Celebrating the Power of Storytelling in Games at Screen Istanbul

In March 2025, Brainspark Games’ founder Reedah El-Saie joined a panel at Screen Istanbul, invited by FabriKHAS and Asker Kartarı. Speaking alongside Beril Toper and Mehmet Ali Şen, the discussion focused on The Impact of Storytelling on Gamer Engagement-a timely and powerful theme for today’s gaming landscape.

There was a real sense of momentum in the room, as creatives from Turkey and the UK explored how international collaboration can shape the future of storytelling, education, and innovation in games.

The UK Games Industry: A Creative Global Partner

The UK games industry is thriving-and open for business. As a global leader in innovation, co-development, and creative IP, the UK offers powerful partnership opportunities for international studios.

Reedah highlighted the work UKie is doing to foster global collaboration, including funding opportunities like the BFI Global Screen Fund, which supports cross-border production and storytelling initiatives.

As gaming continues to evolve, storytelling is becoming the defining factor in how players connect with and commit to a game. With global franchises like Harry Potter: Legends and the upcoming GTA 6 being built on IP with UK roots, narrative-driven games are leading the way.

In today’s crowded market, players are choosing to invest their time in fewer games-ones that offer immersive worlds, emotional connection, and memorable characters. As such, storytelling is not a “nice-to-have”-it’s a core feature.

Using Storytelling to Educate and Inspire

At Brainspark Games, storytelling sits at the heart of everything we do. Reedah shared our belief that stories are one of the most powerful tools for education—building empathy, inspiring curiosity, and making learning unforgettable.

Our culturally inclusive, curriculum-based games celebrate global knowledge and diverse voices. From using NeuroGames to engage neurodiverse learners, to embedding Augmented Reality and AI to enhance interaction, we are reimagining how educational games can be meaningful and impactful.

Celebrating New Beginnings with FabriKHAS

We were thrilled to witness the launch of FabriKHAS-a dynamic new hub that will provide Turkish developers, animators, and screen professionals with the tools, funding, and networks to thrive.

At Brainspark Games, we’re excited about the potential of cross-cultural collaboration to shape a more inclusive, creative future for the games industry.

How do you think storytelling is changing the way we play-and learn? We’d love to hear your thoughts.