Skills & Expertise

Narrative Design | Game Design | Level Design | 3D Art

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Narrative Design Across Games and Worlds

I design narrative systems across multiple engines and genres, adapting my approach to each project's unique requirements. From Fallout: Cascadia (Creation Kit/Papyrus) to Equestria at War or Old World Blues (events and grand strategy narrative), and The Old World (Warhammer Fantasy), I create branching narratives that feel authentic to each universe while maintaining player agency and meaningful choice.

Narrative Design Portfolio

Large-Scale Mod Development

  • Fallout: Cascadia: Designed branching quests with faction-based outcomes, implemented reactive dialogue systems, and authored Papyrus scripts for complex encounter logic.
  • Beyond Skyrim Contributed to the massive Beyond Skyrim project as part of the Elsweyr team, developing narrative content and quest design for the Khajiit homeland expansion, working within the collaborative framework of one of the largest modding projects in the community.
  • Arcane University: Participated in the Creation Kit learning community, sharing knowledge and techniques with fellow modders while developing advanced scripting and quest implementation skills through collaborative learning and mentorship.
  • Equestria at War: Created nation paths, character arcs, and in-game event text for a fantasy Hearts of Iron IV conversion, developing lore that enhanced player choice and worldbuilding.
  • Old World Blues: Wrote branching nation paths and character dialogues for a Fallout-themed grand strategy mod, ensuring lore consistency while introducing fresh narrative perspectives.
  • The Old World: Developed character biographies, world lore, and quest dialogue for a Warhammer Fantasy Mount & Blade II conversion, bringing established IP to life through rich storytelling.

Original Game Development

  • Kanpeki: Served as contracted narrative designer, shaping character arcs, dialogue systems, and narrative structure for a psychological horror game, ensuring atmospheric storytelling aligned with gameplay mechanics.
  • Winter's Hunger: Developed the game's Wendigo mythos through environmental storytelling, journal entries, and ambient narrative elements that reinforced the horror experience.
  • Interactive Fiction: Created branching narratives in Twine and visual novel formats, crafting choice-driven stories that immerse players in meaningful decisions and consequences.

Narrative Design Philosophy

Across all my projects, from Fallout: Cascadia to Equestria at War to Kanpeki, I design stories that put the player in control, not just of outcomes, but of how those outcomes come to be. I believe the best narratives don't just tell great stories, they set the stage for players to make them their own.

Every narrative I craft starts with a sharp conflict: a power shift, a moral dilemma, a faction at odds with itself. From there, I build around reactivity, how the world notices, remembers, and responds to the player's choices, stats, and allegiances. Whether it's a Strength-heavy character muscling through in Fallout, a diplomatic approach in Hearts of Iron IV, or psychological exploration in horror games, I ensure each path feels authentic and meaningful.

I adapt my approach to each project's unique requirements: Creation Kit scripting for Fallout mods, event-driven narratives for grand strategy games, environmental storytelling for horror titles, and character-driven dialogue for psychological experiences. The tools change, but the core principle remains: narrative and gameplay must work in harmony.

My goal is to hit the right tone for each universe—whether it's Fallout's balance of bleakness, absurdity, and sincerity; the political intrigue of grand strategy; or the psychological tension of horror—not just in dialogue, but in the structure of the narrative itself, how choices are framed, when consequences land, and how the world quietly shifts beneath the player's feet.

Creation Kit Usage

I use the Creation Kit to design, implement, and script fully reactive quest content across both Fallout and Elder Scrolls titles. My work spans Fallout: Cascadia and Skyrim, where I integrate narrative design with engine-level tools to build immersive, branching content.

