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, Andrei Aliaksandrau, Arevhat Sahakyan (Factor TV), Nino Bakradze (iFact), and Lola Tagaeva (Verstka).

Free Media Awards for 2026. Press freedom under pressure in wartime: – Silence does not protect democracy

September 29 2026

This year’s winners of the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius received their awards in Toppsalen at the Munch Museum in Oslo on 29 September 2026.
The Belarusian journalist and media manager Andrei Aliaksandrau came straight to Oslo after spending over five years in prison for his work. Aliaksandrau dedicated the award to imprisoned journalists and editors in Belarus and quoted the Liverpool FC anthem: “You’ll never walk alone”.

Mykhailo Tkach heads investigations at Ukrainska Pravda, which uncovers corruption, even in a Ukraine fighting an existential war against Russia.
– I face charges in at least thirteen cases related to my work. I have been threatened. My team has been threatened. And what is our answer? To keep digging. Silence does not protect democracy. Journalism does.

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

August 30 2026

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

August 18 2026

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.