Note: Tentative program
On-Site
Friday (January 31st) – Sunday (February 2nd)
Creative Weekend
Online, Monday, February 3rd
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 90:30 – 10:00 | Dr. Adam Palmquist | Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Navigating the Forthcoming EAA Legislation as an Indie Game Developer |
| 10.00 – 16.00 | Professor Mata Haggis-Burridge | Foundational plot, storytelling, and writing skills |
On-Site, Tuesday February 4th
Big Auditorium, Nylåna
| TIme | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:10 | Helga Dis Isfold Sigurdardottir (FSV) | Intro to the Conference |
| 09:10 – 09:30 | Johan Einar Bjerkem | What is storytelling? |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Keynote: Professor Sine Maria Herholdt-Lomholdt | Grasping lived experiences – in education and research |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Creative Weekend |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Dr. Jorunn Bjerkan (FSH) | Using Stories as Methods in E-Health and Nursing Research | Pitching from the Creative Weekend |
| 11:00 – 11.45 | Dr. Erika Kvistad | The Minotaur-Maze Problem: How Collaborative Storytelling Practices Shape Internet Horror | Pitching continued |
——————– LUNCH BREAK ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Creative Weekend |
| 12:30 – 12:45 | Paula Sofie Haugan (FSV) | Simulation as a tool in teaching | Pitching continued |
| 12:45 – 13:30 | Paola de Bruijn | Visual Storytelling at the heart of Social Art – life is a look’ing-glass world | Pitching continued |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Speaker | Topic |
| 13:45 – 14:15 / 14:00 | Note! Time 13:45 – 14:00 TBD | TBD | PhD candidate Malle Vogelsang (FLU) | Rethinking Youth Mental Health Support: The Potential of Recovery Narratives and Digital Storytelling |
| 14:15 – 14:45 | Note! Starts at 14:00 Deborah Lygonis | Gaming for Good | PhD candidate Teddy Nambaziira (FLU) | NEON interactive narratives |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Big Auditorium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Speaker | Topic |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 15:15 – 16:00 | Dr Kristine Ask | Storytelling with chatbots | Magnus Lillemark (FSV) | “DON’T GIVE ME LOGIC”: Using film narrative to educate |
| 20:00: Networking Event and Award ceremony for the Creative Weekend |
On-Site, Wednesday, February 5th
Big Auditorium, Nylåna
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Keynote: Luke Savage | The growth of video games as a storytelling form |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 10:45 – 11:45 | Professor Geir Olve Skeie | How music can stimulate the brain to greater expression |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | ————— LUNCH BREAK ————— | ————— LUNCH BREAK ————— |
| 12:15 – 13:00 | Professor Geir Olve Skeie (Continued) |
| Time | BlackBox/BigAuditorium | Drawing room | Ny2006 | Theatre room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 – … Note! Different times for the different workshops | TALK – Big Auditorum Katherine Hazel Skaife: How can we transform healthcare using music and the arts? (Ends at 13:30) | Workshop 2: Chris Hart (FSV) Pencils B4 pixels | Workshop 3: Robin Isfold Munkvold (FSV) and Víctor Manuel Pérez Colado Game development as a Pedagogical approach – making physical boardgames | Theater students Commedia dell’arte |
| 13:45 – 14:45 | Workshop 1: Charlotte Stav: Workshop i musikkbasert miljøbehandling – hvordan bruke musikk for relasjonsbygging og kommunikasjon. (In Norwegian only) | Workshop 2 (Continued) | Workshop 3 (Continued) | Theater students Commedia dell’arte (Ends at 14:00) |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
Big Auditorium, Nylåna
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Robert Steen | Intro: “All the things we didn’t see” |
| 15:30 – 17:30 | Speakers / Contributors – Robert Steen – Jonas Rennemo Vaag – Kristine Ask | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin: Panel Discussion |
| 20:00: Networking Event |
On-Site, Thursday, February 6th
Big Auditorium, Nylåna
| Time | Speaker / Performer | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 10:00 | Ida Eldøen | Using storytelling to say something different. |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Artistic Performance | Artistic Performance |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Speaker | Topic |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Inger-Marie Ask | The future of Mixed Reality | TBA | TBA |
| 11:00 – 11:45 | Victoria Vigaray | Learning through Stories: storytelling as an onboarding tool | Sherstee | Story Mode Unlocked: How to Hook Players with Relatable Narratives |
