The blog has fallen, as it so often does, into a state of disrepair, and now it's time to shore it up again. The causes are mundane--namely, I've been busy, so very busy. I'd like to get back to it, though I'm not sure what form it will take. First, some quick updates:
The big update is that I left my job at Wooga in April, after over seven years with the company. It was not an easy decision, stepping out into the unknown. My experience at Wooga shaped me in profound ways, and although by the end, I was more than ready for a change, I can't look back on it with anything less than fondness. It was there I learned that video games could be built in an environment of trust; it was there I learned the principles and techniques of a good manager. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, to be sure, but I did my best to make it a place where other writers could thrive. I think I largely succeeded.
The trouble was that I found myself increasingly divorced from what I care about most--working directly on projects. Making things. Writing. So I'm freelance now and open to new gigs. My goals are simple: I want to make great game narratives. Whether the project is large or small doesn't particularly matter to me. I am experienced in mobile and AAA game writing alike, and can whip up a cinematic script as well as I can work within the constraints of the mobile experience. I would absolutely love to work on a game whose narrative structure is non-traditional, embedded into the mechanics themselves. Something like a Crusader Kings 3 or a Wildermyth.
There are two other things worth mentioning. One is, my first novel has representation at Philip Turner Book Productions! This happened much earlier in the year, but I don't believe I've mentioned it here. It was a long journey to getting agency representation, and my expectations are appropriately muted, not out of any lack of confidence in my agent, but because the picture I have of the publishing industry makes it look like a miracle that any book gets bought ever, especially one by a first-time novelist. I am content for now that I've reached this particular milestone, and I am taking my lessons as they come.
The second is that the (very) rough draft of my second novel--my epic Thirty Years War romance--is also in the can. At 133k words, it's huge and hugely ambitious. I'm also not entirely sure it won't grow on revision.
But I'm not revising yet. I've been celebrating this particular achievement by taking some time away from writing novels to focus on reading, reading, reading. The next update to the blog will probably be related to what I've been reading--a mix of fiction and research.