In today’s episode I speak with game developer Nina Freeman about mistakes, reflection, and the role personal experience can play in game design.

Nina is known for her autobiographical approach to games, incorporating real moments from her own life into projects like Cibele, as well as her work on Tacoma and, more recently, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. 

We talk about her early experiences with games, from edutainment titles at the public library through to discovering games like Myst and how they shaped the way she thinks about storytelling and interaction. Nina came up through New York game jams and collaborating with friends.

A large part of the conversation centres around learning from mistakes. And learning to learn from mistakes. Nina has not been able to avoid the trap of scope creep, but rather than seeing it as a bad thing she has learn't to live with the fact that this is just something that developers do, and to sometimes just embrace it.

Nina discusses why she values finishing projects over chasing perfection, how she approaches playtesting and criticism, and the difficulty of revisiting released work when all you can see are the things you wish you had more time to improve. We also get into what it feels like to release such personal work and the strange feeling of having strangers connect deeply with experiences drawn from your own life. 

We spend time talking about narrative design in games and the unique way games allow players to embody characters unlike themselves. Nina explains how mechanics, dialogue choices, and environmental storytelling can help players inhabit another person’s perspective in ways film often cannot. We also discuss her work on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, building believable friendships, nostalgia, and why seemingly small interactions can carry emotional weight in games. 

Finally, Nina talks about her upcoming horror project exploring body image, memory, and her relationship with her mother.

The Examined Game

Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.