——————– LUNCH BREAK ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Speaker | Topic |
| 12:30 – 12:45 | Heidi Haavan Grosch (FLU) | Empowering individual voices through story | TBA | TBA |
| 12:45 – 13:30 | Elisabet Aarebrot Madsen | Visual storytelling | TBA | TBA |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
| Big Auditorium | Blue Auditorium | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Speaker | Topic | Speaker | Topic |
| 13:45 – 14:00 | Hans Jørgen Støp (FLU) | BELEM Music Studio: AI-translations understanding emotional and cultural contexts | TBA | TBA |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | Malena Persson | Crafting Worlds: The Art of Visual Storytelling in Games | TBA | TBA |
——————– BREAK (GALLERY TIME) ——————–
Big Auditorium, Nylåna
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 15:00 – 15:15 | TBA | TBA |
| 15:15 – 16:00 | Ástráður “Ace” Ísak Lárusson | Technically Storytelling |
Conference Closing Act
Talks
Speaker: Elisabet Aarebrot Madsen
Talk: Visual storytelling
Short description: What is visual storytelling? How to tell stories without using too many words? A talk about character designs, illustrations and compositions. Also sharing experience working with the Saami-perspective in visual storytelling in the game development industry.
Speaker: Victoria Vigaray
Talk: Learning through Stories: storytelling as an onboarding tool
Short Description: This keynote aims to cover a key game design topic: teaching how to play a game to players in a way they don’t feel either pressured or bored. We will talk about how storytelling is important to give correct pacing and ordering learning concepts so it can be engaging enough for the targeted
audience.
Speaker: Ástráður “Ace” Ísak Lárusson
Talk: Technically Storytelling
Short Description: An exploration of the narrative pipeline in a mid-sized, AA game studio. From words on a paper to fully voice acted dialogue in a game
Speaker: Adam Palmquist
Talk: Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Navigating the Forthcoming EAA Legislation as an Indie Game Developer
Short Description: In June 2025, the latest iteration of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will be enacted. The EAA aims to improve the accessibility of digital products and services, ensuring equal access for all individuals, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. While the intent of the EAA is undeniably
commendable, its implications raise significant concerns – particularly for smaller tech enterprises such as indie game developers. With limited access to resources like usability engineers or HCI consultants, indie studios face substantial challenges in meeting the EAA’s stringent standards, putting their survival in the EU market at risk.
Drawing on insights from his latest book, Universal Design in Video Games (Springer, 2024), in his lecture, Palmquist will introduce the audience to the EAA and explore how the research-based Attainable Game Experience (AGE) framework can serve as a practical tool for navigating the legislation. AGE focuses on enhancing the player experience by emphasising and prioritising the attainability of the designed game experience. This approach not only improves gameplay and fosters positive player experiences but also supports a diverse community of players with conditions that
might otherwise hinder their participation.
Speaker: Heidi Haavan Grosch
Talk: Empowering individual voices through story
Short Description: When our individual voices are acknowledged, we gain a sense of mestring (mastery, empowerment and motivation), no matter what our field. This talk will highlight how storytelling tools can strengthen the power of our own ideas and give us the confidence we need to share them – whether as a
teacher in the classroom, designing projects in a digital format or working our way through life.
Speaker: Hans Jørgen Støp
Talk: BELEM Music Studio: AI-translations understanding emotional and cultural contexts
Short Description: BELEM is an European Union (EU) funded initiative through the Creative Europe Programme that aims to make music in any language accessible to global audiences and break down cultural barriers. Nord is a Partner in this project and one of the main tasks in their work is to participate in the creation of a unique AI-translator model that can understand the emotional and cultural context of European music lyrics and then be able to interpret and translate their “storytelling” into other European languages. In this talk Hans will show you examples of this process of work, and discuss possible impacts of it.
