Script doctor for game studios
Whatever story problem you're sitting with,
I've probably seen worse.
A studio brought me in to fix their narrative after content lock, because the gameplay and narrative were so misaligned. The game shipped to an 88 on Metacritic, with critics calling it full of emotional moments, "the human heart" of the series.
Another studio's story just wasn't landing. Early reviewers warned that if the team didn't fix the narrative and the combat system, their Metacritic score would drop 10 points. The execs thought it was a dialogue problem, but it was a mismatch in motivation between the player and their avatar.
We fixed the issue, with minimal rewrites.
The game went on to become the best-selling title in its 20+ year franchise.
There is always a solve.
I'm Susan O'Connor. As a writer, I've worked on BioShock, Far Cry, Tomb Raider, and 52 other shipped titles. I also founded the Game Narrative Summit at GDC.
As your script doctor, I'll come in, diagnose the root causes of your story problems, work within your constraints, and help your studio get that game out the door.
And like any good doctor, the first rule is to do no harm. I don't break things, create new problems, or make more work for your team. That's not a happy accident; it's baked into the approach I take.
I'm here to help your writing and design teams troubleshoot and solve problems, so you can sleep better at night.
Client list includes:
The work
55
Shipped titles
30M +
Copies sold
$500M +
In revenue
20 +
Years in the industry
This might be for you if:
Your story isn't landing, and you're not sure why
You're deep in production and don't have time for a wrong turn
You've got talented writers, but something upstream isn't working
Let's talk
Click below to book a call and see if we can help.
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