AFNarratives
Hello! My name is Adanna, and I am a Games Writer, Narrative Designer, Researcher, and Developer. I have experience in writing, scripting, designing, sensitivity reading, and implementing narrative content for games. I love to write character-driven stories focused on people of color! Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via email for my Narrative Portfolio, Resume, and Rates.💌Contact: AFNarratives@gmail.com💌🚫DO NOT USE MY WORK FOR CRYPTO OR NFTS!🚫
Narrative Portfolio
A combination puzzle and dating sim game where the player attempts to revive their grandmother’s enchanted café in addition to recruiting (and romancing!) their fantastical coworkers. (Created for my portfolio, not a real game.)
Character Biography, Character Ability Table, Romance Event Script & Timeline
A pre-production RPG where a young mage, Yiesha Stoker, sets on an epic journey to find her missing aunt — and maybe save the world from demons on the way.
Character Biographies, Character Barks
*You can also read a prose sample from Yiesha's Odyssey here!*
The script for this Ink game can be provided upon request! Please contact me at AFNarratives@gmail.com!
A mystery point-and-click adventure game where the protagonist, Clover, attempts to find the secret of an almost-lethal train crash.
(Created for my portfolio, not a real game.)
Character Biography, Item Descriptions
Games Experience
KISS U
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To
| Studio / Jam Name | Game* | Genre | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| [NDA (2024)] | [NDA] | Historical/Fantasy | Sensitivity Reader |
| [NDA (2023)] | [NDA] | Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Games Writer, Narrative Designer |
| Thurman Games | KISS U | Romance/Fantasy | Games Writer, Narrative Designer |
| Soft Not Weak | Spirit Swap | Puzzle/Fantasy | Games Writer |
| Sweetbaby Inc | Recommendation Dog | Puzzle | Games Writer |
| Global Game Jam (2024) | Crumb Catch | Romance/Comedy | Games Writer, Editor, Implementer |
| Otome Jam (2021) | Celestia | Romance/Fantasy | Games Writer, Scenario Writer, Editor, Implementer |
Talks, Articles, & Research
Published Articles
Research
My research focuses on studying the intersection of digital environments, human behavior, and marginalized identities, such as race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, mainly through the context of video games.
Abstract Excerpt: Although understudied, microtransactions are becoming widespread in games, especially for the purchase of aesthetic variation in-game. In this paper, we review literature around representation in games and purchasing practices tied to player racial identity to provide insight on how in-game racial representational options and microtransactions may impact purchasing practices of players of diverse racial backgrounds.
Abstract Excerpt: Microtransactions are the purchasing of in-game items in video games, often using real money. Through microtransactions, game players can obtain a type of cosmetic called 'skins' that change the physical appearance of playable characters. Considering the default 'skin' in many games is that of a white male, there are various psychosocial and economic costs that may be extended to players of color when attempting to select skins for their avatars.
Introduction Excerpt: Those of us building these [AI] systems will choose which subreddits and online sources to crawl, which languages to use or ignore, which data sets to remove or accept. Most important[ly], we choose who we apply these algorithms to, and which objectives we optimize for. We choose the labels we create, the data we take in, the methods we use. We choose who we welcome as data scientists and engineers and researchers – and who we do not. There were many possibilities for the design of the
technology we built, and we chose this one. We are responsible. (Raji, 2020)
Yiesha's Odyssey
Art Credit: Erchitos
Art Credits [In Order]: Koidoodles, Lookhereyouare
Ligerbombz
Yiesha’s Odyssey is a fantasy RPG that I am currently solo developing! The player is Yiesha Stoker, a young mage from Windmill Island traveling the land in search of her missing aunt. During her travels, she is joined by a vampire heiress and a showman thief to find the truth of her aunt’s disappearance and slay the evil behind it. If you'd like to read a prose sample from Yiesha's Odyssey, click the image below!
Isioma & Yiesha Art Credit: Poppliy
Team Y: The Beginnings
A set of comics commissioned from Ligerbombz highlighting Yiesha's first meetings with her teammates!
Games Narrative Resource Sheet
The Games Narrative Resource Sheet is a resource I created for people interested in either Games Writing or Narrative Design!FAQ
Why did you create the Games Narrative Resource Sheet?Even though there are many resources available for aspiring Games Writers and Narrative Designers, they are not easy to find. So after receiving some recommendations from colleagues in Games Narrative, I added them all to an easy-to-access Google sheet!Can I share the sheet with my friends/colleagues/cousin’s pet poodle?Yes! You can distribute the sheet to whoever you want - please keep it free and don’t paywall it. I’m trying to make information about games narrative as accessible as possible. 😊How frequently will the sheet be updated?The sheet will be updated quarterly - I’m only one person and I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. However, if you subscribe to my Substack, you’ll know first when a new version is live! (And receive intermittent updates about different resources as they are released!)Have you reviewed every resource on the sheet / Why is X on the sheet?I have not - but all were recommended by someone in Games Narrative.I have a resource on the sheet that I want to update or remove!Please email me at AFNarratives+GNRS@gmail.com with the information about your resource, and I’ll update the sheet as soon as possible.I have a resource that I think should be added or a question that wasn’t answered here!Please email me at AFNarratives+GNRS@gmail.com - but please be aware that the resource may not be added until the next update!