Speaker: Kristine Ask
Talk: Storytelling with chatbots
Short Description: Chatbots are being integrated into a multitude settings, from museums to online retail (Chaves & Gerosa, 2020). This paper argues that game studies
can offer insights into chatbots as technologies and as a cultural phenomenon by approaching them through a lens of play and storytelling. Based on an ethnographic study of character.ai the paper explores how chatbots are used by fans to remediate existing characters and worlds for roleplaying purposes.
Character.ai allows users to create chatbots by filling out a character sheet, and the service positions itself as an entertainment company as they consider chatbots as the future of entertainment (c.ai, 2024). Behind the platform’s considerable success are fans and gamers who use the platform for roleplay purposes. It represents both a new development for roleplaying games, and represents a potentially emergent form of computer mediated storytelling.
The analysis explores how chatbot-based roleplay becomes meaningful due to 1) pre-existing affective connections developed through fannish engagements on other platforms, and 2) the interactive, intimate, and emotion-driven play the technology of c.ai affords. While the technology offers no explicit rules or winning states, gameplay is structured by implicit limitations in the technology (e.g., the bot’s limited memory and capacity for understanding) and through deliberate deployment of tropes and conventions from fanfiction and romance (e.g., starting prompts about finally reaching the inn and finding out there is only one bed available). Through trial and error, human players and chatbots co-create a play experience and storylines that, much like fanfiction, is often directed toward relationships and romance.
Speaker: Sine Maria Herholdt-Lomholdt
Talk: Grasping lived experiences – in education and research
Short Description: TBA
Speaker: Professor Mata Haggis-Burridge
Talk: Foundational plot, storytelling, and writing skills
Short Description: In a day-long series of lectures, Mata runs through topics such as a reliable plot structure, non-verbal storytelling approaches, improving dialogue while writing less, and more. The talks are combined from previous international conferences, such as GDC and Develop:Brighton, and are based on real methods applied by Mata in their decades of experience writing for games and other media.
Speaker: Luke Savage
Talk: The growth of video games as a storytelling form
Short Description:
Speaker: Erika Kvistad
Talk: The Minotaur-Maze Problem: How Collaborative Storytelling Practices Shape Internet Horror
Short Description: If we find ourselves trapped in a labyrinth, should we be afraid of the minotaur who might be stalking us around the corner, or of the endless monotony of the space itself? This talk describes two different kinds of horror that can be found on the internet – the horror of infinite, empty spaces generated without human agency at non-human scales (“maze horror”), and the horror of what might await us within those spaces (“minotaur horror”). But while internet horror storytelling is fascinated by maze horror, the common internet practice of many authors collaborating asynchronously in a story-space tends to create minotaurs: as a storytelling tradition grows and expands, individual contributors fill the empty space with more and more monsters of their own creation, overpopulating a space that was previously creepily empty. Exploring how this process of “minotaurization” works in collaborative online story-worlds like The Backrooms opens up our understanding of how internet storytelling practices shape the kinds of stories that are possible to tell online. (estimated time 35-40 minutes)
Speaker: Geir Olve Skeie
Talk: How music can stimulate the brain to greater expression
Short Description: In the presentation he will highlight how music can stimulate the brain to greater expression and how music relieves health problems. How does the brain process music and where in the brain does it happen? What is the reason why we are musical and is there a musical consciousness? Geir Olve will talk about the unconscious processes that take place in the brain when we listen to music. Parkinson’s and stroke patients in particular are offered this form of treatment by using music to train motor functions.
