The Meandering Medievalist.
Narrative theory, game dev, and the everyday divine.
Hi, I'm Zoe!
I'm a full-time narrative designer, medievalist, & adventurer.
Growing up reading folk tales in the frontier of Alaska taught me to look for the “everyday divine”: the idea that stories have a magic which we can use to transform ourselves and the world around us, if we know how to use them. Now, I’m on a quest to help creative teams around the world craft powerful and compelling narratives.
My work spans three realms:
Game Development: in addition to my work as a narrative designer at Obsidian Entertainment, I write my own fiction, TTRPGs, and provide reviews for up-and-coming TTRPGs.
Industry Accessibility: though the Maniculum Project, I work to make game design and stories accessible to a diverse audience regardless of location, education, or resources.
Expert Training: my resume coaching course teaches new grads and early career devs how to create winning resumes in their field, every time.
You are the hero of your own story, and the hero is never late for their own destiny.
Projects
Some of the stuff I'm currently working on.
"The puzzle is not a plot point, nor a sub-plot, nor a side quest, nor achievement status: the quest to solve the puzzle in a puzzle narrative must be the reason the story is told."
Puzzle Theory: The Successful Puzzle Narrative in Fiction & Gaming
Kneale Award for Film and Pop Culture
Purdue University's 88th Annual Literary Awards
Second Place College of Liberal Arts Award
Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference
Skills & Certifactions
Material and Digital Archival Training
Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Spring 2019
HTML, CSS, & R Coding
Purdue University Digital Humanities workshops: sentiment and stylistics analysis, Spring 2019
Top 10 Irish Fencer
Currently ranked as top 10th Woman's Epeeist in Ireland.
Ranked 8th in 2019 season.
Gold Medalist- Derry Open Champion, Derry Open, November 2019
Bronze Medalist- Prof. Duffy Memorial Tournament, January 2020
Bronze Medalist- Northern Irish Open, December 2019
Bronze Medalist- Intermediates Championship, October 2019
2020/21 COVID Officer at Dublin University Fencing Club.
2020 - 2022 UTD Epee Coach
Private Pilot
FAA licensed private pilot, single-engine land craft, June 2017
Flying in the Alaska Bush, along glaciers, rivers, and in controlled & uncontrolled airspace.
Sailor
American Sailing Certification 101, 102, 104, July 2017
Ocean sailing in the Gulf of Alaska and an English Channel crossing.
SCUBA Diver
PADI Certified Open-Water Diver, August 2018
