HI! I’m Andrea Blythe. I am a game writer and narrative designer, creating fantastical, horrifying, and weird adventure games.
I approach game writing and narrative design like solving a puzzle. Each element of the game — narrative, gameplay, art, sound design, and other elements — represents their own collection of pieces, and each piece needs to be fitted together into a cohesive whole. Working within the narrative requires crafting, adjusting, and resizing the piece in line with the needs of the overall game — creating a constant give and take to optimize the gameplay experience for the player.
I have almost five years of experience as an indie game developer, working as a freelancer and solo developer on various games projects — including unreleased projects for Lost Lake Games and One Frog Games. My solo work includes the creepy Bitsy adventure game What Lies Underneath (which won an award for Best Art in the Greenlight Jam 2022) and the Twine interactive fairy tale Bluebeard.
Ongoing Education
I support my game writing and narrative design goals by continually expanding my knowledge of the industry. This includes participating in workshops and classes, such as completing The Narrative Department‘s Game Writing Master Class (Levels I and II) and the Into Games‘ Game Production Workplace Training.
Likewise, I regularly delve into books and literature on games development and writing to discover new approaches to game design. I also play a wide variety of games and performing deep narrative design analysis to understand their approach to integrating narrative and gameplay.
Additional Writing Experience
Outside of games, I am an award-winning author of poetry, fiction, and screenplays. I have written and published four poetry books, along with a number of short stories and poems in journals and online publications. My most recent book is Necessary Poisons, an experimental collection of found poetry published by Interstellar Flight Press in 2024.
My poetry book Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale won a second place in the 2021 Elgin Awards and my collaborative poetry book Every Girl Becomes the Wolf, co-written with Laura Madeline Wiseman, won third place in the 2019 Elgin Awards. My writing has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, Sundress Best of the Net, and Independent Best American Poetry.
As an independent filmmaker, I have collaborated on the script and story development for two short films, including “Firecracker,” which was written, produced, edited, and submitted for competition in under 48 hours. In addition, I collaborated with a producer and director to write and develop a 12-episode musical romantic comedy web series with puppets (which is currently on development hiatus).
An Assortment of Games That Inspire Me
The Fallout Series (Interplay Entertainment and Bethesda) — Playing the first Fallout on my family computer in the late ’90s was a formative experience. The original game and those that followed kicked off a long-standing love for two things — role-playing games and post-apocalyptic and dystopian storylines.
The Last of Us (Naughty Dog) — I have played The Last of Us at least four times, returning to the story and game experience over and over again because it is so moving and emotionally complex.
Disco Elysium (ZA/UM) — As a poet, I can’t help but be drawn to the lyrical, intricate writing of Disco Elysium. The way this game blends RPG elements with an expansive choice-based narrative with a literary flair is deeply inspiring — and illustrates how rich, vibrant writing can have a place in games development.
Portal and Portal 2 (Valve) — Platforming and puzzle solving combined one of the most iconic game villains ever written. With her brilliant quips and biting sarcasm, GLaDOS is both menacing and hilarious.
The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us (Tell Tale Games) — Although each game explores different story genres (grounded horror compared to noir fantasy), both of these Tell Tale games illustrate the impact that making difficult choices can have on the player’s experience of the narrative.
Inside (Play Dead) and Journey (Thatgamecompany) — I love the way both of these games craft fascinating and powerful narratives without using a single line of text. It’s a beautiful demonstration of how art, sound design, and gameplay are powerful narrative tools by themselves.