Freelance services

I am passionate about video games, fascinated by storytelling, and diligent and detail-oriented when it comes to writing.

I have five years’ experience in the games industry from running an indie studio. I know how to use games to tell stories, and have the experience with Unity, Json and Ink to make it happen.

I would love to help your game or narrative project shine. I offer:

Narrative Design:

◈ Story outlines and plot development

◈ Character outlines and arcs

◈ Worldbuilding

Writing:

◈ Dialogue

◈ Events

◈ Scenes

◈ Item descriptions

◈ Text editing and proofreading

Game Design:

◈ Game design with a focus on storytelling

◈ Prototyping and concepting

Portfolio

Silicon Dreams

Cyberpunk interrogation sim, focused on conversation, interrogation and manipulation.

Credits: Sole creator, developers and writers.

  • PC Gamer: “Extremely intelligent sci-fi interrogation sim that’s unpredictable for all the right reasons. … the writing is incredible.”
  • Kotaku: “The most extraordinary narrative juggling act. … The credits rolled, and damn, it was perfect.” – John Walker
  • DreadXP: “The writing is phenomenal … A multi-layered masterpiece.”

Star Dynasties

Scifi grand strategy game.

Credits: Lead writer.

  • Work reference: “An excellent writer, and an idea generation machine. Jamie has been instrumental in fleshing out the narrative side of Star Dynasties. He was a consummate professional, and I admire his ability to calmly tackle whatever curve balls were thrown at him. It was a pleasure working together, and I hope to have the opportunity to do so again.” – Glen Pawley, lead developer

The Hidden Isle

Tabletop RPG that uses Tarot cards instead of dice.

Credits: Co-designer, writer, researcher

  • Work reference: “One of the finest writers and editors there is.” – Georg Hobmeier, project manager
  • Review, Throatpunch games: “Honestly, I love this one. … I strongly suggest you check this out if more narrative RPGs are up your alley! 97%”
  • Review, Dave Thaumavore: “I love that this game isn’t just using Tarot cards to randomize things … it just blows the doors wide open to all kinds of fun interpretations”

Lego Bricktales

Lego puzzle/construction adventure.

Credits: Lead dialogue writers.

  • Work reference: “Working with Clockwork Bird was a brilliant experience! They were responsible for writing our in-game dialogue and item descriptions, as well as the game’s achievements. They really hit the nail on the head when it came to delivering the tone we wanted: a light-hearted, humorous, wholesome LEGO game. Not only that, but their additions often contained creative, funny ideas and delightful wordplay, which added a lot of value to the dialogue. They got to grips with our narrative tools quickly and easily, so implementing their writing was a seamless process for the dev team. They also delivered reliably for all deadlines.” – Matthias Hilke, core team

Mechanism

Augmented reality escape room adventure.

Credits: Lead writers.

  • Work reference: “Working with Danny and James was a great experience! They took their time to understand what our project was about and delivered very well-written content that satisfied all of our requirements. What really stood out to us was their style of work and communication. Danny and James felt more like team-members than external writers and helped us evolve and refine our ideas throughout the entire project.” – Adam Lamine, lead developer

Spinnortality

Cyberpunk management sim. A dark take on modern technology, governance and capitalism.

Credits: Sole creator and writer; the game has a novel’s worth of text.

  • Why Now Gaming: “An eerily effective cyberpunk management sim that doubles as a scathing satire”
  • GGS Gamer: “Brilliant execution of a familliar sim setup underscored by a wholly original subject matter”
  • Quarter to Three: “The premise is cyberpunk, the parameters are thoughtful, and the payoff is worth the bother.”