Published Works 

Espire 2

Over the past year and a half, I was a Junior Narrative Designer for the stealth-action sequel to Digital Lode’s ‘Espire’ series. The Espire series is envisioned as a love letter to Metal Gear Solid and the stealth genre, bringing nostalgia with a twist to the VR space. The main story of Espire 2 takes place seven years after the events of Espire 1. The player character from the first game – codename: POE – is jolted from their coma to eliminate OPHIS – a techno-terrorist group hellbent on destroying automation – using the Espire Program’s bi-pedal, mechanised ‘Frames’.

Their only lead is from a whistleblower embedded in OPHIS who reports of a weapon of mass destruction pushes the Espire group and Poe into action, hoping to save the world before it’s too late. Espire 2 also comes with a multi-player campaign named “Operation Gemini” set in between the events of Espire 1 and Espire 2 which I got to design and write from the ground up!

Working on Espire 2 was a massive achievement for me. It’s my first credit in the videogames industry! Listed below are some of my personal highlights and achievements.

Achievements
– Designed and co-wrote “Operation Gemini” the co-op campaign that released with the game
– Designed and co-wrote the singleplayer story campaign for Espire 2
– Designed and implemented menu and flavour text covering missions, art assets, and UI
– Iterated and co-wrote character biographies and stories for all major and minor characters within Espire 2
– Sourced and conducted sessions with voice actors
– Worked with publishers and an external localisation team to have Espire 2 translated in 5 languages

Anamnesis

For the 2021 Australian Global Game Jam, I banded together with six creatives as a Narrative Designer. We decided to make a story-driven, isometric, point-and-click puzzle game entitled Anamnesis. It tells the story of an unnamed and silent protagonist who is accompanied by a disembodied narrator. The protagonist has traveled to a remote cabin to tend to the land in the absence of its owner who is a dear friend. 

Anamnesis was an exhibition game for Sinister Creatives Australian-based indie music event – SOUND BYTE 2022!

Rite of Passage

In 2020, I released a section of a personal project entitled Travelling in Pieces on itch.io.

Travelling in Pieces is set 10 years after the world is ravaged by a cybernetic army. Flena is an Icie and outlaw who must survive the foreign land in and outside of her mind. She is soon accompanied by Ty, another Icie who offers his help. Why he wants to help her isn’t fully revealed, but Flena doesn’t have much of a choice.

Rite of Passage introduces Flena to Ty – giving readers a taste of the adventures hiding within this sprawling land.

Artwork by Symeona Kanellou (Twitter: @Symeona1 ).

Greater Than Any Sword

In 2020, my epistolary piece, Greater Than Any Sword, was published in Deakin University’s WORDLY Magazine entitled Power. Within this piece, a young woman writes a letter to her brother who has recently risen to fame over his paintings. She reflects on their youth and compares the brute strength of their father to her brother’s artistic vigour.