You've been logged out of GDC Vault since the maximum users allowed for this account has been reached. To access Members Only content on GDC Vault, please log out of GDC Vault from the computer which last accessed this account.

Click here to find out about GDC Vault Membership options for more users.

close

The Number One Educational Resource for the Game Industry

Session Name: Independent Games Summit: Unpacking a Narrative Through 1,000 Household Items
Speaker(s): Wren Brier, Tim Dawson
Company Name(s): Witch Beam, Witch Beam
Track / Format: Independent Games Summit

Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?


Get your team full access to the most up to date GDC content

Overview: Unpacking tells a compelling story of one woman's journey through life through a simple mechanic: taking items out of boxes and finding a place for them to go. With no visible characters, no voice-over and barely any text, this unassuming puzzle game has managed to move many to tears. Through the process of handling every item, players discover a story of passions, heartbreak, friendships, career challenges and more.nnIn this talk, Unpacking creators Wren and Tim will cover how the story developed with the mechanics, the level that nearly didn't exist, how we made everyone hate a guy for having too much wall decoration, and the narrative techniques and tricks we used to tell a story with a little over 1000 different household items.

Game Developers Conference 2022

Wren Brier

Witch Beam

Tim Dawson

Witch Beam

free content

Independent Games Summit

Independent Games