MAGIC TRICK
Role: Writer, Social Media Manager
Jan 2020 - June 2021, Team of 15
​
A bright, whimsical, award-winning capstone game about magical skateboarding and community.
​
Released on Steam and Itch.io with 8,000+ downloads. Won Excellence in Visual Art, Production, and Peer Choice Awards.
​
Contributions:
-
Write & implement quest dialogue and one-liners with Yarnspinner in Unity
-
Design and document quirky, beloved characters
-
Create a lasagna-themed familiarity system
-
Research gender diversity and connections with magic, community, and skating
-
Contribute to and edit festival applications
-
Manage social media, build relations with content creators. Create hip memes!​
Romantic Rainbow Delights
Role: Writer
March 2020, Team of 9
​
Ice cream-themed dating sim made in a week for NotGDC Game Jam with 9,900+ browser plays.
​
Contributions:
-
Concept storylines and write branching dialogue for love interest character with 3 endings
-
Learn Fungus tool to implement dialogue into Unity
-
Collaborate with other writers on narrative design and incorporate feedback from professional editor
​
Playable in-browser: nessathewriter.itch.io/romantic-rainbow-delights
Queering Spacetime
Role: Solo Dev
Sep 2017 - Jul 2020
​
IndieCade-nominated, NYT-featured wholesome dating sim card game (1,000+ digital downloads) for roleplaying destined lovers across spacetime.
​
Awarded Melbourne Queer Games Fest Bronze, Koret Foundation Scholarship, and showcased in 7+ game festivals internationally, including Game Devs of Color Expo, Bit Bash, and QGCon.
​
-
Design, iterate, and polish core mechanics, game loop, rulebook based on playtest feedback
-
Write 70+ multiple choice scenario cards and design 14+ diverse characters
​
​
​
​
​
Print and play: jellolin.itch.io/queering-spacetime
​
Press:
New York Times: Fear, Anxiety and Hope: What It Means to Be a Minority in Gaming
tiny rainbow rebels
Role: Solo Dev
Spring 2020
​
Short cozy narrative game about a tiny frog in a leather jacket vest after defeating the rich with motorcycle tricks.
​
-
Write 80+ freeform branches in Twine
-
Featured in GDC Indie Showcase, Queer Games Conference, PAX Aus Diversity Lounge
-
850+ browser plays
-
Awarded Zeitgeist Award at UCSC Games Showcase for “speaking to the current cultural movement”
​
Playable in-browser: jellolin.itch.io/tiny-frog
Carla Only Likes Things Because They're Gay
Role: Scriptwriter
Jan 2019 - Jun 2019
​
A 15 minute romantic comedy play selected for UCSC Chautauqua Festival.
Carla has a crush on her roommate, but doesn't know if she's gay. Well-meaning teasing and clueless shenanigans ensue.
​​
Besides writing and revising the script, I assisted with creative direction at weekly rehearsals. It was amazing to see it brought to life on stage and hear the laughs of the audience.
Published Article
I pitched and wrote an article on Queer & Trans-formative Game Design and methods for envisioning better futures, which I was honored to have published in COLORBLOQ's Worldbuilding Collection.
​
Howdy!
I'm Toto, a multiple award-winning game writer.
I specialize in whimsical worldbuilding, quirky and diverse characters, and romance.
Below are highlighted projects with samples.