My first collaborative game development attempt was a project in conjunction with Rusty Lake, to either remake an existing Cube Escape game in 3D or create a new one. We chose the latter and I was elected as project leader, overseeing management of roughly 20 people who I split into departments.

Though the project was never fully completed, I oversaw the creation of an in-depth Game Design Document to act as the blueprint for development. Once the digital version of Fate’s Arcana is complete, I will consider revisiting this project as my next work.

As we were about to graduate, I became acquainted with an Animation postgraduate and together we set up an indie studio along with other graduates.

Our intention was to build up the studio to be an inclusive work environment and one particularly friendly to members of the autistic community, with many of our starting members (myself included) having that neurotype. Our commitment to diversity as well as sound business principals gave NTU Enterprise enough confidence in us to award us third place in their Business Plan Competition along with some funding.

Due to financial and other commitments, we eventually dissolved the company but here are a couple of examples of some narrative work I did before that point.

Since 2018, I have been both a player and Dungeon Master for 5e, and also have experience in Pathfinder and Blades in the Dark. Having recently purchased materials for Vampire: The Masquerade, I plan to GM that system in the near future.

As a 5e DM, I gave my players a basic campaign concept, and from there crafted a world around their characters and what they themselves wanted out of the campaign. I spent time balancing the ties each PC had to various locations with areas they would encounter with fresh eyes, to keep the players engaged.

I take particular pride in the capital I developed and the branching overarching narrative I devised for that city. Wanting to create the feeling of a long-established world where, despite being the heroes of this tale, the PCs exist for a drop of time in a rich history that will continue on without them, I devised NPCs as complex as I would make my player characters. Whilst the PCs may have stepped into a history greater than them, I added plenty of plot hooks to help them dive into this city’s narrative, some related to their characters, some to the main story and others related to the lore of the region, once their curiosity was spiked.

Though they only exist for a moment in time, they had the opportunity to keep their heads down, become legends, or find themselves hostage to the political and social strife of Gedeihen.

Within this campaign, I added custom mechanics to support the narrative I had crafted but also to develop my craft as a game designer. As a player, I strive to choose abilities in line with my character’s goals and experiences, favouring story-gameplay integration over min-maxing, even if I understand why some players prefer the latter.

Here are a few examples of game related writing I’ve done outside of projects, as a hobby.

Many conversations in the Fire Emblem series take place in the form of “supports”. Not all character combinations receive them, so I wrote dialogue in the same style for conversations no present in the games. Here is an example from Fates.

Following the character of Sir Ezekiel from Shadows Of Valentia, I wrote Weight of a Name, a short piece about how the amnesiac came to acquire the steed he rides throughout the game, whilst touching upon the only clue to his forgotten past.

From the same series, here is an extract of a work featuring Awakening’s Chrom. When the series’ mobile gacha released a unit inspired by a concept from its discontinued card game, I felt compelled to write a horror piece about that version of him. Murdered and resurrected by the game’s final villain, Grima, Chrom has been forced into servitude by the very monster he sought to end, his heart and will slowly crushed as he comes in and out of consciousness, witnessing the results of the horrors he has inflicted upon those dear to him.

Here is a section where he is just lucid enough to recognise the voice of his nephew, and the body of the boy’s mother: Chrom’s own sister.