A collection of writing samples from various game projects, including worldbuilding, branching narrative, and screenplay dialogue.
SELECTED SAMPLES
Worldbuilding
Folktales, urban legends, and even our greatest fears all rely on one thing: belief. The more people believe in something, the more power it gains. This energy, known as Sonder, exists all around us. Once Sonder has been poured into a specific belief, it can exist in the material plane as long as enough people still believe in it. These events, known as Anomalous Faith Incidents (AFIs), can be disastrous if left alone for too long. Culver exists in a large-scale AFI known as the Timber Expanse. There are other AFIs like it around the globe, none of which can be dealt with directly. Instead, groups like the Bureau of Unnatural Research and Prevention (BURP) work to monitor these locations if an uptick in AFI activity occurs.
Hooks/Inciting Incidents
Things have been slow since Homecoming. The Turntable (Marked as Anchor #51129) is safely in the hands of BURP. However, as the Hunters approach late November, things have clearly shifted. Natasha continues to have strange dreams, Sam constantly feels like they’re being watched, and Shakti keeps seeing dark figures deep in the woods. After sneaking out one night looking for these dark figures, Shakti is caught and grounded. Telling her parents about the situation, her father goes out to investigate, followed by a loud, pained howl. Shakti’s father is found in critical condition and sent to the hospital. Seems there’s more than just werewolves in those woods…
Dialogue
BENNY
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??
Why am I having to deal with your mistakes!!
THE DESIGNER
THAT'S YOUR PURPOSE. You're a test character!
BENNY
If I'm just a test character, then why bother? So I can wake up tomorrow and see that you still haven't made any progress?
THE DESIGNER
I don't want your ideas or suggestions. I KNOW what I'm doing. Just keep going!
Barks
BENNY: Reset! RESETTTTTTT!
BENNY: I can't wait to be out of here.
BENNY: Just like every other time.
THE DESIGNER: Almost had it that time!
THE DESIGNER: <a-ha!> I should add a timer! All the best platformers have... ugh no, that's stupid.
THE DESIGNER: OOH! Watch out for that.
Character Bios/Backstory
Striatius is the heir to the now-disgraced d’Oro name. He loved his father, Ignatius d’Oro, who taught him the ways of the sword and dice. Despite the d’Oro family having great amounts of wealth, Ignatius was known to be a gambling man, and often gambled away the ludicrous amount of money the family had. However, it was all taken from them a number of years ago by the Sharptooth Pirates. At 16, Stri watched his father bet Redrum Sharptooth, captain of the Sharptooth Pirates, with his life on the line and lost. Seeing his family, his fortune, and his future disappear before his very eyes, he sought revenge.
At age 22, he came across a shimmering, irresistible magical apple called a Pink Lady Luck. Believing the fruit would let him manipulate luck itself, he ate it without any hesitation. However, as opposed to controlling the outcome of events directly, he would instead gain power over anything bet on those outcomes. Unable to resist chasing the thrill that once ruined his family’s legacy, he began to rebuild their fortune with his newfound powers.
Years later, Stri has made a name for himself as a Mighty Gambler. He often turns his games of chance into performances on the street using his luck powers as a means of added showmanship. “Behold the man who can bet on your voice and win!” Yet under this braggadocio is still that young boy who wishes he could do nothing more than turn back the clock and save his father. Meanwhile, rumors have spread of a thief that uses stolen voices and tools to get away without a shred of evidence. Now that he has a fine share of gold, he aims to get back on the high seas and avenge his family name, restore their fortune, and become the greatest gambler the world has ever known!
A spreadsheet outlining combinatoric dialogue from EGREGORE (2024).
A screenshot of the node-based dialogue in EGREGORE (2024). Each line in the chart is a dialogue option only available by triggering certain game states and graph combinatorics.
Sample Worldbuilding for a New Weird Urban Fantasy TTRPG Setting.
A spreadsheet of callout dialogue ("Barks") from TRY AGAIN (2023).
A sample page of screenplay dialogue from TRY AGAIN (2023).
A portion of Billie's final date from Curtain Call (2022). Each node has nested dialogue options, and each new node is a separate story beat, like picking a specific movie to watch or comforting Billie in a particular way.