As of 2019, I am a writer for the Indie game studio, Fictory Interactive. At the moment, we are working on our first game, a visual novel, wherein I am one of head writers, tasked with designing characters and crafting their backstory, place in the overall narrative, and dialogue options. Our team is small, consisting of four writers, one programmer, and an artist. We hope to produce interesting and inclusive games with a compelling story that anyone can enjoy. However, the project is currently on hiatus.
In 2015, I began a tradition of attempting to fund-raise by livestreaming games for Extra Life--a charity which directly benefits UNM's Children's Hospital. I began with a 24-Hour livestream on Twitch.tv and raised over $100 for charity. In 2017, I encouraged the Game Development Club to participate as well; in the process, I created a channel, visual assets, and fundraising page for the club and organized the event where students got together to play fun party games for multiple hours to encourage viewers to donate funds. The subsequent year, we increased our efforts and raised over $150. Finally, though I officially left the club in August 2019, I assisted and trained my fellow officers to stream and operate Extra Life for their game day in November, where they were able to raise another $200. I hope to participate again now that I have graduated to help the community while doing what I love.
In January of 2017, I joined the NMSU Game Development Club which was (and still is) dedicated to teaching students of all disciplines how to make video games using various software and techniques. Though mostly comprised of Computer Science majors, the club was welcoming to others, including music majors, all types of artists, and even a history major like me! I joined the club hoping to help as a writer and general game developer, working wherever I was needed. After one semester as a member, I was promoted to the position of Secretary of the team, wherein I helped decide lessons and game nights, took notes on lectures and guest speakers for absent students, and helped to teach principles whenever my expertise in writing or history became useful. I also designed fundraisers and events such as our successful Halloween party that stretched across three rooms and had dozens of attendees! However, on November 9th-10th, 2018, my time at GDC culminated in a fantastic experience that helped me gain some preliminary experience in game development before ever leaving college.
On that fateful day, we decided to host a 24-Hour Game Jam. At the beginning, we all sat down and hashed out a concept for a game. I acted as the scribe and discussion leader, offering ideas, taking opinions, and trying to craft new and innovative games with each growing suggestion. Soon, we settled on an ambitious Boss Rush style 2-D platformer tentatively titled "Myowzer T. Rousers in Monarch Mayhem." The large group divided into three sub-factions: the developers, the programmers, and the artists. While the other officers joined the developers and programmers, my job was to not only work alongside the artists to create a story and assets, but to mediate between the groups. Over the approximately 16 hours I was present working on the project, I mainly helped the art team design and contextualize the story and characters of the game. We based the seven bosses on each of the seven deadly sins, giving each an individual style, personality, and working alongside the developers to decide a unique boss fight. I even dabbled in helping the artists when we were short one or two and helped the composer with the mood and style of the music. Then, my job was to carry these concepts from the artists and developers to the programmers. Along the way, we encountered many roadblocks, such as strong personalities who tried to expand the already overly-ambitious game idea and issues with programming and execution of ideas. However, with quick thinking, I suggested we narrow to the three most beloved and developed bosses of the bunch, diffused conflicts and miscommunications between the groups, and helped get the game at least to a very basic prototype by the end of my time on the project. Overall, the game jam was not only difficult, demanding, and a bit of a mess, but fun, inspiring, and a great exercise in creativity and teamwork.
After joining the NMSU eSports team in January 2016 as a member of the Hearthstone team, I worked with the eSports president to create an Overwatch team by August after the game's release in May. I was given the title of Coordinator and Captain of the team and was tasked with advertising the club and recruiting new members, as well as organizing practice times and training the team. In this position, I worked with diverse and changing schedules to find appropriate practice hours for the dozen or so players I worked with, researched possible collegiate competitions, and facilitated teamwork and training for players.