Seamus Ly
Game & Narrative Designer
Recent Works
ValiDate: Volume 1
Coming September 15, 2022
Solace State
Coming 2022
Cartomancy Anthology
Released 2022
About
drawn by @spaceplosion
Seamus (he/they) is a detail-oriented game designer with a BA in Game Design and a particular passion for written mediums and narrative design. He has been working professionally in the industry for 2 years.By early 2021, he had a hand in the writing and design of The Runeblood Blessing by Monte Cook Games, as well as provided technical implementation for the digital-only horror adventure The Darkest House. Shortly after, he found himself joining Vivid Foundry, where he has since been working on the technical and level design of Solace State. More recently, he has worked on an entry into the Cartomancy Anthology by Compact.In his free time, Seamus can be found developing small, narrative-heavy games featuring queer themes and characters, or otherwise raving about Final Fantasy XIV and other JRPGs. He hopes to bring his unique perspective as a gender-diverse and POC creator to the table, and he aims to create art that speaks to those who share his interest in dramatic and unabashedly gay stories.
Games
ValiDate: Volume 1
13 adults in Jercy City navigate new relationships and the harsh realities that come alongside them.
Programming
Visual novel dating simulator
Coming Sept. 15, 2022
Solace State
A young hacker comes to her political awakening in a militarized biotech society.
Generalist Unity developer
3D cyberpunk visual novel
Coming 2022
Cartomancy Anthology
A collection of introspective and compact digital experiences presented in a virtual tarot deck.
Technical narrative design
Management visual novel
Released 2022
TECHNOLYMPUS
Three Olympian operatives competeto retrieve a coveted piece of technology.
Technical narrative design, UI
Cyberpunk interactive fiction
Act 1 released 2022
The Darkest House
A mega-adventure set in a unique realm of horror. A new type of tabletop product like never before.
Technical implementation
Horror TTRPG adventure
Released 2021
Spiritsong
Scour an ancient forest, solving puzzles along the way, in search of your instrument friends.
Narrative design, art
3D adventure platformer
Released 2021
A Game of Cards
A detective winds down for an evening at the bar and is approached by a mysterious man.
Narrative design
Queer interactive fiction
Released 2020
Commercial Works
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area
Anywhere can be the city of love if you’re willing to try hard enough, and some of these folks from Jercy City are desperate. ValiDate presents a smorgasbord of relationships to bear witness to— but the dating scene is difficult even when you aren’t marginalized in six different ways, so happiness continues to fly just out of reach for these unlucky lovers.
Responsibilities:
Script revisions with regards to dialogue UI and functionality
Quality assurance, testing, and bug fixing for routes
Unity implementation using Naninovel engine
Solace State
Solace State is a 3D cyberpunk visual novel about a young hacker, Chloe, who comes to her political awakening as she empowers her friends in a militarized biotech society. Your choices in conversations, the kindling of relationships, and amid escalating tensions lead to multiple endings.
Responsibilities:
Character placements within levels and cinematography
System and tools programming for audio, shaders, and UI
Unity implementation of articy:draft narrative design
Cartomancy Anthology: Judgement
In a land after death, an amnesiac scarecrow has been given the unenviable job of becoming the Judge. Cultivating wayward souls who arrive at the Garden, they ultimately assess the goodness of the dead to determine whether those they guide deserve a second chance to atone or not.
Responsibilities:
Wrote dialogue for Fall interactions (Minh and Russell)
Technical narrative & UI design and programming
Maintained documentation, asset lists, and coordinated team
The Darkest House
The Darkest House is an mega-adventure that takes you into a unique realm of horror. The house draws upon a character’s memories and personal fears. It challenges their very notions of morality, family, friendship, love, and truth. The Darkest House hates you. The Darkest House wants you.
Responsibilities:
Revisions and editing validations for narrative content
Layout and organization of design documentation
Data entry and web-based programming for application
Personal Projects
TECHNOLYMPUS
When the lights go down in the city of Dion, the hunt begins. While the city's factions race to acquire the coveted HYDR4 drive, three agents become fated to cross paths. Play as the Selenean Hunter, and join the CHARIOT Operative or the Oneirunner, as you gun for the glory of your organization!
Responsibilities:
Developed and maintained narrative design documentation
World-building and wrote journal entries featured in-game
Technical narrative & UI design and programming
Spiritsong
Spiritsong is a 3D musical adventure platformer. As the conductor of a now lost orchestra, you have been brought back from the brink by your mysteriously revitalized pavilion. Traverse the world, solving platforming puzzles along the way as you search for your instruments and the spirits inhabiting them!
Responsibilities:
Technical narrative & UI design and programming
Maintained narrative & technical design documentation
World-building & dialogue for featured instrument characters
A Game of Cards
A world-weary detective winds down for an evening at the bar by himself, intent on relaxing on the night before he starts his final case. A wrench is thrown into his plans when a nosey stranger suddenly approaches him, supposedly looking for nothing but a friendly conversation.
Responsibilities:
Narrative design, wrote dialogue, and developed branches
CSS & JavaScript-based programming and UI layout
(2022 update coming soon!)
Writing
TECHNOLYMPUS
World-building Journal
Discover the beating heart of the city of Dion-3 by reflecting on your personal journal entries.
Cartomancy Anthology
Conversational Dialogue
Judge the transient spirits in the Garden, tend to their needs, and befriend them before they're gone.
Spiritsong
Tutorial Dialogue
Meet Violin, a member of your orchestra, as he teaches you to make your wandering pavilion fly!
