Brunette Games

My thoughts on this were too long for a regular post, so I've used this article function.

I feel like a mole surfacing after tunneling a vast network underground for months... I just finished a major narrative revamp that's kept me nose down since November. The game in testing phase performed well enough to warrant a revamp. I was brought in to assess, and the studio shrewdly asked me to make good on those recommendations with a complete narrative redesign, adding characters and scrapping all dialogue for a total rewrite, including new VO. It's an honor to be entrusted with a game's narrative, even if you do have to fight sometimes for the right way to tell a game story, teaching young creatives as you bring them along on the journey. I look forward to seeing what players think.

Fun fact: Back in the mid-2000s, I wrote a book about General Construction Company, now owned by Kiewit. General built the footings for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the only thing left standing when “Galloping Gertie” collapsed in 1940. They also worked on the Golden Gate Bridge, both of Seattle’s floating bridges, and many of the iconic bridges up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. The book was finished, but the crash of ‘08 led to its print cancellation. So a book about maritime construction became “the one that got away” for me…

This has been a challenging year requiring many of us to branch out into new areas, and that's the silver lining. I'm excited to announce this new release from Brunette Games client Hedonia. https://lnkd.in/gcNQQ2BQ

This seems like as good a time as any to brag about this: https://lnkd.in/gmXm3Sr6

Today I'm going off the beaten path a bit to share this piece Sara Hardin put together on how to make stained glass: https://lnkd.in/gWZNjYhk Why here on LinkedIn? It's an example of how a creative person can pivot from one area (game writing) to another. And I thought the artists in our industry might appreciate this physical, tactile art form, as a break from all the digital work. It's also an example of how as a writer now for 30+ years, I've diversified my output in order to make a living. I was a teacher and journalist for 15 years before I broke into games. And I continue to keep those non-fiction chops alive even while I've been writing full-time in the game industry (and managing other writers) for the past 16 years. This platform for Sara's piece is my own side project, a Substack called–what else?–Brunette GARDENS.

On a personal yet still professional note, I'm very proud of this guy: Anthony Valterra. He took a huge leap of faith when he came to work for me at Brunette Games, channeling previous brand-management experience from his Wizards of the Coast days. He helped steer us through boom times for four exciting years, riding several waves in mobile-game storytelling, and has been key to our success. I know the team loved working with him, too, and not just for his gamer war stories. When our clients' fortunes rapidly reversed this year, and I had to revert back to a solo writing studio, letting him go was... you have no idea. Because he is also my husband of going on 10 years. Ours was a mom-and-pop shop, and we were literally family. So I'm proud of him for pivoting into a new gig as grant writer for Lindenwood University, where he applies game theory to the grant-funding process. And for so much more, but you know, this is LinkedIn. So I'll leave it at that. 😊