A Slight Change of Plans

As part of the recent Microsoft Massacre, I find myself with a lot more free time on my hands. The project I was working on at Romero Games was canceled, and as a consequence of that, I’m out of work at the moment.

I feel terrible for my team, who are a fabulous bunch of people, and I am sad that the project we were working on might not ever see the light of day. Because, well, it was going to be awesome.

But, time to go forward. The leadership of Romero Games is reaching out to publishers to see if there is interest in bringing the game to market, so with luck, that will be a thing. If not, well, I am lucky enough to have a bit of a cushion – you don’t work in games for a couple of decades without planning for the unexpected – and I am going to take some time to decompress, recharge, and work on personal projects. I’ve got Necon coming up in a week, I’ve got GenCon and Pop!Con and ProgDay after that, I’ve got a brilliant and lovely girlfriend who lives far away whom I’d like to spend more time with, and there’s a whole mess of stuff around here, both in terms of my house and just things to do in North Carolina that I have never done, all of which will keep me busy for the foreseeable future.

So, that’s the plan for now. I’ve got all that to do, and some personal projects happening, and then there’s the launch of The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You, and the graphic novel is ongoing, and I should be getting edits on my novel Nightmare Logic from the publisher soon, and….as the marvelous Ellen says, “How did you have time to hold down a day job anyway?”

But stay tuned, there’s more news coming.

Tally Sheet

Last year was a little bit of a lull for me, writing-wise, as I concentrated on laying the groundwork for new projects and personal matters. But, I vowed to hit the ground running in 2025, and I like to think I have done that.

So far, I have done the following:

  • Started a new job as Narrative Director at Romero Games, and I am having a blast doing so.
  • Written the bulk of the manuscript for The Video Game Writer’s Guide To Surviving an Industry That Hates You, and done edits and final proofs.
  • Finalized the concept and wrote the script for my first graphic novel, a 124 page horror comic for the French publisher Delcourt, done in conjunction with the legendary Matz.
  • Finalized the contents of a new short story collection, including an all-new Reb Palache story.
  • Wrote 7 short stories so far and counting.
  • Managed to pump out 2 essays a week on game narrative and writing over at LinkedIn
  • Laid the groundwork for a few more upcoming projects.
  • Promised to kill at least one person horribly in a story or novel for charity.

I’m now gearing up for starting another novel, and I have a few more stories in progress I need to complete. And there will be at least two big announcements coming up before the end of the year.

No rest for the wicked, or their typing fingers.

Off To Ireland!

I’ve been a whole lot of places for work and conferences over the years. China, Brazil, Sweden, France….even Wisconsin. But never before have I had the chance to go to Ireland.

Today, that all changes. I’m headed over to do a narrative summit with my team at Romero Games, and I could not be more excited. Looking forward to the adventure!

New Year, New Job

Incredibly happy to announce that I have started a new job at Romero Games as Narrative Director! As much fun as my time at Crytek was, sometimes a story just reaches its natural endpoint and it’s time to move on. I was lucky enough to be able to start a new story with some amazingly talented people, and I am really looking forward to be part of of a team that’s making some magic!