Writing

Games Writing

I place a high value on narrative design and world-building throughout the design process, and I enjoy working on scripted content - particularly in works of personal narrative and science fiction.

I'm also a practised writer of instructional text, essays and related non-fiction works - primarily outside of games. My work in this area has included tutorials, local history write-ups, and articles - often in complement to my speaking engagements.

Content Design Highlights (Paradox Development Studio)

My most recent examples of written and scripted work have been created for Paradox Development Studio, on their science fiction strategy game Stellaris. Examples include:

  • 'Thesis Defense': a Federations DLC leadership challenge, including procedurally-generated flavour text
  • "Kept Grounds" and "Relic Rails" event chains for Federations DLC
  • Namelists and a pre-scripted empire for the Lithoids species pack

Articles

I occasionally write about online worlds and game design, games culture and events. I've contributed to online publications including Indie Haven, New World Notes and The Guardian. Most of my event write-ups and design essays are intended for this website, but past writing projects include:

Past Projects

The Internet Crashed (2010)

I was a founding contributor to Brian Green's cyberpunk culture blog, The Internet Crashed. I contributed thought-essays, reviews and critiques, and contributed to the website's design. You can see my articles here.

• Cyber/Gothic (27/9/10)
• Questioning Reality (30/6/10)

The Internet Crashed
MMO Mercerism
Cyber-Gothic