Heidi McDonald — CEO
Summary: ~ 14 experience in narrative/writing, game design, creative direction and leadership. ~ Worked with Star Trek, Love Island, and other popular IP’s, and with respected companies including Netflix, Pixelberry, Fogbank, Schell Games, and others. ~ AAA experience which can be discussed privately in an interview. ~ 10 years of successful full-time remote work across many time zones; 6 years of successful freelancing. ~ Work on over 50 titles in educational and entertainment products (shipped 28); digital, tabletop, mobile, console, PC, AR, and VR. ~ Story development and worldbuilding at all stages: linear and non-linear; solo, multiplayer, and episodic games. Highlights: ~ The most recent audio show I lead creative on for PocketFM exceeded Activation goals by 20%, Conversion goals by 6%, and Retention goals by 20%. ~ My Fusebox team unanimously nominated me for the GameDev Heroes Leadership Award in 2021. ~ The two titles I wrote for Crazy Maple’s Chapters app both spent time in Chapters’ Top 5 Played of All Time list. ~ My 2018 talk at the GDC Narrative Summit was hailed as “the best GDC talk of the year” by the New York Video Game Critics Circle. ~ Won several industry awards, published in over 10 books relating to game development, and gave over 50 lectures worldwide on topics about game development. Critical Skill Sets: ~ Narrative design including concept phase, pitch documents, outlining, worldbuilding, story bibles, character development, quests, dialogue, linear and non-linear storytelling. ~ Leadership, mentoring, communication and teamwork, running writers’ rooms, line management, outsource management, liaising with stakeholders, project planning and supervision. ~ Narrative tools including Articy, Twine, FinalDraft, spreadsheets, docs with scripting, and a variety of proprietary tools.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Narrative Designer and Creative Director in the Gaming industry.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, United States
Experience: 25 yrs 4 mos
Skills
- Narrative Design
- Project Management
- Editing
- Content Strategy
- Design Documentation
- User Research
- Leadership
- Content Management
- Teaching
- Curriculum Development
- Interactive Fiction
- Creative Direction
- Game Design
- Public Speaking
- Event Planning
Career Highlights
- Led audio show exceeding activation and retention goals.
- Nominated for GameDev Heroes Leadership Award in 2021.
- Talk at GDC hailed as best of the year.
Work Experience
Pocket FM
Show Supervisor (7 mos)
Senior Writer (1 mo)
In-House Writer (2 mos)
Netflix
Senior Writer (11 mos)
Pixelberry Studios
Editor (3 mos)
Toya
Design Director (2 mos)
Fire Hose Games
Narrative Designer (3 mos)
Fusebox Games
Lead Narrative Designer (4 mos)
Senior Narrative Designer (1 mo)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Adjunct Instructor (2 mos)
tap4fun
Contract Writer (3 mos)
Green Ronin Publishing
Contract Writer (5 mos)
Crazy Maple Studio, Inc.
Contract Writer (10 mos)
10th Muse
Interactive Fiction Writer (7 mos)
Fogbank Entertainment
Contract Writer (2 mos)
Dorian
Interactive Fiction Writer (1 yr 3 mos)
Disruptor Beam Inc.
Content Writer (9 mos)
iThrive Games
Senior Creative Director (1 yr 3 mos)
Creative Director and Head Troublemaker (1 yr 8 mos)
Women of Wrestling (WoWE)
Contract Scriptwriter (3 mos)
Various
Book Author (9 yrs 6 mos)
Game Industry Conferences
Conference Speaker (8 yrs 9 mos)
Schell Games
Game Designer (4 yrs 3 mos)
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Communications Intern (5 mos)
Chatham University
Student (2 yrs 4 mos)
Edgewood Borough Council
Elected Council Member (6 yrs 1 mo)
National Conference for Community & Justice of Pittsburgh
Events Coordinator (2 yrs 1 mo)
First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh
Commnications Specialist (1 yr 7 mos)
Freelance (Self employed)
Writer, Editor (21 yrs)
Clearchannel Radio
Sales Assistant (2 yrs 4 mos)
Education
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) at Chatham University
Associates of Arts at Community College of Allegheny County
