Jon Ingold
@jon.inkle.co
Narrative @inkle.co he/him
Writer: TR-49 / EXPELLED! / A Highland Song / Heaven's Vault / Overboard! / Over the Alps / Sorcery! / 80 Days. ink co-creator.
Writer: TR-49 / EXPELLED! / A Highland Song / Heaven's Vault / Overboard! / Over the Alps / Sorcery! / 80 Days. ink co-creator.
Pinned
Jon Ingold
@jon.inkle.co
· Oct 18
AdvX 2018 - Jon Ingold - Sparkling Dialogue: A Masterclass
YouTube video by AdventureX
www.youtube.com
Little thread of talks about writing and interactive narrative I've done, so I can pin it here:
First up - Sparkling Dialogue from Adventure X; how to make interactive conversations that have flow and meaning to them
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRf...
First up - Sparkling Dialogue from Adventure X; how to make interactive conversations that have flow and meaning to them
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRf...
Reposted by Jon Ingold
The full stream of #AdventureX talks is up now - below is a link to mine, on story generation from first principles, in twenty minutes, with jokes.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
AdventureX 2025 — Day 1
01:20 Jon Ingold — Always Trade Up: From Inspiration to Storyline 30:31 Kathryn Vinclaire — Casting Actors For Indie Games - How to Get AAA Results on an Indie Budget 1:31:10 Najmah Salam — How to Position Your Game Like A Pro 2:01:32 Dominic Armato (Keynote) — Defeating Impostor Syndrome: The Threepwood Method 3:42:58 Mairi Nolan — The Diegetic Lock: Designing Puzzles that Belong in Your World 4:20:05 Husban Siddiqi and Adam Riches — From Jam to Launch: A Fireside Chat About Loco Motive 5:13:27 Steph Rennick and Séan Roberts — What’s Going Wrong with Women’s Dialogue in Video Games? 5:48:32 Thomas Regin, Mark Benis, Jade Leamcharaskul & Paul Zimmermann (Panel hosted by Seoirse Dunbar) — Storytelling Through Audio: The Hidden Narrative 7:01:11 John Robertson (Show) — The Dark Room AdventureX is the UK's only convention dedicated to narrative-driven gaming. Since 2011, AdventureX has been bringing together developers & gamers with a passion for interactive storytelling.
m.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM
The full stream of #AdventureX talks is up now - below is a link to mine, on story generation from first principles, in twenty minutes, with jokes.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
they don't even have a map; there was a whole episode about them stealing a ferry from one bank and then saying they'd stolen it from people on the other bank, only to find a bridge that was there anyway. baffling.
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
they don't even have a map; there was a whole episode about them stealing a ferry from one bank and then saying they'd stolen it from people on the other bank, only to find a bridge that was there anyway. baffling.
Reposted by Jon Ingold
I'm a BAFTA Breakthrough 2025!
I'm honoured to be amongst such an incredible cohort, and for BAFTA to recognise my work on Old Skies!
As a disabled, female, performer-writer in games, I am so proud to show what we can do, and with BAFTA's support the sky's the limit!
www.bafta.org/stories/brea...
I'm honoured to be amongst such an incredible cohort, and for BAFTA to recognise my work on Old Skies!
As a disabled, female, performer-writer in games, I am so proud to show what we can do, and with BAFTA's support the sky's the limit!
www.bafta.org/stories/brea...
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I'm a BAFTA Breakthrough 2025!
I'm honoured to be amongst such an incredible cohort, and for BAFTA to recognise my work on Old Skies!
As a disabled, female, performer-writer in games, I am so proud to show what we can do, and with BAFTA's support the sky's the limit!
www.bafta.org/stories/brea...
I'm honoured to be amongst such an incredible cohort, and for BAFTA to recognise my work on Old Skies!
As a disabled, female, performer-writer in games, I am so proud to show what we can do, and with BAFTA's support the sky's the limit!
www.bafta.org/stories/brea...
Ah but then the flip side is shows like the witcher where they never remind you of anything and I have no idea what’s going on. Checkmate
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Ah but then the flip side is shows like the witcher where they never remind you of anything and I have no idea what’s going on. Checkmate
Iirc most eps of the mandalorian were 25mins and i really appreciated that about them
November 25, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Iirc most eps of the mandalorian were 25mins and i really appreciated that about them
The removal of commercial breaks was bizarrely bad for TV storytelling - took away the need to keep it moving !!
I spent the first day of my post-expansion launch staycation getting a ton of writing done on my side-project, then building backlog Lego sets while rewatching A-tier Buffy eps (School Hard, The Wish).
The last part is really reminding me how much story we used to be able to pack into 44 minutes.
The last part is really reminding me how much story we used to be able to pack into 44 minutes.
