I am Hannah Nicklin. I am an award-winning game & narrative designer, narrative lead, writer, producer, theatre maker, academic; for the past 5 years I was the Creative Director at Die Gute Fabrik, an indie game studio based in Denmark and the UK.
My most recent work was as the Creative Director & CEO at Die Gute Fabrik: an indie studio who make games with excellence, intentionality and care. The most recent games from Die Gute Fabrik include 2019’s multiple-award-winning Mutazione which I also wrote, narrative designed and co-produced, and 2023’s Saltsea Chronicles which I directed, co-designed and co-wrote (alongside a 10-strong writers’ room).
I am also the author of Writing for Games: Theory & Practice which is an entry level introduction to the specific practice of writing for games.
I also wrote a PhD once. It was on interactive practices as an anticapitalist tool. You can read more about that on the PhD page, though rest assured I only agree with about half of it now.
More about me:
I am a Yorkshire-based writer, game and narrative designer, academic and artist with a career spanning over a decade. My work initially was at the confluence of game design, narrative design and game writing, performance, community-based practices and digital art. I have archived my previous freelance artist website and portfolio over at old.hannahnicklin.com if you’d like to dig into that. These days I primarily work in video games as a writer, narrative designer and narrative lead.
My work is often driven by an interest in the role of storytelling in everyday life; in enabling players, audiences and participants to reflect on their lives, lived in the inextricable context of one another. In every moment I want there to be a core of human-ness which everyone can recognise.
Even more about me:
I am an advisor for the GDC indie summit, on the ITU Game Design Masters, I’ve been a BAFTA Juror, a Future Class cohort member, and have and spoken extensively at events like GDC, Game Happens, FreePlay, AMAZE, Now Play This, Feral Vector, Gamecity, and Beta Public. I have also lectured in socially engaged practices, digital narrative, and game design at several universities, including UEL, UAL, RCSSD, and Goldsmiths. I also do a lot of mentoring, advocacy and speaking at events focussed on supporting the development of folks marginalised in games.
As an artist I have worked with and for organisations such as The Royal Shakespeare Company, The V&A, The Wellcome Collection, Rock Paper Shotgun, Hide & Seek, Coney.
I have DIY-published several works, most of which are usually available from the shop.
If you want to get in contact, short form on twitter, or long form, over email contact[at]hannahnicklin.com