Steve Ince video interview – Broken Sword, Writing for Games, and Retirement from the Industry

• Interviews by Laura Cress
• Published:

When Steve Ince announced he was retiring from working in the video games industry, I immediately wanted to have a sit down chat (well, a video chat anyway) with him to reflect back on his thirty-year-plus career. The acclaimed writer / designer is perhaps best known for his work on the Broken Sword series, Beneath A Steel Sky and In Cold Bloood with Revolution Software, but Steve has advised countless others on writing for games, as well as popping up on lots of other projects including The Witcher, Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None and the point-and-click adventure game So Blonde. And so, in his thoroughly laid-back and incredibly friendly manner, Steve chinwagged about a range of topics with me, including his concerns over AI taking the jobs of writers; his memories of working at Revolution Software with the likes of head honcho Charles Cecil; and what, in his mind, makes for great game design. It's safe to say the adventure games community and the wider games industry won't be the same without his services, but it was a pleasure talking to someone with such knowledge of his craft, and wonderful to look back on some of his favourite moments in his career. I hope you enjoy it too!

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