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   about Alexandra

Alexandra M. Lucas is a Narrative Designer for Crazy Maple Studio. Previously, she was a mentee in ArenaNet's Game Narrative Mentorship Program, a writer for Immersed Games and Day7 Interactive, and a content writer for Microsoft's Cortana team. As co-chair of the IGDA Serious Games SIG and an intersectional feminist, Alexandra actively seeks to harness the power of games to entertain, advocate, and educate. She earned a B.A. in French and English (creative writing concentration) from Wellesley College, and she studied game design at DigiPen Institute of Technology.

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In order to become the first person to win the GDC Game Narrative Review competition twice at the Platinum level, Alexandra analyzed romance and sexuality in Dragon Age: Origins and mental health in Heavy Rain. In 2017, Alexandra wrote a chapter on Asari sexuality in Mass Effect for the academic anthology Digital Love: Romance & Sexuality in Games as well as three entries for the Encyclopedia of Sexism in American Films (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019). She wrote about toxic masculinity in TV's new golden age for Pop Culture Matters: Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Northeast Popular Culture Association (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, April 2019), and about the evolution of relationship mechanics in the Dragon Age series for Love & Electronic Affection: A Design Primer (CRC Press, May 2020). Currently, she is editing a TBA anthology about queerness in pop culture for Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

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She has spoken at PAX Dev, GDC, GeekGirlCon, the NEPCA Conference, Wellesley College, and the DigiPen Institute of Technology. At GDC 2017, Alexandra was a mentee in the Diversity in Games Alliance's Amplifying New Voices program.

 

Alexandra co-founded SoYouWantToMake.Games, a boutique consultancy for game industry job applicants. For two years, she hosted and wrote weekly scripts for the Cheat Codes Podcast, and she is an avid recreational tennis player.

Voice Acting for Relic

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Current Work

  • Narrative Designer, Crazy Maple Studio

  • Lead Narrative Designer, Ten Red Studios

  • Editor, TBA Anthology for Cambridge Scholars Publishing

  • Co-Founder, SoYouWantToMake.Games, a game industry career consultancy

  • Co-Chair, IGDA Serious Games Special Interest Group

  • Mentor, IGDA Global Mentorship Program

  • Mentor, Wellesley College Hive Mentorship Program

  • Member, Writers Guild of America-West Video Games Caucus

  • Member, Friends of Wellesley College Athletics

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Highlighted Previous Work

  • Lead Narrative Designer, Day7 Interactive

  • Content Writer, Microsoft Cortana CCC Team

  • Mentee, ArenaNet Game Narrative Mentorship Program

  • Game Writer (MMORPG), Immersed Games

  • Game Writer & Narrative Designer (interactive novels), Live Stories

  • Game Writer (mobile RTS), Plarium Global

  • Host & Writer, Cheat Codes Podcast

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Publications & Writing Accolades

  • Short Fiction & Poetry

    • "Harmony," HamLit Fall Issue: Golden Age (HamLit.org, November 2021)

    • "In the Deep," HamLit Spring Issue: Alter Ego (HamLit.org, April 2021)

    • "Cherry," Whatcom Writes: Reconciliation (Borderline Press, Feb 2021)

    • "The Aerialist's Feast," Writers Corner Anthology 2020 (Borderline Press, Dec 2020)

    • "Tampa Lights," Fairhaven Winterfest's Tales of the Season (Readings & Display, Nov-Dec 2020)

    • "The Lighthouse Remains," Coffin Bell: Mythopoeia, Vol. 3, Issue 4 (CoffinBell.com, November 2020)

    • "With You," HamLit Summer Issue: Second Place (HamLit.org, August 2020)

    • "Leftover," Merit Award, Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest (April 2020)

    • ​"Manna Is Where You Make It," Whatcom Writes: Discovery (Borderline Press, March 2020)

    • "Wool Coat," Editors' Pick, Fiction 101 Microfiction Contest (Cascadia Weekly, March 18, 2020)

    • "The Other Side," HamLit Winter Issue: No Man's Land (HamLit.org, January 2020)

    • "Tannenbaum," Fairhaven Winterfest's Tales of the Season (Readings & Display, Nov-Dec 2019)

  • Chapter Contributions 

    • "Innovative Origins, Playersexuality, & Complex Inquisition: The Evolution of Relationship Mechanics in Dragon Age" for Love & Electronic Affection: A Design Primer (CRC Press, May 2020)

    • "Greed and Goomahs: Toxic Masculinity in TV’s New Golden Age" for Pop Culture Matters: Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Northeast Popular Culture Association (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, April 2019)

    • "The Hunger," "Fried Green Tomatoes," and "Watchmen" for Encyclopedia of Sexism in American Films (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, November 2019)

    • "From Smoldering Justicar to Blue-Skinned Space Babe: Asari Sexuality in Mass Effect" for Digital Love: Romance & Sexuality in Games (Taylor & Francis, 2017)

