I am Hannah Nicklin; I am an award-winning game & narrative designer, writer, producer, theatre maker, academic; I also run Die Gute Fabrik, an indie game studio based in Denmark and the UK.
I am currently the Studio Lead at Die Gute Fabrik: an indie studio who make games with excellence, intentionality and care. Die Gute Fabrik aim to draw inspiration from a variety of disciplines and histories, and to continue to push the boundaries of our ideas about what games can be; from multiplayer games based on folk play, to story-driven games which draw inspiration from soap operas, ensemble cast storytelling, television and theatre. 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 our next title Saltsea Chronicles (2023), which I directed, co-designed and co-wrote (among other things).
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 (from an indie perspective).
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 sat 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.
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. I work hard to make performances and playful experiences that can be accessed by everybody, proactively, by taking work into communities, by producing and programming experimental work, and by being a bridge between creative practices.
Even more about me:
I am an advisor for the GDC indie summit, on the ITU Game Design Masters, 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 hannah [at] gutefabrik.com