDC. For Disco Elysium he and his team members won the D.I.C.E Award for Outstanding Achievement in Story and the British Academy Award for Best Narrative.
What the Judges Will Evaluate
Our judges will assess the shortlisted games across three main categories:
Storytelling - How effectively does the narrative engage players? Does it demonstrate strong character voice, world-building, or emotional resonance?
Gameplay - How well do the interactive mechanics serve the story? Is the player agency meaningful?
Theme Interpretation - How creatively and organically does the game incorporate the jam’s theme?
Beyond scoring these categories, the judges will provide each shortlisted game with personalized feedback on how well the game functions as a portfolio piece - helping those writers to understand what works and what could be strengthened for showcasing narrative design skills to potential employers or collaborators.
Special Awards
In addition to the overall winners determined by combined judge and community scores, our panel will vote on three special recognition awards:
- Excellence in Writing Craft - At the core of writing craft we find the prose itself. Here, we look for a game that uses language and words in masterful ways, whether it’s to grip our emotions, weave together spellbinding descriptions, carry us to faraway places, or for something unexpected. Like a smooth dark chocolate melting in your mouth, the Excellence in Writing Craft Award goes to a game that leaves us wanting more for the pure joy of taking in the text.
- Excellence in Narrative Design - Storytelling in games goes beyond the words – from choice design to mechanics to the environment to your systems, narrative can be imbued on every level of the game. Whether simple and elegant, or ridiculously responsive and complex, the Excellence in Narrative Design Award goes to a game that explores and exemplifies the ways in which gameplay meets story.
- Innovative Use of Technology - A professional game writer must master design tools in order to collaborate with their teammates. Demonstrating technical competency is a critical component of a sustainable career in the games industry. The judges and organizers will look for interesting and imaginative uses of Arcweave. The Innovative Use of Technology Award will go to a game that showcases technical innovation and competency.
These awards celebrate specific aspects of narrative game development and may go to different projects, ensuring multiple teams receive recognition for their unique strengths.
Get Ready to Impress
With this incredible panel of judges, you’ll not only compete for awards but may also receive valuable professional feedback from experienced narrative designers. Their insights can help you refine your portfolio and grow your craft.
The jam starts November 20 - are you ready? If you haven’t already:
- Join the jam on itch.io
- Join our Discord for updates and community support
- Create your free Arcweave account
We can’t wait to see what you create!
Questions about judging criteria or the evaluation process? Ask in our Discord server or email info@game-writing.com.