Hey there, I'm Els.
Hey there, I'm Els.
As an indie game developer, I've worn a lot of hats: writer, designer, producer, programmer. I got my start in games making spooky interactive fiction in my spare time, then did a degree in Interactivity in Games. Under the studio I founded, Spider Lily Studios, I released my first commercial game, Retrace, in 2020. In 2021 I ran a successful Kickstarter to fund my second game, Schrodinger's Catgirl. Aside from that, I'm currently working as a freelance designer and producer for studios like Failbetter and Party for Introverts. In my spare time I like writing tutorials for open-source narrative tools like Chatterbox, to help others from non-programming backgrounds get into making games.
You can find Retrace and Catgirl, as well as my interactive fiction work, over on my Itch profile. Or, for detailed design breakdowns, go here for Retrace and here for Catgirl.
Skills
Game engines: expert with Game Maker Studio 2, Twine, Yarn; skilled with Unity; familiar with Unreal, Ren’Py, Ink.
Project trackers: Expert with HacknPlan, Trello; familiar with JIRA.
Versioning tools: Skilled with Git.
Broad knowledge of fantasy/horror/SF, mythology, murder mysteries, queer and disability history.
Conversational Japanese (spoken/written).
Experience
Freelance Writer Failbetter Studios (2023 – 2025)
● Pitched, designed and wrote the April 2025 Exceptional Story (subscriber-only content) "The Luminous Factory", for ongoing web text game Fallen London
● Worked with studio writing and QA staff to create a story using Failbetter's CMS
● Matched writing to studio house style and existing game lore using style guide and lore bible
● Communicated with studio contacts for edits and QA; iterated on writing and design based on feedback
Freelance Writer Party for Introverts (2022 – 2025)
● Pitched, designed and wrote character sidequests for narrative RPG Cabernet
● Created pitches for five character quests (Petya, Hussar, Alisa, the Rusalka, Arban) based on outlines from and discussions with main writer
Each quest consisted of several scenes with dialogue branching and reactivity to player choices
● Worked closely with main writer to ensure tone and themes remained consistent
● Designed puzzles using existing systems to create varied gameplay experiences
● Researched and wrote descriptions for "Library" system (highly constrained summaries of contemperaneous books)
Producer / Narrative Designer Captilight Studios (2020 – 2024)
● Built cohesive narrative for Path of Kami from prototype. Managed worldbuilding; devised methods for nondisruptively communicating story via mechanics, incl. incidental dialogue and item descriptions.
● Iterated design based on playtesting feedback; remade tutorial.
● Wrote dialogue.
● Liaised with art and programming teams.
● Maintained lore documentation.
● Created names and descriptions for in-game areas and collectible items; wrote copy for artbook.
● Researched cultural history of setting (mythology, folktales, afterlife); compiled reference documentation. Worked with cultural consultant.
Writer FableLabs/Tales (2018 – 2023)
● Pitched and designed thriller The Fox’s Wedding; wrote 10 chapters (planned total: 17).
● Pitched and designed apocalypse-fantasy Heirs of Nothing; wrote 3 chapters.
● Devised reactive world-state narrative with branching paths; maximised replayability and player engagement.
Creative Director Spider Lily Studios (2018 – present)
● Led development of console horror adventure games Retrace and Schrodinger's Catgirl. Built team (artist, composer, programmer, QA).
● Created puzzles, controls, and interaction mechanism; designed rooms/levels.
Personal Projects
● To The Wolves, atmospheric survival horror IF game written in Twine with multiple endings; 11th-place winner in IFComp 2016.
Bafta Crew 2021
Tentacle Zone cohort 2021
Selected for UKGF round 7 funding
Code Coven Elevate participant 2023
B.A. in Interactivity and Games 2015
Macquarie University Sydney, Australia
● Capstone project: Wrote and directed Spectrum branching visual novel.
● Advanced Interactivity; Screenwriting; Game Design.
● Critical Games Studies; Performance and Digital Media; Modelling and Animation.
Els' narrative and production skills have guided my studio from early concepts to shipped products. He has a talent for crafting characters and worlds with depth and heart. I am always impressed by his abilities to craft story and language across so many genres and formats. Collaborating with Els has been essential to my studio’s path.
- Thomas Byrd, Awry Studios
Els helped us with some great systems design getting us unblocked from a complicated set of constraints on gameplay, theme, and narrative. It’s really given the project some great momentum and stronger foundations as I put his ideas into action!
- Moo Yu, Team Artichoke
Els has been a tremendous help and support for our studio, helping since the very beginning in production, business expertise and narrative working with us from early concepts to a shipped game on steam in 10 different language markets. Els dedication to creating authentic and meaningful stories along with his experise in business has been essential with our growing studio (and new game!) When starting a project Els is always my go to person to get help with getting stuff off the ground and running. He always puts in 110% and is quick to understand a project, its requirements and its vision.
- Deana Isabel, CaptiLight