Skills and Qualities
I am a professional games writer and narrative designer with several years of commercial experience
Qualifications
I have a first-class honours degree in Creative Writing, and I am in the process of finishing a Masters degree in the same field, due to graduate in December.
Game Design Experience
Throughout the last two years of my University studies I have produced 7TV: Pulp, a cinematic-styled tabletop skirmish wargame, inspired by the American cinema serials and pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s.
Creative Content
I was the editor-in-chief for the inaugural issue of Pork Barrel, a politically-themed literary magazine; in addition, my creative work has featured in the Mothmaw Anthology. A digital edition of Pork Barrel can be viewed here: Pork Barrel 1.5
Clients’ words
An experienced industry professional
During my undergraduate degree, I studied multiple modules of game design, covering the philosophies of worldbuilding, integrated interactions and player agency, and the weaving of a narrative through gameplay. These aspects covered both tabletop and video game development, with the class producing concise game development documents in preparation for their final assessment – a playable section of a video game, using RPG Maker VX Ace. Scoring highly in this assessment, I have begun learning Unity and C# to create the game I had envisioned. I have also taken part in Global Games Jams, producing a fully-realised card game called Bad Blood, available to view and download here: I have created fully playable scenarios, using Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu ruleset, as well as D&D 5th edition, and Basic Roleplaying rulesets.
A seasoned wargamer of 10 years
I have been wargaming since I was eleven – experiencing several rules systems, including 7TV, Arena of the Planeswalkers, Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game and Warhammer 40,000. Over this period I have learned the myriad ways that rules can represent combat – the benefits and limitations of each, and how narrative aspects of the respective lore can be implemented via tabletop mechanics. This experience allowed me to create the Peril and Maguffin decks for 7TV: Pulp that truly brought life to the eccentric exploits found in pulp serials, distilling adaptable elements, and conceptualising them in game terms. I also gained experience in design and layout of the rules, revising the previous editions to ensure the coherence and logical flow of ludic information in 7TV: Pulp. I lead playtesting of all mechanics in 7TV: Pulp, due to my experience with other battle systems, and my affinity with the 7TV ruleset.
Hire me for your next project!
Making games is my passion. I have extensive experience writing across all game mediums, and years of engagement as an avid consumer. If you would like to contact me with a games design proposition, do get in touch! You can fill in the form on the left, listing a brief overview of the project – or email me at callum@leanda.co.uk. I can also be contacted through the various social media platforms linked on this page.