26.01.13 | testimonials
Susan is a strong narrative firefighter who can identify problems and provide both broad and detailed solutions. Her thoughtful approach is rooted in structure and process - she can quickly get to the heart of a story, bring important elements to the surface, and help smooth out the rough edges. Susan is a great collaborator who thrives under pressure. Her great sense of humor and easy manner makes her a pleasure to work with. In tough situations, she’s the picture of grace under pressure. Where others might throw their hands up and retreat, she is always happy to jump into the fray and get things done… likely with a smile on her face!
- John Stafford, Narrative Designer, Crystal Dynamics
I was lucky enough to work with Susan when she came onto my project at 2K Marin. Her insight and focus on the clarity and structure of story did wonders for the game, and having her narrative expertise present was a boon to all the level designers, as an advisor and collaborator. When my responsibilities extended into joining the Story Group on the game, her direct input on my writing and the process as a whole was invaluable.
Susan is an amazing writer who’s able to challenge the tired cliches of video game narrative while still accommodating the demands of gameplay. Her style is sharp, creative, and has a certain snap to it.She’s got great instincts for genre and character motivation. Working with her and learning from her was a great privilege.
Susan is smart, talented, creative and professional. More than any writer I have worked with in any medium, she understands the place of the story in relation to the rest of the game. That goes for both strictly authored, tightly controlled stories as well as wide-open, agency-driven narratives.If Susan can’t help you make your game better, you’re probably not making your game right.
I had the pleasure to work with Susan over the course of a major project from late concept through to mid-production (roughly over a year). The story that we eventually created was in my opinion ground breaking for both its collaborative genesis and how highly integrated into a complex open world game flow it became. Susan was instrumental in helping us (the developer) understand the importance of how the story should be structured and delivered leading us to create innovative delivery methods and tools to ensure a more seamless experience for our audience. The final story arc we received from Susan was of great quality, very entertaining and fully integrated with our game flow. Susan’s wide range of experience with other developers was an invaluable asset to our team. Susan is constantly learning and looking for ways to develop her art. This benefits any team she works for as she brings her vast knowledge of interactive story telling while always looking to improve upon what she does by collaborating closely with the game team itself. I highly recommend Susan for both her experience and collaborative nature to any developer looking to create a story from the beginning or to help improve upon what they already have.
There are not a lot of people in this emerging business who can do what Susan does. Someone who is not only an excellent writer (who understands the tradeoffs of the medium) but is also patient and versed enough in pop culture (as well as world events) to add that certain je ne sais quoi to your product.