I am a game and narrative designer making story-driven games with unorthodox mechanics. Scroll down to see what I’m working on, and click the pictures to get more info about each project!
I am currently working on Creatures After Calamity, an unsettling monster battler in which your monsters remember how you treat them. Creatures After Calamity was selected for the 2023 NYU Game Center Incubator and is slated for release in early 2025.
My most recent release is The Archipelago, a narrative game about tea and trauma that I developed as part of the Brainmind residency. The Archipelago is available on Steam, Android, and itch.io.
As part of the Gamma Space Co-op, I designed the narrative and provided the writing for two seasons of the Reel Big Phishing Trainer, an educational game for Humber and Seneca Colleges in Toronto.
I create worldbuilding games and tabletop RPGs that I integrate into my narrative design process. I used my multiplayer card game One Hour Worldbuilders to develop the setting for The Archipelago.
I have programmed several short projects with small teams. This work has taught me how to effectively communicate with programmers and other tech-focused teammates.
I am committed to creating more diverse and inclusive spaces in games. I currently serve on the board of directors of the Queerness and Games Conference. In my free time I organize inclusive and radical game jams.
I believe that by changing the ways we build worlds, we can make those worlds more inclusive, vivid and resonant. This drives my work as a narrative designer and as a researcher working on my PhD in media studies at the University of Chicago, focusing on worldbuilding. As a nonbinary transgender person, my perspective inspires my goal to make games that reflect marginalized people.
If you want to hear more of my thoughts on worldbuilding,
you can subscribe to my Substack.
To see and play my games you can also check out my Itch page.
My email address is kaelandm0@gmail.com.
Or, you can find me on Twitter.
If you like my work, please get in touch! I’m always open to new opportunities and collaborators.
Kaelan 