Hi there!
If you’re reading this page, you probably want to know who I am.
I’m a team leader, writer and narrative designer who’s been in the games industry for almost two decades, starting out as a QA Technician working on Xbox 360 launch titles, and moving into design after a few years, working my way up from junior level to lead.
I’ve been lucky enough to work on a wide variety of games, from PC strategy games to console action games to VR shooters; and with teams ranging from a dozen or so people to more than a hundred. I’ve been involved in the entire dev cycle of games, from concept and pitching through to release and then on to DLC.
But actually, that just briefly tells you what I’ve done, not who I am. You don’t need this page to tell you what I’ve done – there’s a whole set of pages dedicated to that, under ‘Professional Projects’ in the site menu; and links to my CV and LinkedIn profile on this page too.
Who I am, and how that relates to my work in videogames
I’m a leader. While I love producing my own work, whether that’s creating my own narrative, level or systems designs; or writing dialogue, plots, descriptions etc., I find just as much satisfaction in leading a team. I love mentoring junior team members, guiding designs through feedback, inspiring and encouraging people to come together with a shared vision to make something wonderful. I believe that the best games have a strong and inspiring vision, well communicated to everyone on the dev team so that everyone’s able to express themselves and feel a sense of personal contribution and ownership in a way that supports the vision.
I’m a collaborator. The times in my career that I’ve been happiest have been when working closely with other team members and other disciplines (including external partners such as license holders or publishers); when we’ve all been in alignment on the game we’re making; when we’ve all agreed on the game’s vision; and when we’ve taken inspiration from each other. This doesn’t mean I think everyone should be in the same room, talking to each other constantly – I personally find it difficult to write narratives in a loud, busy environment, and I’m aware everyone has their own unique needs and work circumstances. I’m fully supportive of people who prefer to work remotely. But I’ve worked in studios where disciplines and team members have worked siloed off from each other, and the results have always been detrimental to the game and to the team’s morale.
I’m inclusive. As an introvert I know that most of society is shaped around catering to extroverts, and that can feel exhausting and exclusionary. I think that there’s an unconscious tendency to give more attention and credence to whoever fits society’s ‘default’ template; and who says things loudest and most confidently. That doesn’t mean they have the correct answers though. I believe in listening to a broad range of viewpoints and giving people the space to present those viewpoints in the way that works best for them, whether they’re introverts, people from under-represented social backgrounds, people of different faiths, sexualities, ethnicities, genders, or whatever their identity may be. People who play games are a huge, diverse audience, and the people who make games should be representative of this. The games we make will be better as a result.
I’m adaptable and conscientious in my work. Things almost never go exactly to plan in game development, and the ability to smoothly pivot to a new plan – whether that’s because of a scope change, a new team composition or even a global pandemic (though I fervently hope that one doesn’t happen again!) – has served me well. I’m able to focus on the opportunities and positives of such changes, without dwelling on what’s been lost from the original plan, or trying to force things to stay the same. Sometimes that’s meant an almost complete rethink of the game, but I find such challenges can be invigorating and the new constraints can often spark exciting and innovative new ideas from the development team.
I’m insatiably curious. I’ve got a really wide range of interests and the more I learn, the more the list of things I want to learn about keeps growing. I never want to stop learning and experiencing new things, and I firmly believe that the medium of videogames is an incredibly fertile one for introducing people to new ideas, new viewpoints and new experiences in an entertaining and profound way. I believe in the power of games to be more than ‘just’ entertainment. I think they have to be entertaining, but I think that good games are more than that: they make us think and feel in the same way all great art does.
Contact
If you want to contact me, my details are in my CV. Alternatively, you can message me through LinkedIn.