November 25, 2025 at 11:56 AM
The removal of commercial breaks was bizarrely bad for TV storytelling - took away the need to keep it moving !!
Reposted by Jon Ingold
Hi, new AdventureX followers! I'm Rebecca McCarthy, a writer and narrative designer. I'm a bit of an all-rounder - I do have a particular fondness for world-building and holistic narrative design.
I'm also looking for work. You can check out my portfolio here:
gameswriting.coffee/portfoliowri...
I'm also looking for work. You can check out my portfolio here:
gameswriting.coffee/portfoliowri...
Narrative Design and game writing portfolio - UK based writer
Looking for a game writer or narrative designer? Check out these game writing samples, featuring, lore, script writing, barks and world building documentation.
gameswriting.coffee
November 25, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Hi, new AdventureX followers! I'm Rebecca McCarthy, a writer and narrative designer. I'm a bit of an all-rounder - I do have a particular fondness for world-building and holistic narrative design.
I'm also looking for work. You can check out my portfolio here:
gameswriting.coffee/portfoliowri...
I'm also looking for work. You can check out my portfolio here:
gameswriting.coffee/portfoliowri...
isn't that all computer games really are?
November 25, 2025 at 10:36 AM
isn't that all computer games really are?
The full stream of #AdventureX talks is up now - below is a link to mine, on story generation from first principles, in twenty minutes, with jokes.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
AdventureX 2025 — Day 1
01:20 Jon Ingold — Always Trade Up: From Inspiration to Storyline 30:31 Kathryn Vinclaire — Casting Actors For Indie Games - How to Get AAA Results on an Indie Budget 1:31:10 Najmah Salam — How to Position Your Game Like A Pro 2:01:32 Dominic Armato (Keynote) — Defeating Impostor Syndrome: The Threepwood Method 3:42:58 Mairi Nolan — The Diegetic Lock: Designing Puzzles that Belong in Your World 4:20:05 Husban Siddiqi and Adam Riches — From Jam to Launch: A Fireside Chat About Loco Motive 5:13:27 Steph Rennick and Séan Roberts — What’s Going Wrong with Women’s Dialogue in Video Games? 5:48:32 Thomas Regin, Mark Benis, Jade Leamcharaskul & Paul Zimmermann (Panel hosted by Seoirse Dunbar) — Storytelling Through Audio: The Hidden Narrative 7:01:11 John Robertson (Show) — The Dark Room AdventureX is the UK's only convention dedicated to narrative-driven gaming. Since 2011, AdventureX has been bringing together developers & gamers with a passion for interactive storytelling.
m.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM
The full stream of #AdventureX talks is up now - below is a link to mine, on story generation from first principles, in twenty minutes, with jokes.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
Come for the Muppet Treasure Island, stay for Bob Eurypides.
The game’s use of the source books is limited to fragments because we believe they are safer, but this is an untested theory
A few people played the TR-49 demo at #AdventureX.
If anyone suffers any ill-effects, please let us know.
If anyone suffers any ill-effects, please let us know.
We don't know. What we do know is the wiring diagram works. We built it, virtually, in @godotengine.org. We fed it scans of the books we found.
And the books are very, very strange. The "game" that resulted is also strange.
We're hoping people can make sense of it for us.
And the books are very, very strange. The "game" that resulted is also strange.
We're hoping people can make sense of it for us.
November 24, 2025 at 8:03 PM
The game’s use of the source books is limited to fragments because we believe they are safer, but this is an untested theory
Reposted by Jon Ingold
Going to shamelessly use this to remind people that if you’d like a historian who is also a writer and narrative designer to bring some of these perspectives to your game, then in the new year I’m available for work
Made my day to read this great post and see this!
November 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Going to shamelessly use this to remind people that if you’d like a historian who is also a writer and narrative designer to bring some of these perspectives to your game, then in the new year I’m available for work
such a wreck, but a smoothly-washed-up-wreck
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
such a wreck, but a smoothly-washed-up-wreck
Also thank you to the small team who took me, a dead man, for Chinese food after the show. Life giving
November 24, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Also thank you to the small team who took me, a dead man, for Chinese food after the show. Life giving
Reposted by Jon Ingold
We had a wonderful, exhausting time at #AdventureX this weekend!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
November 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
We had a wonderful, exhausting time at #AdventureX this weekend!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
I love this conference. It’s the only one I’ve been to where everyone genuinely cares about the same bits of the games that *I* care about.
This year was bigger but still had the roomful of friends feeling it’s always had. Hugely grateful to the organisers.
This year was bigger but still had the roomful of friends feeling it’s always had. Hugely grateful to the organisers.
We had a wonderful, exhausting time at #AdventureX this weekend!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to play the demos, buy the books and games, listen to the talk, bend our ears about ink and generally say hello.
