Millie-Jo MacIver
Hello, I'm Millie-Jo (MJ)! I bring over 7 years of professional writing experience and media production knowledge to the table, contributing to multiple projects across various mediums including theatre, TV, radio, interactive story trails and games! I'm an IG50 2024 Winner in the Design & Narrative category, with experience working in teams on multiple projects as a Writer, Narrative Designer, Producer, [Lead] Game Designer and Project Manager.I'm currently looking for Writer, Narrative Designer, Operations or related roles in the Games Industry or adjacent spaces, that would utilise my breadth of skills and experience. I'm a passionate, curious and self-motivated individual, eager to contribute to exciting projects and help bring them to life as part of a dynamic team!To find out more about my current and previous work, please see the links below and list of my published projects. If you would like to get in touch, feel free to do so via email at [email protected] or through LinkedIn!
GAMES
Gnome vs Gnome (August 2024)
My roles: Producer & Lead Game Designer
Team size: 8
Development: 1 week
Play time: 5 minutes
This game was created for Snappy Gurus Game Off 2024, based on the jam theme of 'The Grass is Greener on the Other Side'. Gnome vs Gnome explores a comedic rivalry between two garden gnomes as they each attempt to see their territory take the prize for 'The Best Village Garden of the Year'! This was my first time taking full lead on a project: after thinking up the idea for the game concept, I approached various people in my network in order to assemble a multidisciplinary team and make it happen! Acting as both Producer and Lead Game Designer taught me much about supporting a larger team through managing and adapting individual workflows, balanced with my own contribution the game's design including the mechanics, gameplay loops, objectives, difficulty, narrative direction and overall progression.
Kitty's Revenge (July 2024)
My roles: Narrative, Game Designer & Project Manager
Team size: 4 (+1 feline voice actor)
Development: 1 week
Play time: 5-10 minutes
Human offends Kitty. Kitty gets revenge! A cute story game consisting of mini puzzle levels, created for Black Cat Jam and incorporating the theme of 'chaos'. This is the first game for which I was the sole game designer: comments left during the rating period were extremely positive, offering praise for the concept and how entertaining it was to play - so I'd say that it went well! Overall, this game placed #13 out of 135 entries for Black Cat Jam!
Graviton (July 2024)
My roles: General Producer & Narrative Designer
Team size: 9
Development: 1 week
Play time: 10-15 minutes
A 3D puzzle platformer game with the ability to manipulate time and gravity, created for Thinky Puzzle Jam 4 and incorporating the theme of 'Extreme Sports'. For my role as Narrative Designer, I constructed an elaborate world and backstory to explain the intended mechanics and meet the theme, as well as determining the overall art direction with the creation of a mood board for reference during development. I then oversaw production of the project, liaising between the creative and technical teams to create the demo currently published. We plan to further development of this game after the jam!
Shell Shuffle (May 2024)
My roles: Writer, Narrative Designer & Producer
Team size: 5
Development: 72 hours
Play time: 5-10 minutes
A cosy puzzle game created for Mini Jam 159: Ocean by a team of IG50 2024 award winners. Incorporating the limitation 'as small as possible', this game includes a twist on traditional merge game mechanics by having items occupy varying amounts of grid space. As the sole writer and narrative designer on the team, I wrote all dialogue and tutorial text, providing narrative direction by liaising with other members of the team to ensure all aspects of the game worked together cohesively.