The Art of Storytelling in Games

March 30 2016

How to develop the art of good storytelling in today’s computer games? The diversity of computer games is getting continuously broader: On the one hand, the blockbusters open up new worlds through magnificent special effects. On the other, they tell intimate and personal stories by insinuative, subtle means. Which possibilities do we have ahead for storytelling in games? How do games learn from other media, and what do other media learn from games? To read, see, do – how are the stories influenced by the media’s different properties?

Fritt Ord, Spillpikene and PressFire.no invite the public to a new panel discussion on Wednesday, 30 March.

Programme
From 4.30 p.m.:
We invite the public to an open house, where it will be possible to play a number of storytelling games from The Last of Us and Dishonored, to Gone Home, Firewatch and Her Story. Refreshments will be served.

6.00 p.m.:
Participate in an open discussion with:
- Cara Ellison – former gaming journalist with The Guardian, VICE, Kotaku and Rock, Paper, Shotgun, among others, and author of the book Embed With Games, currently a narrative designer for Dishonored 2
- Dave Mervik – has worked with the LEGO and LittleBigPlanet games, and is currently a narrative designer with the Tarsier Studio for Hunger
- David Skaufjord – director (the sitcom BMI – On Tour), scriptwriter (High Point, with Emil Trier), podcast host, actor, comic strip creator – and gamer

The session will be moderated by Martin Bergesen. The debate will take place in English. Free of charge and open to everyone.

The project Digital Life is being carried out by the Fritt Ord Foundation in collaboration with Spillpikene and PressFire. Visit the website digitaleliv.no to take part in the competition.

The hashtag for the event and the competition is #digitaleliv

News

Mykhailo Tkach

Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Belarusian journalists and media to receive five Free Media Awards for 2026

September 3 2026

This year’s prize laureates for the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius are:
The investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach from Ukraine
The investigative media outlet iFact from Georgia
The online media Factor TV from Armenia
The online media Verstka from Russia (in exile)
The journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau from Belarus (imprisoned)

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

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Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute 2026

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The rap duo Karpe has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for giving voice to the experiences of many young people from minority backgrounds. Through the language of rap, they are expanding the space for the expression of identity and belonging.

The 2025/26 Monitor survey

June 17 2026

The Fritt Ord Foundation and the Institute for Social Research (ISF) invite you to the launch of a report and a subsequent discussion on Monday, 8 June 2026, from 9.00 to 11.00 am, at Fritt Ord’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2 in Oslo.

Where do people draw the line when it comes to freedom of expression, and what do they believe to be the greatest threats to an informed debate at a time characterised by unrest, crises and international conflicts? Do they feel there is sufficient diversity of opinion and enough room for divergent viewpoints? And how do people assess access to truthful and relevant information in a media landscape featuring new formats, new voices and artificial intelligence?