A larger snapshot of my narrative design responsibilities have included:
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to define narrative elements, mechanics, and structures.
- Develop plot and character sketches, and establish cohesive story arcs that drive game flow.
- Propose and hone game mechanics to effectively translate narrative into engaging, dramatic gameplay.
- Coordinate with production to ensure narrative doesn’t get lost during project development.
- Champion user experience as the driver of underlying narrative and game design considerations.
Kognito is an award-winning, industry-leading developer of role-play training simulations and games in the areas of mental and behavioral health. Since 2006, I have worked as an instructional and narrative designer on several projects for Kognito, and as a systems architect for their first conversation authoring tool. Notable projects are listed below:
Operation: Reach (lead instructional game designer, writer): http://apple.co/1Yw1oqm: RPG-based exploration into stress management for teens. Using existing assets for a previously released game, wrote an entirely new story arc, including all dialog and puzzle elements. Project development was six weeks from start to finish. Published by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Together Strong (co-writer, conversations): https://jointogetherstrong.com/: Role-play training simulation, funded by the Veterans Affairs of NY/NJ Healthcare Network, to help veterans and service members effectively manage situations in which a fellow veteran is struggling with adjustment to civilian life. Focuses on building player empathy, trust, and collaboration.
Tobacco Sales: Do the Right Thing (instructional and narrative designer, entire project): (Contact me for login details.) Role-play training simulation, funded by the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DHMAS), to increase awareness of and adherence to federal laws governing sales of tobacco products to minors.
Practice Exposure Therapy (instructional and narrative designer, entire project): (Contact me for login details.) Two hour role-play training simulation, funded by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), for mental health practitioners to learn about exposure therapy and conduct practice role-play sessions with virtual patients. In the simulation, the player must learn to strike the right balance between probing a virtual trauma survivor for more detail or allowing him/her to stay in a non-therapeutic comfort zone. A multitude of targeted tracking variables, and a unique multi-layered dialog system, which I conceived specifically for this project, were required to create realistic emotional AI for the three patient characters.
For Tobacco Sales and Exposure Therapy trainings:
- Worked closely with client and SMEs to organize vast amounts of instructional material.
- Incorporated SME, end-user, and other stakeholder feedback.
- Authored and managed the projects’ needs analyses and instructional design documents.
- Defined and documented the programs’ narrative and interactive components.
- Worked with the production team to ensure the product maintained its instructional integrity.
- Utilized proprietary conversation authoring tool to write complex, variable-driven, branching conversations.
- Provided direction during audio recording sessions and edited raw takes for inclusion in the course.
Police Leadership Simulation (writer, systems architect): Multiple award-winning project funded by John Jay Criminal College to prepare sergeants-in-training to effectively handle difficult feedback conversations with under-performing officers.
- Collaborated with other team leads to define the architecture of the conversation and character engines at the core of the simulation, and fashioned the UI as a seamless extension of this architecture.
- Worked with and incorporated SME, end-user, and other stakeholder feedback.
- Designed and produced the simulation’s proprietary narrative authoring tool (screen shot unavailable).
- Used this tool to craft and revise the training’s dialog.
- Defined the training’s narrative elements and branching dialog structure.
- Acted as point-person for most production-related issues.
