Public Relations
The Outer Worlds
I work as a gaming publicist at Tara Bruno PR. My primary client is Private Division, the publishing label responsible for titles like Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Disintegration, Kerbal Space Program, and The Outer Worlds.
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
Kerbal Space Program
Magazine Features
Dreams Cover Story
I went to Guilford, England to write the cover story on Media Molecule’s plans to follow up LittleBigPlanet with the ambitious Dreams.
Coping With War
I spent a week on military bases in Germany and Kuwait speaking to soldiers about how video games intersect with their lives.
Rage 2 Cover Story
I flew to Stockholm, Sweden to check out Id Software and Avalanche Studios’ collaborative efforts to develop the surprise sequel to Rage.
Online Features
The Virtual Life
For years, Game Informer published my column on culture and video games. There are 70 entries on the site now.
The Fight To Make Games Accessible For Everyone
One of my beats at Game Informer was covering disability in the video game industry. In 2019, I wrote a state of union on the subject.
101 Things You Can Do In Red Dead Redemption II
One of my favorite things to do for GI was to write fun, easy to digest lists. Here’s the most ambitious one I put together (with some help from my colleagues).
Games I’ve Made
The Terror Aboard The Speedwell
Probably the most popular bit of fiction I’ve made. A classic text adventure homage to Alien, Resident Evil, and choice-based games. You play an officer on a spaceship making its way back to Earth after the crew has been infected with…something.
Back in 2014, Polygon said “ What The Terror Aboard the Speedwell gets right above all things is its emphasis on decision-making. Every choice — from the way the first scene let me decide how to deal with a teammate hitting on me to the inevitable dramatic life-and-death choices later on - had weight and felt like it mattered to the story. In this, and in its handling of the terror and isolation and blue-collar workaday treatment of an unknown horror, The Terror Aboard the Speedwell does Alien better than any actual Alien game.” You can read the full review here.
The game’s free now, so you can check it out here.
Distress: A Choice-Driven Sci-FI Adventure
The most recent game I (helped) make. Distress was crowdfunded through Kickstarter back in 2015. Ian Higginbotham did the art, Erandi Hupie made the music, and I did the design and writing (as well as managing the crowdfunding campaign). Similiar to Speedwell, Distress is a choice-driven visual novel inspired by Resident Evil, Snatcher, and Mass Effect where a group of bounty hunters investigate a distress signal on a mysterious space station and find themselves lured into a world of danger. With over 100k words and 90 endings, there’s a ridiculous ton of replay value here.
“Touching, devious, and utterly devastating when you fail a friend, Distress offers an intriguing mystery in a gloomy future,” IndieGamesPlus said in their review of Distress.
You can buy the game on Steam for $5.99 here.
You Were Made For Loneliness
A sci-fi anthology game I made in Twine with 17 other contributors, I was responsible for crafting the main story as well as managing the project and editing everyone’s stories.
“You Were Made For Loneliness tells a sad, sweet, philosophical and deeply touching science fiction story mainly revolving around robots, artificial intelligence, love and ethics. It’s a game I was deeply moved by and whose interactivity I appreciated despite the minimal choice on offer,” says Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
You can play the game for free here.
Freelance Work
Disability and Representation in Videogames (Paste)
One of several personal essays I wrote for Paste. This one, about disability and Wolfenstein, is probably the best.
Word Games Column (Playboy)
I wrote a text adventure column at Playboy before it closed down its gaming section. Here’s a sample.
Until Dawn Is A New Classic (Vice)
Vice let me review Until Dawn. One of my favorite assignments when I was freelancing.
Video
About Me
Hello! If you’re reading this, it means one of two things: you’ve been looking up information about my work or you’ve fallen through a hole in space and time and ended up here. If it’s the former, congratulations, you’re in the right spot! If it’s the latter, I offer my apologies while also disavowing any culpability for this misadventure. Either way, why not enjoy a fine cup of coffee and peruse my portfolio while you’re here?
I worked as an associate editor for Game Informer for nearly four years and have experience writing and editing content for both online and print publications. In addition to writing previews, reviews, lists, interviews, and appearing on video content, I also extensively covered complicated topics like the fight for disability accommodation in the games industry and the military’s relationship with gaming.
I am now a publicist for Tara Bruno PR, working with Private Division and several other fantastic clients in the gaming industry.