LEIA FRENCH

Game writer and narrative designer. Regrettably not a space princess.

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Hi! My name is Leia. I'm enthralled by how stories shape our lives - and how games can shape our stories. I have an MA in Digital Arts (Game Design) and a BA in Digital Arts (Interactive Writing/Game Design/Animation). I am a graduate of Susan O’Connor’s Game Writing Masterclass.My portfolio comprises a broad range of work – including interactive narratives, scripts and games made in Unity. As it grew, I gained a love for the way story supports gameplay - and a sincere respect for every discipline in the pipeline.

PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS

• Cutscene Script
• Game Pitch
• Twine Game

Not what you're looking for? Check out the rest of my portfolio for games, item descriptions and more.

• RESUME
• TESTIMONIALS

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Cutscene Script: Stuck in an Elevator

Link: Read hereOrigin: Susan O'Connor's game writing masterclass.Task: Choose three different characters from different games and write a cutscene where they're stuck in an elevator together.Chosen Characters: Hank Anderson (Detroit: Become Human), GLaDOS (Portal), Atlas (Bioshock).See table below for character descriptions. Click character name for voice reference.

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Game Pitch: A Story Pitch Based On Gameplay Actions

Link: Read hereOrigin: Susan O'Connor's game writing masterclass.Task: From a list of mechanics, choose three at random and develop a short story pitch based upon them.Random Mechanics: Shooting, Powering, Nurturing

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Twine Game: Twixt

Link: Read hereOrigin: Interactive Writing Coursework (University of the Witwatersrand)Task: Create a Twine game with meaningful choices.Overview: A young woman is lost between the desires of her parent and her partner.

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Playing with Status

Link: Read hereOrigin: Susan O'Connor's game writing masterclass.Task:  Write characters of four different statuses in the same situation.

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Flowchart: Planning for a Level in Twine

Link: Download HereOrigin: Susan O'Connor's game writing masterclass.Task: Create a flowchart for one level of a Twine game based on a myth.Chosen Myth:
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-egyptian-book-of-the-dead-tejal-galaChosen Level:
Level One: Ani must overcome obstacles and avoid beasts to pass the first underworld gate.Player Character
Ani is the player character.My Take on the Story:
18-year-old Ani goes on a perilous journey through the underworld to reunite with his parents. He is aided by Set (god of war) – who seeks forgiveness from his brother, Osiris.Design Philosophy:
This piece tries to use story as a support for gameplay – rather than using narrative branches as the core mechanic. As such, the flowchart is largely dedicated to puzzle-centric gameplay (from which meaningful story moments must be earned).Key Flowchart Symbols:

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Testimonials

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Detective RPG Barks

Task: Write some potential barks for a Detective RPG.Description: You are a detective who’s been summoned to a small town with a recent string of murders.Detective Types:
- The Misanthrope (Bitter, Cynical)
- The Icon (Charismatic, Persuasive)
- The Scholar (Gentle, Naïve)CTRL+Click the buttons to open scenarios in a new tab.

• Your character catches the townsfolk staring at them
• Your character discovers a body
• Your character realises they're being followed

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EXTENDED PORTFOLIO

Click the story titles to see each piece.

Susan O'Connor's Game-Writing Masterclass

Cutscene Script: Hank (Detroit: Become Human) GLaDOS (Portal) and Atlas (Bioshock) get stuck in an elevator.Game Pitch: A story pitch created from a selection of three random mechanics (shooting, powering and nurturing).Playing With Status: Writing characters of different statuses in the same situation: An experiment with character voice.Flowchart: A flowchart created for a puzzle-driven Twine game.

Interactive Writing

Twixt (Coming of Age): A girl is lost between the desires of her parent and partner.Curves: (Humor/Suspense): A young woman accepts a dicey job from a famous artist.Gold Star: A passive-aggressive AI helps you find your path in life.The Only Constant: A dysfunctional family has teatime.

Barks, Item Decriptions and Narrative Design

Barks: Play a detective who’s been summoned to a small town with a recent string of murders.Item Descriptions: Item descriptions for 10 different kinds of swords.Narrative Design: Dysfunctional human teens attend a school for angels: A draft narrative design document detailing the key characters, world and subplots.

Games

Narrative Driven Games Made in Unity

Cat's Eye Castle:
A fantasy puzzle game about the hearts of children.

Jatega Classified:
A puzzle-centric detective game with visual novel elements.

Double-Edged Chord (Prototype):
A pair of rival musicians must work together to escape a series of deadly nightmares in this two-player adventure.Double-Edged Chord was created for my Master's thesis. You can read the thesis here.

Quark: An Existential Motion Comic

Quark: An Existential Motion Comic
A motion comic about a duck, a dream, and his long-suffering family.

Digital Art

Crest's Little Voice
A children's book by Kim Morgan. Illustrations, narration and trailer by me.“We're all like leaves, aren't we?” Papa said. “Different shapes and colours but together a beautiful tree.”Crest’s Little Voice is a story about diversity and inclusion.
It is a story about being kind, brave and speaking up.

Digital Art Portfolio
My digital art portfolio on Instagram.

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RESUME

WORK EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

SKILLS

• CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS
• REFERENCES

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CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS

UNIVERSITY AWARDS (WITS)Ruksana Osman Family Award for the Top Graduating Student in Digital Arts (University of the Witwatersrand, 2021)WITS Digital Arts Internal Full Tutoring Bursary (2021)University Council Merit Scholarship (2020)University Council Merit Scholarship (2019)University Council Merit Scholarship (2018)University Entrance Scholarship (2017)
SCHOOL AWARDS (ST TERESA’S)Represented South Africa at Taiwan International Science Fair (2015)Monhe Trophy for Best Individual Speaker (2015)Star awards: Winner of the best instrumental performance (2015)Certificate for Master of Ceremonies Finals Night High school public speaking festival (2015)Eskom Expo for Young Scientists: Hendrik van der Bijl Award. Awarded to the project ‘Gaming for Social Change: Let’s Read!’ (2015)Eskom Expo for Young Scientists: Overall winner in the category for computer science and applications (2014)Eskom Expo for Young Scientists: The Eon Premium Prize. Awarded to the project 'Awake! Gaming for Social Change' (2014)Plantium Award: Public Speaking and Best Senior Speaker. (2012-2016)A+ High School Public Speaking Festival (2016)Gold Certificate for Service on the well-being Committee (2016)Salmon Trophy for the Best Written English (2016)Dramatic Arts Trophy for the top learner in Dramatic Arts (2016)Certificate for outstanding work in history (2016)Bower trophy awarded to a pupil who obtained a first pass class throughout high school (2016)Gold certificate awarded for excellence in any role, festival of excellence in dramatic arts (FEDA) (2016)McAuley Trophy awarded to the best life science student (2016)Mashigo trophy awarded to the best life orientation student (2016)Afrikaans trophy awarded to the pupil with the highest mark in Afrikaans (2016)Lolahn Trophy: Outstanding Achievement in National Eskom Expo for Young Scientists (2014, 2015)Certificate for the learner with the highest promotion average in Grade 11 (2015)