The Runeblood Blessing
D&D 5E/Cypher System Adventure
A mysterious ritual offers magical ability to all who want it. Criminals run rampant!
Time and Again
D&D 5E Subclass
Capture moments in time for later use with the Bard College of Anachronism.
LIKE MOTHS
Trophy RPG One-shot
Delve into the horrifying phenomenon surrounding the first star to fall in centuries.
Game Writing
TECHNOLYMPUS
Discover the beating heart of the city of Dion-3 by reflecting on your personal journal entries.
Cartomancy Anthology
Judge the transient spirits in the Garden, tend to their needs, and befriend them before they're gone.
Spiritsong
Meet Violin, a member of your orchestra, as he teaches you to make your wandering pavilion fly!
TTRPG Design
The Runeblood Blessing
A mysterious ritual offers magical ability to all who want it. Criminals run rampant!
Time and Again
Capture moments in time for later use with the Bard College of Anachronism.
LIKE MOTHS
Delve into the horrifying phenomenon surrounding the first star to fall in centuries.
TECHNOLYMPUS: Codex Entries
World-building Sample
Gwon
Delphine Gwon is a mercenary, hired to retrieve the story's MacGuffin. She's rough around the edges and possesses combat prowess. Her main personality is determined by the player's choices.She records her thoughts on the various on-goings in the city in a "journal", which serves as the game's Codex and its entries.
Operatives
Cartomancy Anthology: Judgement
Conversational Dialogue Sample
The Judge
The Judge is responsible for determining whether transient spirits arriving at the Garden deserve to stay. They're quirky and dependable, but can be cruel at the player's choice.Minh has lived a troubled life and has made his fair share of mistakes, but is otherwise a generally calm person.Russell tells a lot of dad jokes and comes off lighthearted, but he secretly carries the weight of the many regrets from his life.
Minh
Russell
Spiritsong: Violin
Tutorial Dialogue Sample
The Conductor
Tasked with finding their instrument spirit friends in the forest, the Conductor is a kind soul who loves adventure. They're a 'blank-slate' character for the player's benefit.Violin seems rough-and-tumble at first, but he cares deeply for his friends. He gets along with the Conductor despite initially disagreeing with their choice of company.
Violin
Time and Again: College of Anachronism
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Bard Subclass
The Runeblood Blessing: Crime Spree
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and Cypher System Adventure
LIKE MOTHS
Trophy Dark RPG Incursion
for Trophy Trifolds! Session 2
Online Resume
Note: Unless you already have a copy of my unredacted resume, you must email me for my phone number.
Seamus Ly
Game & Narrative Designer
Tools
Adobe CC (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, InDesign)
Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Trello, Confluence)
GitHub, Fork
Microsoft Suite (Excel, Word)
Notion
HTML + CSS
Unity (C#, Yarn Spinner)
Work Experience
Technical Narrative Designer, 2022
Cartomancy Anthology
Technical narrative design, systems programming, writing, and maintaining documentation
.
Unity Developer, 2021–present
Vivid Foundry
Level design; tools, systems, & UI programming and implementation; optimization
.
Designer/Writer, 2021
Monte Cook Games
Digital content integration for digital TTRPG application, layout & editing, and design for adventure book
.
Education
Sheridan College, 2017–2021
Honours Bachelor in Game Design
About
A fast-learning jack of all trades with 2+ years of design and technical experience, and a particular passion for game narrative.
| Versatile & Adaptable | Detail-Oriented Designer |
| Proactive Communication | Organizing & Planning |
| Demonstrates Leadership | Efficient Solo & with Team |
Narrative Design
Conceptualized and authored narrative documentation encompassing: world-building; character biographies; and story beats
Wrote and edited dialogue, prose, and branching variables for 3 independent projects
Provided the technical narrative design & implementation across 2 game engines, with experience using both native and third-party tools (Yarn Spinner, articy:draft 3)
Technical Proficiency
2 years developing in Unity and programming in C#
Designed and implemented accessible UI, tools, and gameplay for 3 upcoming commercial titles and independent projects
Maintained documentation of internal tools, game assets, and implementation processes and progress
Communication & Collaboration
Managed and led 3 independent game projects—managing tasks, organizing stand-ups & meetings, and problem-solving
Worked with cross-functional teams (encompassing production, design, art, writing, and programming) to create both digital and analog games
Communicated frequent feedback & updates to team members and organization leaders, often across multiple timezones
Additional Experience & Qualifications
Rad Studio Incubator
2021
Featured In
Games Showcase
2021
HES Mixtape Vol. 2
2022
Credits
This is a convenient list of professional and commercial works I've been credited on, ordered from newest to oldest. Some of these projects may not be included on my resume or as part of my portfolio right away, so if you want to know exactly what I've worked on, this page is for you!You can find more details about what I did for most of these projects on the Games page of this site!Click on the Project for more details on what responsibilities I had in this role.Click on the Organization for information on the company I worked for/with.
| YEARS | CREDITED ROLES | ORGANIZATIONS | PROJECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Programmer | Veritable Joy Studios | ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area |
| 2022 | Technical Narrative Designer | Compact | Cartomancy Anthology |
| 2021–present | Generalist Unity Developer | Vivid Foundry | Solace State |
| 2021 | Application Layout | Monte Cook Games | The Devoured Halls |
| 2021 | Designer | Monte Cook Games | The Runeblood Blessing |
| 2021 | Application Layout | Monte Cook Games | The Darkest House |