Fallout: Cascadia

  • Quest Structure: Designed multi-stage quests with conditional branching in the Quest Editor, utilizing GetStage, SetObjectiveCompleted(), and global variables to handle faction-based outcomes.
  • Dialogue Implementation: Used Topic Info entries with AV checks (e.g., GetAV("Perception")) to surface stat-based dialogue options and control reactivity.
  • Scripting: Authored Papyrus scripts like ABH_JohnnyEncounterScript.psc to drive complex encounter logic such as fake deaths, AI behavior changes, and reputation shifts. Scripts were attached via object references and managed through property assignment.
  • AI Packages & Triggers: Created travel, follow, and flee packages tied to quest stages. Used XMarkerHeading and TriggerBox objects to coordinate in-world cutscenes and scripted events.

Skyrim: The Mind Unbound

  • Quest Design: Wrote and implemented an original lore-heavy quest involving a priest of Julianos caught between the College of Winterhold and the Temple of the Divines. The quest explores Elder Scrolls metaphysics and moral ambiguity.
  • Dialogue Branching: Created multi-path dialogue trees for multiple characters. Used dynamic variables to vary responses from NPCs such as Freir and Cendelius.
  • Scene Setup: Implemented scenes with timed dialogues, emotional reactions, and conditional stage advancement using StartScene and StopScene calls inside stage fragments.
  • Level Design & Placement: Placed custom trigger volumes and ambient storytelling props (notes, books) throughout the scenes to guide environmental narrative flow.

My workflow bridges narrative intent and technical execution. Whether scripting a player confrontation in Fallout or structuring theological debate in Skyrim, I ensure all content is not only compelling but reactive, systemic, and debugged thoroughly through in-engine testing.

Game & Systems Design

Rapid prototyping, system design, and production across multiple engines. Developed mechanics for game jams, built Unity prototypes like Realm Ball, and designed gameplay systems for large-scale mods like Fallout: Cascadia and Equestria at War.

  • Prototypes & Game Jams: Created interactive Unity prototypes and built Realm Ball (complete 3D breakout game) in one week. Designed competitive multiplayer mechanics for Gelatoss! during game jams.
  • System Design: Designed gameplay systems for large-scale mods, including branching faction systems and nation progression mechanics that integrate narrative with gameplay.

Level Design & Environment Art

My level design work spans multiple engines and contexts, from Valve's Hammer Editor for Source engine mods to Bethesda's Creation Kit for open-world content, to Unity for original 3D environments. I focus on player flow, environmental storytelling, and spatial composition that enhances both gameplay and narrative.

  • Source Engine: Designed levels using Valve's Hammer Editor, creating balanced layouts, player flow, and functional gameplay spaces for Source engine mods.
  • Creation Kit: Designed levels and placed environmental storytelling elements for quest content in Fallout and Elder Scrolls mods, using object placement and trigger volumes to guide narrative flow.
  • Unity Environments: Created complete 3D environments including terrain sculpting, level layout, and environmental composition, modeling props and buildings from scratch.

3D Art & Technical Skills

While primarily a narrative and level designer, I've developed 3D art skills demonstrated in my original Unity environment project. This work showcases my ability to work across the 3D production pipeline when needed for prototyping and level design purposes.

3D Modeling & Asset Creation

  • 3D Modeling: Created high-poly and low-poly models for environment assets, props, and architectural elements using 3DS Max and Blender.
  • UV Mapping & Texturing: Developed efficient UV layouts and created materials for game-ready assets, including PBR workflow implementation.
  • Asset Pipeline: Established workflows for importing, organizing, and optimizing 3D assets within Unity for real-time rendering.

Unity Environment Tools

  • Terrain System: Used Unity's terrain tools for landscape creation, texture blending, and detail mesh placement.
  • Shader Development: Created custom shaders using Shader Graph for specialized effects, including advanced leaf shaders for vegetation.
  • Lighting & Post-Processing: Implemented dynamic lighting systems and post-processing effects for atmospheric environments.
  • Performance Optimization: Used Unity's profiling tools to optimize asset placement, LOD systems, and rendering performance.

My 3D art skills complement my primary design work, allowing me to create complete environments when needed for prototyping or small-scale projects. This technical foundation supports my ability to communicate effectively with 3D artists and understand the constraints and possibilities of 3D environments in game design.