December 26, 2025 · 8:40 pm

Radio Comedy & Variety: Contributing at KROQ

Klein.Ally.Show. Weirdest Relative 2025O brave new world, that has such people in ‘t! I have just completed an incredible stint with KROQ on the morning Klein.Ally.Show. The show is knocking it out of the park, sitting atop the ratings in key demos and only getting stronger. It features hosts Klein and Ally riffing on personal topics, current trends, and the latest news stories, as well as encouraging listners to weigh in on-air or on the livestream. I got to sit in meetings, learn, pitch, submit news and topics, and otherwise make a nuisance of myself for a few months.

Although I’ve had the opportunity to write comedy on several projects, including the world-renowned 😉 ROCK OF THE DEAD, the Klein.Ally.Show gave me my first forays into the comedy/variety format, as well as live entertainment and radio. That said, there was some continuity. Thinking about ways to encourage listeners to call in felt a lot like designing for interactive narrative. Looking for conversation hooks also felt like coming up with episode premises for shows like THE LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES or ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE. And while the show isn’t scripted, I did feel like I used the same comedy muscle as I would when writing scripted comedy.

Moving forward, I intend to keep the audio- and engagement-forward thinking in mind as I write, design, or foment whatever comes next.

Check out the Klein.Ally.Show weekday mornings on KROQ 106.7 in Los Angeles or streaming live on YouTube.

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November 18, 2025 · 5:51 pm

Speaking on Gamifying Story Worlds

It’s beginning to look a lot like Gamifying Story Worlds. Okay, that was not a thing, but it is now! I am leading a workshop under the auspices of the Canadian Film Centre for Hollywood (North) creatives who want to put a little agency in their worldbuilding. I am delighted that CFC approached me to develop and run Gamifying Story Worlds for them. If you are of the Canadian persuasion and want to check it out, please join me!

GAMIFYING STORY WORLDS
This 4-hour highly interactive session will invite storytellers to explore how game design principles can deepen audience engagement within story worlds, expanding what’s possible for existing and new IP. Participants will learn how to make narratives playable through hands-on exercises and collaborative discussions.

Building on CFC’s commitment to support storytelling innovation, Gamifying Story Worlds bridges storytelling and interactivity, helping film, television, and digital creators reimagine how audiences can participate in their narratives.

No previous experience with any form of gaming is required.

Man in space suit walking through futuristic game world.

Man in space suit walking through futuristic game world. (That is actually the alt text from the CFC site, I just thought it was funny)

Key Takeaways
Understand what makes a story world playable and how to design for audience agency.
Practice turning narrative into interactivity and creating player goals.
Experiment with paper prototyping.
Reflect on how game thinking can apply to film, TV, and other storytelling forms.
This is not a space to bring and develop your own pre-existing IP. All materials created during the session are for learning and collaborative purposes only, and no individual ownership will be assigned. The focus is on practicing skills together in a shared creative environment.

Workshop Dates
November 19, 12pm-4pm EST/9am-1pm PST OR
November 26, 12pm-4pm EST/9am-1pm PST OR
December 3rd, 12pm-4pm EST/9am-1pm PST

Hope to see you there!

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July 22, 2025 · 4:57 pm

Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

Let’s do this! It’s Comic-con time, and we’re all headed down to San Diego for this annual rite of passage. Games, comics, animation are all on tap, plus a bunch of talented folks sharing their knowledges for all! And then there’s me 😉 I am excited to be able to contribute to two panels. That means, if you’re into how comics and games are made, you’ve got two (2!) opportunities to learn from me and some other fine panelists. Check out the deets below:

Image

Comics Your Way: Guest of Honor panel!

Thursday July 24, 2025 1:00pm – 2:00pmPDT
Room 29AB

Can’t create like everyone else? Great! Comics are for everyone and can be created in so many unique and wonderful styles. A variety of Comic-Con special guests, including ChrisCross, Emil Ferris, Todd Klein, Liniers, Jen Sorensen, and Bianca Xunise, discuss how they found their place in comics and how you can too! Moderated by Anne Toole (Horizon Zero Dawn, Women of Marvel).