Speaker: Jorunn Bjerkan
Talk: Using Stories as Methods in E-Health and Nursing Research
Short Description: Nurses and other healthcare professionals use stories as a starting point for developing e-health solutions and research projects. In developing and testing digital tools, we succeed if we engage the users—patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals—in describing their needs, ideas, and wishes. This often starts in situations where there is an obvious lack of sufficient digital support, and then ideas evolve…
Speaker: Charlotte Stav
Talk / Workshop: Workshop i musikkbasert miljøbehandling – hvordan bruke musikk for relasjonsbygging og kommunikasjon
Short Description: Musikkbasert miljøbehandling er en ressursorientert metode som systematisk bruker musikk, sang og bevegelse i helse- og omsorgstjenestene (https://kulturoghelse.no/hva-er-musikkbasert-miljobehandling/). Ansatte vever enkle, tilpassede tiltak inn i omsorgsarbeidet. Målet er å skape tillit, god kommunikasjon, meningsfylt aktivitet og godt arbeidsmiljø. Metoden og verktøyene er basert på praksiserfaring og flere forskningsfelt innen musikk og helse, blant annet individualisert musikk av Gerdner, personsentrert omsorg av Kitwood og Myskjas doktorgradsarbeid (Myskja & Håpnes, 2016; Myrenget et al., 2024). Miljøbehandlingen kan utføres av alle, og tiltak journalføres systematisk på lik linke med andre behandlingstiltak. Den ressursorienterte metoden fungerer for flere som jobber med relasjoner, og testes også ut som metode innen opplæring, f.eks. i barnehage (https://kulturoghelse.no/artikkel/2024/12/kan-musikkbasert-miljobehandling-fungere-som-verktoy-i-barnehager/).
Speaker: Paula Sofie Haugan
Talk: Simulation as a tool in teaching
Short Description: We will present how we use and try do develope simulation when teaching communication skills. Given time we could also demonstrate parts of the simulation process.
Speaker: Chris Hart
Workshop: Pencils b4 Pixels – https://www.pencilsb4pixels.com/
Short Description: This workshop is open to everyone, even if you’ve never picked up a pencil before. Pencils B4 Pixels is a novel life drawing class blending the traditional and the digital. The first half comprises of timed drawing sessions using a life models, easels, pencils and paper for sketching. The second half switches over to VR headsets using a 3D space, virtual models and virtual drawing tools. The whole session enables the student to play with traditional drawing tools and translate that experience into a 3D environment, expanding creative boundaries…, exploring new possibilities… The 3D creations can then be shared with friends and family online.
Speaker: Robin Isfold Munkvold and Víctor Manuel Pérez Colado
Workshop: Game development as a Pedagogical approach – making physical boardgames
Short Description: In this workshop we will be using Game Development as an educational approach to develop physical board games. This time using storytelling to convey experiences within given professions. The participants will be organised in teams and will be developing a board game – with given restrictions on game mechanics.
Speaker: Erika Kvistad
Talk: The Minotaur-Maze Problem: How Collaborative Storytelling Practices Shape Internet Horror
Short Description: If we find ourselves trapped in a labyrinth, should we be afraid of the minotaur who might be stalking us around the corner, or of the endless monotony of the space itself? This talk describes two different kinds of horror that can be found on the internet – the horror of infinite, empty spaces generated without human agency at non-human scales (“maze horror”), and the horror of what might await us within those spaces (“minotaur horror”). But while internet horror storytelling is fascinated by maze horror, the common internet practice of many authors collaborating asynchronously in a story-space tends to create minotaurs: as a storytelling tradition grows and expands, individual contributors fill the empty space with more and more monsters of their own creation, overpopulating a space that was previously creepily empty. Exploring how this process of “minotaurization” works in collaborative online story-worlds like The Backrooms opens up our understanding of how internet storytelling practices shape the kinds of stories that are possible to tell online.
Speaker: Inger-Marie Ask, Tobias & Torje Bergersen
Talk: The future of Mixed Reality
Short Description: Affiliation Gamelab 4 is creating a mixed reality multiplayer game. The talk will be held by Inger-Marie (producer) Tobias (creative director) Torje (technical director) The project is affiliated with Nord University
Speaker: Malle Vogelsang
Talk: Rethinking Youth Mental Health Support: The Potential of Recovery Narratives and Digital Storytelling
Short Description: This talk explores the possible transformative power of digital storytelling in youth mental health support, focusing on the NEON Young Norway study. The project investigates how recovery narratives are collected, which stories are shared or overlooked, and why some gain more visibility. It also examines how these stories are currently understood and used by young people and mental health professionals. Through workshops and research, NEON aims to explore how recovery narratives can be better utilized in digital health interventions and social impact games, with the goal of creating accessible, engaging, and flexible mental health support to improve young people’s well-being.
