A Big Serious Important Writer Wondering Why You're Snorting Derisively
I’ve been building the Writing Tour section of the site with links to Mass Effect, Shadowrun, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and the rest. However, due to a quirk of WordPress, it’s easier to put tags on posts than it is on pages. So this post is a sort of welcome mat with long data-driven tentacles, trailing the Internet like a jellyfish.
If you’re looking for the content, start here.
This is is where I show off promotional materials, excerpts from books, links to published or produced works, and so forth. My LinkedIn page covers my specific responsibilities for the collaborative projects. (Writing samples are at the bottom — just scroll down.)
I have also spoken at the Game Developers’ Conference on the topic of writer research skills. If you’re an attendee, you can find my 2016 lecture “What Wikipedia Doesn’t Know Can Hurt You,” in the GDC Vault.
Civil Blood: The Vampire Rights Case that Changed a Nation
“The 10:40 Appointment at the NYC Department of Superhero Registration”
“The Shot Glass of Nostalgia” — Tabletop Stories to Help Your Games
These are resume fodder: YouTube videos of my video game work and prose fiction in small, digestible chunks.
Videos:
A Question of Motivation Part 1 (MMO Quest Giving)
A short and sweet side quest as it originally appeared in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Takes about 5 minutes to watch, which is why I put it first.
A Question of Motivation Part 2
The gameplay of the rest of the adventure, including the twist at 10:34 and decision/quest turn-in at 18:31. Total dialogue time about 5 more minutes.
Priority: Citadel from Mass Effect 3 (Action Sample, RPG Video Game) ~ 30 min
Kai Leng’s first appearance, a showdown with the Virmire Survivor, and finally a use for those Citadel elevators. (Mayhem. Mayhem is the use.)
Citadel DLC — Thane’s Memorial Service (Dialogue Sample, RPG Video Game) ~30 min
Didn’t feel like you got a proper goodbye to Thane in Mass Effect 3? DLC to the rescue!
Citadel DLC — Silver Coast Casino Infiltration ~ 30 min
A casino heist? In a game without stealth? We made it work! Here’s two versions.
This one is a walkthrough, so it has commentary. It includes the mission briefing.
This one has no commentary, but does not have the mission briefing.
(And just for fun, the Silver Coast Casino mission’s red carpet entrances — all 27 dialogue variations!)
Wayfinder‘s Traditions of Eventide (Seasonal MMO Content) ~ 15-47 min.
In a break from doom and gloom, I wrote gaming’s equivalent of the Hallmark Christmas Special, in which Lord Halar tries to assist his scientist granddaughter Avala during the winter holiday. The emotional beats at the end are all the more poignant if you know Avala is an Echo… in other words, like the player, she died and has returned to live an uncertain existence. The first mission is 15 minutes, but if you want the full 47-minute tour, I had my hands on every bit of dialogue in the patch.
First-Person Shooter Sample:
“Voice in the Ear” (Modern Military Shooter Level)
To demonstrate my skills with short, urgent dialogue (more so than the BioWare or Wayfinder samples) and to throw in a little level design, I added this documentation, adapted from a timed writing test. All names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Romance Genre Samples:
The Double (Contemporary Romance Fiction)
Pinning Him Down (Contemporary Romance Interactive Fiction in Twine)
I briefly wrote for I Got Games/AVGLife’s interactive romance novels, and would welcome the chance to revisit the romance genre. Twine makes it easier to simulate the flow of an interactive piece without starting my own studio.
Interactive Quizzes:
“What Do I Know About Video Games?” (A Twine Quiz)
And to end our tour, a little Web content, because I’ve done that, too!