Connor Carson (MFA ’20) is Technical Designer at Half Mermaid Productions, an independent studio founded by Sam Barlow and focused on creating authored, player-centric stories across the spectrum of narrative genres. She worked as Lead Programmer on their latest release, the ambitious and award-winning IMMORTALITY. Among its many other wins and nominations, Connor‘s work on Immortality was also personally nominated for its technical achievement at the BAFTAs ’23. She is honored to be back at the Game Center sharing her experience with the latest student cohort and the NYC game dev community. Peek behind the curtain and learn what it took to preserve the work of Marissa Marcel in this cache of footage, once lost to time. Briefly touching on design, themes and the overall structure of Immortality, this talk will be mainly focused on the technical implementation of its innovative match cut mechanic, which acts as the player’s primary tool for exploration and self-expression.