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The Meandering Medievalist.

Narrative theory, game dev, and the everyday divine.

Home: Welcome
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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. 

Home: About Me

Projects

Some of the stuff I'm currently working on.

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Writing & Game Design

Explore the world of Hesparia, my own  D&D™ 5e home-brew, with unique races, societies, and magic pulled from the annals of ancient and medieval history.

Podcasting

I am the co-host of the Maniculum podcast, a biweekly show where two medievalists and game devs create TTRPGs from weird medieval texts.

Narrative Design

Rated 10/10 by IGN, Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, a BAFTA nominee, and Nebula finalist, I'm incredibly proud to have been part of the team that brought Pentiment to life.

Game Dev Coaching

I've developed the Level Up program to teach aspiring narrative designers and game devs how to break into the game industry and create works to change the world.

Home: Skills
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"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

Home: Quote

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

Home: Experience
Home: Instagram

Not sure where to start?
Chat with me!

  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

Thanks for submitting!

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Home: Contact
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