What if I told you a single developer created an entire murder mystery using nothing but video clips, and it changed how we think about digital storytelling forever? In this episode, Michael Stevens breaks down Her Story, the groundbreaking game that lets you play detective by searching through police interview footage to uncover the truth about a missing person case. 🎯 What You'll Discover: • How Sam Barlow built a complete interactive mystery in just six months using clever filming tricks • Why players only see about 20% of the game's seven hours of footage, and that's exactly the point • The brilliant way one actress plays multiple characters without the game ever telling you • How 271 carefully crafted video clips created a new form of storytelling that won major awards 👤 Perfect for: gamers, mystery lovers, and anyone curious about how technology can tell stories in completely new ways. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Michael introduces the game that broke all the rules [02:15] Sam Barlow's genius six-month development process [04:30] Why limiting player access actually makes the story better [06:45] The actress who fooled everyone by playing twins [08:30] How Her Story won the Excellence in Narrative award [10:00] What this means for the future of interactive media Her Story proves that the most innovative storytelling doesn't need massive budgets or huge teams. Sometimes it just takes one person with a camera, a clever idea, and the willingness to trust audiences to piece together the truth themselves. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow When Rome Burns on your podcast app and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away. 🔍 Topics: interactive storytelling, indie games, digital narrative, mystery games, Sam Barlow

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