The Game Developers Conference organizers are happy to announce the 2022 winners of the annual Student Narrative Analysis Competition, who will be bringing their incredible, insightful work to GDC 2022 in March.
Every year, leading game design programs at universities around the world integrate the competition into their academic curricula. Participating students choose a game title and conduct a detailed and structured analysis of its narrative elements.
Papers are submitted to the Game Narrative Summit advisory board for review, and a select number are given passes to GDC 2022 and invited to present poster sessions of their work at the Game Narrative Summit. Winners are welcome to deliver their sessions in person at GDC in San Francisco, or virtually.
This year’s winners have explored everything from big-budget blockbusters to smaller, critically acclaimed indie titles—presenting complex and detailed analyses that foreshadow the contributions they will likely make to the field of game narrative over the course of their careers.
We’re proud to announce that this year’s winners are:
Platinum Winners
Rui Jiang, Sheridan (Little Nightmares II)Sile Keenan, Sheridan (Psychonauts 2)Iris Wei, Sheridan (We Know the Devil)
Gold Winners
Ethan Micallef, Sheridan (Outer Worlds: Echoes of the Eye)Abigail Sng, DigiPen Singapore (Fatal Twelve)Mayzie Wilkinson, DigiPen (New Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony)Levi Pinkert, USC (The Last of Us Part II)Asad Ali, Sheridan (Tell Me Why)Tyler Gorman, Quinnipiac (Little Nightmares)Loh Chang Zhen, DigiPen (Hollow Knight)Natalie Lee, UT Austin (We Know the Devil)Matthew Zhang, UT Austin (Chicory: A Colorful Tale)William Ernest Santos, SMU (Persona 5 Royal)Gave St Onge, Sheridan (Deltarune)Joseph Knezek, DigiPen (Kenshi)
Tetra Chaney, DigiPen (The World Ends With You)
Keion Rodriguez, DigiPen (Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales)Sami Najed, DigiPen (The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel)
Xiaoying Meng, CMU (Spiritfarer)Ivy Angelina Casserly, USV (Undertale)
Platinum winners receive an all-access pass to GDC 2022, while Gold winners receive an expo pass. All winners can present a poster session highlighting their work on the show floor, and those sessions will be available for public viewing after the show on GDC Vault.
GDC 2022 will take place from March 21 to 25 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, with our virtual event happening March 21 to April 1.
Click here to register for GDC 2022.
Health and safety measures remain paramount and we’re committed to following city and Moscone Center guidelines to deliver an exceptional experience. Be sure to check out our Q&A that addresses some of the biggest questions regarding health, safety, and international travel for this year’s in-person and virtual event, and we invite you to bookmark our Health & Safety page for the latest updates.
GDC returns in-person to San Francisco, March 21-25—registration is open! For more information on GDC 2022, including our virtual options, be sure to visit our website and follow the #GDC22 hashtag on social media.
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