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The first edition of the Kill Screen Dialogues was held on June 12.  Part panel presentation, part game play-through, KSD brings together video game creators and filmmakers to discuss their art and craft and the often surprising parallels in how they engage audiences and tell stories.  The kick-off event featured game designer Kellee Santiago, writer/producer Brian Clark, and Kill Screen founder Jamin Warren.

Santiago is the former president of thatgamecompany and producer of the dynamic critical hits Flower and Journey.  Originally released in 2009, Flower quickly became a critical darling, garnering positive reviews from leading game critics and players as well as landing on multiple “best of” lists before going on to be awarded a BAFTA for Artistic Achievement.  Players assume the role of the wind itself and are tasked with moving a single flower petal through multiple environments, from dry colorless fields to imposing city-scapes, along the way creating something better described as an immersive experience then what many would consider a traditional video game.  Clark is the founder of GMD Studios and co-founder of indieWIRE, Brian Clark has been at the forefront of the independent film scene for well over a decade. GMD Studios has created digital experiments, campaigns and games that flow seamlessly between the virtual world and the real world such as Art of the Heist and Eldritch Errors.

Parallels have long existed between the video game and film industries: huge studios that produce billion-dollar franchises, games that adopt a cinematic look and presentation of narrative, and now independent creators that eschew larger houses to strike out alone, building and distributing original games to great success. Presented in collaboration with Kill Screen Magazine, these dialogues seek to offer a forum for the hottest indie game creators and filmmakers to gather and discuss the art and craft of storytelling in this unique medium with a monthly conversation hosted by the editors and writers at one of the nation’s top game culture publications.