First Nations Story Agency
summary
A First Nations game gets developed through remote collaboration across states, prioritising full-time paid roles and community investment rather than studio profit. The team adapts Unity/Unreal workflows and Articy-style branching narrative tools, authors multiple script paths, and runs an on‑country development week to capture place-based material. One developer documents an engine in six months; the build reaches playable milestones but fails to ship after organizational restructuring. Case studies cited: Never Alone (~$3M revenue, ten years to community impact) and a brief cultural partnership that boosts discoverability.
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chapters (18)
- 0:00Welcome
- 0:24Speakers introduction
- 6:14First Nations story agency
- 9:05Invest in people not studios
- 11:31Barriers to First Nations tech careers
- 15:23Opportunities for young Indigenous devs
- 17:52Adapting to games industry change
- 19:39Remote work and cultural connection
- 22:30Cross-cultural story collaboration
- 28:25Global impact in games
- 34:03Indigenous economic viability challenges
- 37:58Discoverability and partnerships
- 42:50Cultural safety online
- 46:23Support for Indigenous studios
- 47:25Family-centered culturally safe teams
- 49:11Q&A: Collectivist production models
- 53:50Q&A: Film vs games narratives
- 1:02:15Closing
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