Today I sit down with Kelsey Beachum, writer of Outer Wilds, for a deeply honest conversation about the creative process, including what it was like collaborating with her brother Alex Beachum on one of the most loved indie games of the past decade.

Kelsey clearly poured so much of herself into the writing for Outer Wilds. I actually had no idea just how personal this game was for her. This of course bought up a ton of questions about what it must be like to put your heart on your sleeve for the whole world to see. As you can imagine she has some thoughts on this!

We also get into the strange phenomenon of imposter syndrome that can come even when the response from players is overwhelmingly positive. Kelsey reflects on what it means to feel disconnected from the success of a game like Outer Wilds and how she learned to navigate that emotionally.

We talk about burnout in the games industry, what causes it, what it costs creatively, and the importance of finding collaborators, studios, and creative environments whose values genuinely align with your own.

Beyond Outer Wilds, we also discuss Kelsey’s work on Avowed and The Outer Worlds. 

This was one of the most open and generous conversations I’ve had on the show. Kelsey held nothing back, and I think anyone who makes things, games, films, documentaries, music, writing will find something here that resonates.

This is basically a conversation on creation and what we give to our projects. It reminds me about the disconnect between the maker and the audience. What we put into a creative endeavor is often different to what the audience gets out of it. I don't see this as a bad thing in the slightest and there is a joy in see how ones work is interpreted compared to what was going through our heads when we made it. 

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.