What I’m Up To -2025 FAQ
Had some common questions come up recently and just wanted to write them all in the same place.
What have you shipped recently?
Since 2020, I’ve co-written Fermi Paradox, co-wrote & did quest and level design on The Dragon Prince: Xadia RPG, and was lead writer on Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree. I am currently working on a AAA project and an independent project. As you can see, I’m writing and designing games at a fair clip - I like to work hard and stretch myself in different roles.
What did you do on the original VTMB: Bloodlines?
You can get a full rundown on that elsewhere on this blog, but you can also refer to this on the fan wiki, and to go back in time I did a Q&A for Planet Vampire here, where I discuss Ocean House.
I wrote a large number of characters and designed a lot of quests on that game as well as voicing a fair few (like Romero). I also wrote and directed the Deb of Night radio show and was the news reader on the TV (which I also wrote). I helped shape the dialogue dispotion system used for character emotional states, wrote and implemented most of the computers, and set up some of the special dialogue cameras. I also did the majority of the Malkavian dialogues and designed that part of the game, as well as working on Ocean House. I made some lifelong friends of the voice actors I directed and of course with Rik Schaffer, who scored much of the game. I was credited as a ‘game designer’ on the project’s end credits.
I did an interview with Jim Rossignol here about the game. I also talked to Kat Bailey recently on her podcast. It was very hard work to produce that much writing and quest design in such a short time span and I’m really proud of it. Everyone on that team worked very hard in a tough situation. Working on that game was a significant part of my life and in particular, when fans pick out lines from my characters, such as Damsel, Gary, LaCroix, Jeanette, Heather, Stop Sign, Chunk or Fat Larry as being their favourite, it makes me very happy. But please don’t ask me about Caine(!)
What happened to your story for Bloodlines 2?
From afar, it seems like the reason given for replacing what my narrative team did appeared here, but I don’t actually know anything further and haven’t been contacted by anyone from the project or publisher since I was released from any involvement in it. This makes me sad, but it’s really out of my hands. I’m proud of the work the team did and loved the things they wrote.
What was your role on HSL’s Bloodlines 2?
I was a narrative lead on the initially pitched game. I was responsible for designing quests and dialogue tools, co-direction and casting for voice acting, conceiving/writing/scripting the characters, and running the narrative department. The only time I’ve been game director of a project was Dead State, which took 3 and a half years and $300,000 to make start to finish (although today I would not ever attempt to make a CRPG on $300,000, consumers would not like the look of it at all). Most of the things I had worked on before Dead State were cancelled, which was out of my control, so with Dead State I wanted to make something I was actually in control of scope-wise. Dead State had its problems but it was a financial success. Making anything playable for that cheap is something to be proud of. I think CRPGs are the most promising genre of game - just look at Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate 3.
But you did all that PR for BL2? You seemed like the project lead?
I was asked to do that PR even though it’s unusual for narrative leads alone and I felt if fans wanted me to I would do it for the good of the game. But I was not in control of much apart from what my game characters say. As you may know, I do not enjoy the PR part of the job at all. I like to make things instead. And I’m making them! One day I might return to game direction when the offer is good enough. But right now I’m happy just making and releasing games.