Speaker: Robert Steen
Talk: “All the things we didn’t see”
Short Description: The documentary movie “The Remarcable Life of Ibelin” has opened the eyes and touched the hearts of millions through Netflix. Robert Steen is the father of “Ibelin” and will come to the conference. He will share how the documentary become a global sensation and how “Ibelin” became so much more then a docmentary movie.
Panel Discussion (Ibelin): The panel will explore how stories like Ibelin’s resonate with audiences and reflect broader societal themes. This discussion is perfect for anyone curious about the art and impact of storytelling.
Speaker: Paola de Bruijn
Talk: Visual Storytelling at the heart of Social Art – life is a look’ing-glass world
Short Description: “Social art in social work contributes to reconciling oneself to reality – an Arendtian perspective – when this seems out of reach, challenging life. Guiding social workers to utilise Visual Storytelling in a social pedagogical way when engaging and addressing people’s existential questions is promising”
Speaker: Sherstee
Talk: Story Mode Unlocked: How to Hook Players with Relatable Narratives
Short Description: Discover how to craft stories that players connect with, from authentic characters to emotional choices that keep them hooked.
Speaker: Deborah Lygonis
Talk: Gaming for Good
Short Description: How can games support the mental health in long term ill children.
Speaker: Magnus Lillemark
Talk: “DON’T GIVE ME LOGIC”: using film narrative to educate
Short Description: Audiovisual stories, films, is a medium we most often associate with entertainment or art – an activity relying on emotion. But this artform is also used, to continually larger degree, to educate, inform and impact, employing the same principles and tools as when used to entertain and affect. In this talk we will explore the substance and style of what we might call “educational” or “informational” films, try to identify how one can successfully disseminate information through engaging emotions and ask whether films with an important and serious message can, and maybe should, also be entertaining.
Speaker: Katherine (Kat) Skaife
Talk: How can we transform healthcare using music and the arts?
Short Description: With 15 years of experience in dementia care research and a background in health and care service innovation, Kat will provide an introduction based on her research on the use of arts in dementia care in Wales. Using examples from projects like cARTrefu, an arts in care homes programme, we will explore the significant role that music and other cultural activities play in healthcare. These projects have demonstrated dramatic improvements in the quality of life for both people living with dementia and their caregivers. The arts have been shown to enhance care staff’s understanding of residents, emphasize the importance of non-verbal communication, and integrate seamlessly into everyday interactions. Additionally, we’ve found that for every one pound (£) invested in cARTrefu, £6.48 of social value was generated. You can watch films from cARTrefu here: https://cartrefu.org.uk/films-photos/cartrefu-film/
Following the introduction, Kat will lead a discussion on the use of arts in care, building on reflections from Geir Olve Skeie’s talk on how music can stimulate the brain to greater expression. We will consider the impact of music and other cultural activities in care and how they can be applied in healthcare settings. Questions are welcome in both Norwegian and English.
Speaker: Malena Totland Persson
Talk: Crafting Worlds: The Art of Visual Storytelling in Games
Short Description: Hi, I’m Malena Persson, Art Director at SURT. In this talk, I’ll share the journey of our studio, the games we’ve created, and how we use visuals to tell stories and explore themes. I’ll also give you a sneak peek at our next project—a big step forward for SURT that we’re really excited about.
Speaker: Ida Hansen Eldøen
Talk: Using storytelling to say something different.
Short Description: Writer-Director Ida Hansen Eldøen is one of few queer filmmakers in Norway, and in this talk she will tell you about her filmmaking, her process, and how she tries to use stories and films to say something different about being gay; that it’s actually about being human. Her short films humorously explore feelings of love, anger, anxiety, hope, and other things a real human being would experience. Ida has a unique style in her storytelling, but uses different techniques, working both with actors and animation. She is currently working on new shorts and is also developing her first feature. Some of her films can be accessed through Aftenposten and Filmbib, and her short animation This Is Katharine is a NDLA film (Nasjonal digital læringsarena) and is used in schools as a tool to start discussions about sexuality, mental health and media influence.
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