  • Platinum Award, GDC Game Narrative Review Competition

    • ​2016 - Mental Health in Heavy Rain

    • 2015 - Romance & Sexuality in Dragon Age: Origins

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Speaking Engagements​

  • Marist College via Discord, November 2020

    • Workshop, "Hard Work & Hustle: Alternative Paths in Game Dev"​

  • Indie Game Business Podcast, April 2020

  • Game Developers Conference

    • 2019

      • Panelist, "Building an Inclusive Game Studio Culture," Advocacy, Main Conference

      • Panelist & Moderator, "Have Laptop, Will Telecommute: Working Globally in Games," Career Seminar​

    • 2018​

      • Speaker, "Beyond the Blue-Skinned Space Babe: Deconstructing the Empowered Asari in Mass Effect," Game Narrative Summit

      • Panelist, "It's Not in the Writer's Manual: A Q&A for New Writers," Game Narrative Summit

      • Speaker, "End the Friendzone," Advocacy Microtalk, Main Conference

      • Co-Moderator, IGDA Serious Games SIG Roundtable

      • Mentor, IGDA Mentor Café

      • Organizer, IGDA Serious Games SIG Networking Reception

    • 2017

    • 2016

      • Co-Moderator, IGDA Serious Games SIG Roundtable

      • Poster Session Presenter, GDC Game Narrative Review Platinum Winner

    • 2015​

      • Poster Session Presenter, GDC Game Narrative Review Platinum Winner​

  • PAX Online

    • Speaker, DigiPen Discord, "AMA: Diversity & Inclusion in ​Games & Game Education," 2020

  • PAX Dev​

    • Panelist, "Represent & Retain: Cultivating Inclusive Studio Culture," 2019

    • Speaker, "How Disney Emoji Blitz Helped Me Combat Anxiety," 2018

    • Speaker, "Blue-Skinned Space Babes & the Triple Goddess in Mass Effect," 2017

    • Speaker, "Oh, the Humanities!: A Career Workshop," 2016

  • GeekGirlCon

    • Co-Coordinator, Meet & Geek: A Networking Event for Mavens-in-the-Making, 2017-present

    • Speaker, ​"Lilith's Legacy: Bringing Sexuality & Gender Identity from SF Literature to the Forefront of Game Development," 2017

    • Career Specialist​, 2016

  • National Student Leadership Conference-Seattle, 2019

    • Panelist, "Breaking Into the Game Industry"​

  • Wellesley College, October 2017

    • Special Guest Speaker, ​"Beyond the Blue-Skinned Space Babe"

  • Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association Conference, October 2017

    • Speaker, ​"Greed & Goomahs: Toxic Masculinity in TV's New Golden Age"

  • WorkSource Redmond, May 2017

    • ​Work & Work Empowerment Forum Workshop Leader

  • American Association of University Women WA, March 2017

    • STEM Excellence Awards Keynote Speaker

  • Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival, 2015​

    • Panelist, VR & Narrative Design Panel

  • DigiPen Institute of Technology (2015 - present)​

    • Multiple presentations on narrative design, freelance writing, and game career development​

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Featured Games & Tech Projects

PROFESSIONAL

  • Narrative Designer for various interactive novels, Crazy Maple Studio, Sept 2020-present

    • The Dark Ones

    • Tempting the Bodyguard

    • Tempting Fate

    • Unfixable​
       

  • Lead narrative designer for Tarte Tales, a Match-3 Facebook instant game, Day7 Interactive, March 2020-Sept 2020
     

  • Game writing & narrative design for fantasy YA project​​ for Ten Red Studios, Sept. 2018-present
     

  • Game writing; shipped in late 2016 with Immersed Games (2016-2019)

  • Narrative design and game writing in 2018 for Live Stories (interactive novels)

    • Shipped Chapter 1 of Live Stories: Remember Me in May 2018

    • Wrote Chapter 1 of Live Stories: Sunflower

    • Wrote Chapter 1 of Live Stories: Decadence​
       

  • Content Writer for Microsoft Cortana, 2016-2018

    • Developed content for Beatles Emoji Game

    • Developed content for Movie Emoji Game

    • Wrote responses to sexual harassment queries and reviewed new content to ensure inclusion and positive representation
       

  • Quest design, dialogue, editing, and QA in 2016 for Plarium Global

    • Stormfall: Age of War

    • Stormfall: Rise of Balur

    • Nords: Heroes of the North

    • Vikings: War of Clans (browser & mobile)

    • Sparta: War of Empires

    • Soldiers Inc.

    • Soldiers Inc.: Mobile Warfare 

    • Total Domination

    • Total Domination: Reborn

    • Pirates: Tides of Fortune

  • Narrative design and dialogue in 2016 with Exato Games

    • Elo Hell (narrative-driven esports sim prototype​)

  • Voice acting with V1 Interactive - FPS Prototype, 2015
     

STUDENT

  • PAX West 2015 - Relic, Lightmare, Miraculous

  • Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival 2015 - Relic, Lightmare, Miraculous

  • Best Dialogue & Best Characters for Relic, DigiPen Student Game Awards 2015

  • PAX West 2014 - OcuBlocks

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Please feel free to connect with Alexandra on LinkedIn.

 

Be sure to view her resume and writing samples.

 

Get Noticed & Get Hired Speakers at GDC 2017
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