In my time as a creative writer, I've done a lot of work for games and game products. As a gamer myself, this adds a lot to my enjoyment of, and pride in, the writing I do for these games. For those of you out there who play games, and those who don't, this page is dedicated to samples of some of the writing I've done that has made it into publication, not to mention other contributions I've made. If you were curious about what I do, and want something a little more visual than a mere resume, read on, and enjoy!
My current bread-and-butter. I have a pretty wide variety of work out there, most of it having to do with gaming one way or another. Here's just a taste of what I've done:
Magic: the Gathering
Currently my main freelance job. My big responsibility in this role for the first trading card game is writing possible contributions for two pieces of text: the name of the card (which is in the bar at the top, above the picture) and, where applicable, its flavor text (the italicized text at the bottom which tells a story about the world, the thing depicted in the card, or just says something pithy). While I was working full-time at Wizards of the Coast, I also did card and art concepts (deciding what each card's art should depict - if the creature is a goblin or angel or whatever - and what the finished picture should generally look like).
I have written countless concepts, card names, and had flavor text printed on over 300 cards. If you want to see a comprehensive list of all the cards printed so far that have my flavor text on them, click here to take a look!
Images are copyright 2001-2006 Wizards of the Coast
Magic Articles
I also used to write storyline related articles about Magic for the official Magic website. They usually pertained directly to the latest expansion being released, but sometimes covered other popular subjects. For a complete directory of all articles I've done for magicthegathering.com, click the link below:
I've also done some for InQuest Gamer magazine involving Magic strategy and history.
[Note: InQuest Gamer magazine ceased publication after its September 2007 issue. I'd like to express my sadness at its passing, and my gratitude to it and everyone who works or worked for it for helping me get my start. It's the end of an era, and I for one will miss it greatly.]
Magic Stories
When the Kamigawa cycle of sets was released, Wizards of the Coast decided to publish on their website a collection of short stories based on the various figures represented by cards throughout the block. I was pleased and proud to write five of those short stories, all put on the official Magic website over the course of a year. If you want to take a look, check out the link below. If you want to know more about the world in which these stories take place (for context), go to my "Magic Articles" section and look for the article entitled "We are the Champions, My Friends." It should tell you all you need to know!
My Kamigawa Magic Short Stories
I also wrote a short story for Dissension, the last set of the following block. Check it out here:
My latest fictional contribution to Magic was an epic poem commissioned for the Shadowmoor and Eventide sets. Lines from this poem were used as flavor text for ten high profile cards in those sets. I think it turned out really well, and hope you enjoy it too:
"The Seer's Parables" (scroll down to the bottom of the page; Doug Beyer gives some explanation and context for the poem)
Images are copyright 2004-2006 Wizards of the Coast
Upper Deck
Thanks mainly to my work with Magic, I've also gotten gigs to work with other companies on similar work. Upper Deck, most well known for their sports trading cards and as the American distributor of the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, has hired me on as a freelancer. I've written names and flavor text for the Vs. system TCG, based on Marvel and DC comic book characters.
The most recently revealed project I worked on is a TCG based on the TV cartoon Huntik. I wrote names and flavor text, but I also created art descriptions, as well as concepts for new Titans, the big bad monsters that do most of the fighting in the Huntik universe. In fact, a few have been given special attention by other writers on this page. (The ones I designed are Hydramaskar, Jeweled Colossus, Riderless Chariot, and Wolf Knight.) Hopefully, I'll be able to do more for this title in the future!
I've also been tapped for Upper Deck's TCG based on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and other as yet unannounced projects. More on this as it develops!
Images are, respectively, copyright 2006 Upper Deck LLC and copyright 2009 Upper Deck LLC/Big Bocca BV and Rainbow Distributions BV
Video Games
Before my work with Wizards of the Coast, I playtested games for Enix America, before they merged with SquareSoft. Among my duties was rewriting internal game text, and believe me, there was a lot to work on! Based on player feedback afterwards, I like to think that I contributed positively to the finished product. Most of my work was on the RPG Valkyrie Profile, though I also did work on other games. Which ones? That's easy to answer, because one of my other duties was writing text, much of it creative, for the official websites for those games. One (Dragon Warrior I and II for Game Boy) seems to have been lost in the Square-Enix move, but the others are still up. Check them out!
Image is copyright 2000-2006 SquareEnix
Other Games
My work at Wizards of the Coast brought me into contact with many talented game and puzzle creators. As such, I've had the opportunity to help those people with their work. One of my primary contacts in this field is Mike Selinker, who's now got a game design business of his own. Of the many game-related projects I've helped out with, two stand out in my mind: playtesting for the popular "punch-out" collectible game Pirates of the Spanish Main, and contributing two original poker variants for the book Dealer's Choice, which Mike co-wrote.
I've also done small writing work for other projects and companies, such as consultation for an X-Box game based on Magic, and writing for a kids' "collectible" game. Here's hoping for more such work in the future!
Images are, respectively, copyright 2005 WizKids and copyright 2005 Overlook TP