Justin Andrew Bortnick
Asst Professor - Educator
Assistant Professor - Educator
Professional Summary
Justin Bortnick's research centers on digital narratives, game storytelling, political games and worldbuilding. His work has been featured on outlets such as Kotaku, Game Developer, Polygon and more, and he has shown work and given talks at events such as the Electronic Literature Organization, IndieCade and the Game Developers Conference. He has worked on projects such as the smart toy “Octobo,” the video games Frog Fractions 2, Static Sky and Hiveswap, an unreleased film project, and regularly consults for commercial video game studios.
Dr. Bortnick is also the president of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation and a co-founder of NarraScope, the annual conference on narrative games. He sits on the board of the International Game Developer's Association's Game Writing Special Interest Group, Since 2013 he has hosted the game developer interview series, Red Pages Podcast.
Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
Justin A. Bortnick (2023. ) Play and Misinformation: How America's Conspiracy Culture Became Gamified.Games and Culture, , 20 (2 ) , More Information
Published Books
Justin A. Bortnick (2026. ) Dangerous Games .Pittsburgh, PA , Play Story Press
Book Chapter
Justin A. Bortnick (2024 ) Narrative and Technology An Educator’s Guide to Interactive Digital Narrative: Syllabi and Resources from Across the World .Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon ETC Press (Author)
An Educator’s Guide to Interactive Digital Narrative: Syllabi and Resources from Across the World
Additional Publications
Presentations
Invited Presentations
Justin A. Bortnick (2024. ) ARDIN Socials Talks .Online, Online. Professional Meeting. . Level:International
Justin A. Bortnick (2021. ) Conspiracy, Propaganda and Social Media. Lafayette College, Easton, PA. Other Institution. . Level:University
Paper Presentations
Justin A. Bortnick (2025. ) “Harlan Ellison’s Video Game Adaptations” .Seattle, WA. Conference. Level:International
Justin A. Bortnick (2022. ) “Who Creates Games? Developers, Players, and Collaborative Authorship” .Rhodes, Greece. Conference. Level:International