NarraScope 2026: The Well-Edited Game

The Well-Edited Game: How Professional Editing Elevates Our Medium Presented by Jess Haskins and Marissa Koors Sunday, June 14th 2026, The University at Albany, NY Description: Editing is an integral part of the creative process in traditional media. But in games, editorial responsibilities are scattered across disciplines or skipped altogether. What do game editors actually do? Are editors only for narrative games? How does editing interact with other aspects of production? What should you consider before working with an editor? We’ll demystify the editorial process and make the case for including editors in every game’s development. We’ll break down the different types of editing, highlight successful interventions from past projects, and share why we believe 2026 is the year of the game editor. Speaker: Jess Haskins is a game editor, narrative designer, educator, and community organizer living in Brooklyn. She is an adjunct professor of game design at the NYU Game Center, proprietor of The Game Editors, a boutique editorial and consulting studio, and founder of the Game Editorial Network, a new networking group for game editorial professionals of all stripes. Her credits include IGF 2026 winner Titanium Court, Foolish Mortals, PRIM, Coral Island, and The Longing as editor, and IndieCade 2025 nominee Rosewater, Lamplight City, Hiveswap, and Guns of Icarus as writer/designer. Her work centers on worldbuilding with intention, forging inclusive communities, and advancing interactive storytelling. Marissa Koors is a narrative editor with over a decade of experience making stories sharper across book publishing and interactive media. As a book editor, she worked for major publishing houses including Hachette Book Group and John Wiley & Sons. She continues her work in the book industry as a literary agent for the Curious Minds Agency while focusing on interactive editing and narrative design. Her credits as a game editor include Alice’s Lullaby (2024), IndieCade nominee Puckish (2023), and Zohran’s Run (2025), in addition to editorial work for interactive storytelling formats ranging from immersive theatre to ARGs. She has also edited and developed original epic and dark fantasy serials at Tapas Entertainment, and numerous indie TTRPGs. She spoke about game editing at GDC 2026 and is relaunching the IGDA Game Editing Special Interest Group. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.