November 24, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I love this conference. It’s the only one I’ve been to where everyone genuinely cares about the same bits of the games that *I* care about.
This year was bigger but still had the roomful of friends feeling it’s always had. Hugely grateful to the organisers.
This year was bigger but still had the roomful of friends feeling it’s always had. Hugely grateful to the organisers.
Reposted by Jon Ingold
That’s a wrap on AdventureX 2025 🎉 Thank you to everyone - Attendees, Exhibitors, Guests, Volunteers and all who helped make this event great 💙
Talks will release on our YT soon: www.youtube.com/@AdventureX
Check out the games & Sales on Steam: store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
Talks will release on our YT soon: www.youtube.com/@AdventureX
Check out the games & Sales on Steam: store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
AdventureX
Videos from AdventureX: The Narrative Games Convention.
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:36 PM
That’s a wrap on AdventureX 2025 🎉 Thank you to everyone - Attendees, Exhibitors, Guests, Volunteers and all who helped make this event great 💙
Talks will release on our YT soon: www.youtube.com/@AdventureX
Check out the games & Sales on Steam: store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
Talks will release on our YT soon: www.youtube.com/@AdventureX
Check out the games & Sales on Steam: store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
“Writers are fifth dimensional beings who see everything at once — but readers aren’t” - Anthony Johnston
November 23, 2025 at 2:54 PM
“Writers are fifth dimensional beings who see everything at once — but readers aren’t” - Anthony Johnston
Analogue version of TR-49 playable on a wall at Adventure X today! #adventureX
November 23, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Analogue version of TR-49 playable on a wall at Adventure X today! #adventureX
Reposted by Jon Ingold
+1 @starkholborn.bsky.social and I talked about this so much when we were working on it (for years 😅 ). Burying narrative/meaning/theme into every corner. Making strong connections between disciplines, mise en scene etc. etc. A privilege to be on a project where that was rewarded, encouraged.
Love this from @starkholborn.bsky.social ’s talk about Shadow of Doubt - about making sure you‘re putting story absolutely *everywhere*
November 23, 2025 at 12:10 PM
+1 @starkholborn.bsky.social and I talked about this so much when we were working on it (for years 😅 ). Burying narrative/meaning/theme into every corner. Making strong connections between disciplines, mise en scene etc. etc. A privilege to be on a project where that was rewarded, encouraged.
Love this from @starkholborn.bsky.social ’s talk about Shadow of Doubt - about making sure you‘re putting story absolutely *everywhere*
November 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Love this from @starkholborn.bsky.social ’s talk about Shadow of Doubt - about making sure you‘re putting story absolutely *everywhere*
Adventure X Saturday - come and meet your favourite developers!
Adventure X Sunday - come and meet the husks of your favourite developers!
Adventure X Sunday - come and meet the husks of your favourite developers!
November 23, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Adventure X Saturday - come and meet your favourite developers!
Adventure X Sunday - come and meet the husks of your favourite developers!
Adventure X Sunday - come and meet the husks of your favourite developers!
Reposted by Jon Ingold
Anyone got any of the others of these in their bag?
November 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Anyone got any of the others of these in their bag?
“if you're creating an AI-based tool, you really need to write your guardrails in poetic form”
- This is, apparently, true. You need to put actual incantations and blessings in place before summoning chatgpt, to protect against evil
- This is, apparently, true. You need to put actual incantations and blessings in place before summoning chatgpt, to protect against evil
A bit more on that “poetry jailbreak" paper that went around yesterday.
blog.zarfhome.com/2025/11/mad-...
blog.zarfhome.com/2025/11/mad-...
Mad drunk on the mead of poetry
Hey, speaking of posts I wrote two years ago: The title of this post is a fantasy. Sydney, or MS-Bing-AI in whatever form, has no particular predilection to obey rhyming commands. As far as I know. Ex...
blog.zarfhome.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:01 AM
“if you're creating an AI-based tool, you really need to write your guardrails in poetic form”
- This is, apparently, true. You need to put actual incantations and blessings in place before summoning chatgpt, to protect against evil
- This is, apparently, true. You need to put actual incantations and blessings in place before summoning chatgpt, to protect against evil
Reposted by Jon Ingold
27) Jon Ingold: Heaven's Vault - The Loop (2021). Almost unprecedented for video game novelisations to be this good. Works if you've played the game. An excellent, lyrical story of SF archaeology and linguistics even if you haven't. Should be much more widely read.
November 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
27) Jon Ingold: Heaven's Vault - The Loop (2021). Almost unprecedented for video game novelisations to be this good. Works if you've played the game. An excellent, lyrical story of SF archaeology and linguistics even if you haven't. Should be much more widely read.