Abstract
Drawing on a decade of experience as a games producer, Matt Dyet explores why the games industry’s fear of failure has led it to prioritise rigid scripts over the vital, messy joy of improvisation. Much like a comedian who suffers on stage by ignoring the room to read from a joke book, game developers often cling to "safe" plans long after the audience has moved on. By contrasting the rapid demise of Concord (a videogame built on a half-decade-old playbook) with the success of Borderlands (a videogame saved by a daring, last-minute artistic pivot) Matt argues that strategic plans are often just corporate astrology. Applying this thinking to our present day it becomes clear that our current obsession with generative AI is not a quest for quality, but a response to the fear of uncertainty. Ultimately, Matt suggests that while a plan is a useful map, it is an illusion of control; true relevance requires the courage to trust our instincts, and throw away the script.
Recommended Citation
Dyet, Matt
(2026)
"Throw Away the Script: Improvise or Become Irrelevant,"
Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 8.
Available at:
https://creo.sae.edu.au/imaginings/vol2/iss1/8