Ink and Code: Crafting Stories in Comics and Games

Saturday July 26, 2025 5:30pm – 6:30pmPDT
Room 26AB
Writers Joshua Rubin (Assassin’s Creed II, Time Sensitive), Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales), Josh Trujillo (Blue Beetle, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series), and Anne Toole (The Witcher, Horizon Zero Dawn) share how they approach narrative design, character development, and worldbuilding in two very different—but deeply connected—mediums. Hosted by Raymond Mosco (General Immersive), this conversation explores the craft of storytelling from script to screen, panel to pixel.
So come on down and join in! And if you see me floating around the con, feel free to say hello!

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June 12, 2025 · 9:03 am

Speaking at AWE 2025

Last day to get your Augmented World Expo on! I’ll be serving as Track Chair at AWE for the Developer track, “featuring the work of developers across different platforms, highlighting the use cases, capabilities and shortcomings of today’s SDKs, as well as tutorials on the best platforms for building XR applications.” I know I’ll be keen to meet many of these fine speakers in between roaming the AWE Expo floor looking for the next new hotness. Come on down to AWE, and I hope to see you there!

AWE

When: Thursday, June 12th, 2025
Where: Long Beach Convention Center, Room 101A
What: AWE Developer Track
Who? Check them out below!

Vibe Coding for XR

Terry Schussler – Deutsche Telekom AG

PANEL: Cross-Platform Strategies to Maximize XR Revenue

Inga Petryaevskaya – ShapesXR
Alex Levin – L+R
Arturo Perez – Kluge Interactive
Nanea Reeves – TRIPP

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March 29, 2025 · 10:02 am

Talking about comics at Wondercon today!

ImageCome to Wondercon TODAY to check out What’s the Buzz with the Beat. I’ll be joining other comics creators to chat with The Beat, the comics news site that’s been tracking what’s hot for 21 years now. If you have any burning questions about what the heck is going on in entertainment and comics, now’s your chance. Who else will be on the panel? I’m not 100% sure, but it will for sure be Heidi MacDonald and some other surprise guests!

What’s the Buzz with The Beat: Inside the News

Saturday March 29, 2025 2:00pm – 3:00pm PDT
Room 213CD
ComicsBeat kicks off its 21st year with discussions of all the hottest stories in comics and entertainment. Editor-in-chief Heidi MacDonald is joined by a panel of experts who will give you the inside scoop on what’s in and what’s out. Bring your most burning questions!

Join ussssss!

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March 7, 2025 · 10:45 am

Speaking on creative writing at GALA!

ImageMakes it sound fancy, doesn’t it? I’m excited to talk about creative writing at today’s Young Women’s Career Conference at GALA – the only public all girls middle and high school STE(A)M school in California. Shades of my own all girls high school, Madeira, so of course I had to get involved. Happy to bring the A to STEAM! I’ll be joining other fantastic writers, and secretly hoping there will be a future roboticist in the audience!

WHAT: CREATIVE WRITING
WHEN: Today, March 7, 1:05pm
WHERE: GALA, Room 6
WHO: 
Me!
Gretchen McNeil / Author / HarperCollins, Disney, DAW Books
Kannie Yu Lapack / Executive Vice President Publicity and Public Affairs / Lifetime & A+E Studios

Want to support the next generation of STEMinists?? Check out FoGALA.org/Donations.🔭📲

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February 27, 2025 · 11:58 am

Consulting on Alien: Rogue Incursion for VR!

As if writing for the VR games ASGARD’S WRATH 2 and HOMEWORLD: VAST REACHES weren’t enough, I had the great privilege of being an early contributor to ALIEN: ROGUE INCURSION, now out for PSVR, Quest, and Steam. The game, written by Alex White and directed by TQ Jefferson, features Zula Hendricks, who steps out of the Alien comics and into a harrowing encounter with xenos in this immersive VR game. I very much enjoyed seeing the developers work their magic, and it was so fun collaborating with other writers from games, film, and TV as creative consultants. If you like being scared, you’ll love this game, because VR was made for horror!

Alien: Rogue Incursion - 1st Alien Game for PSVR, Quest & Steam

Here are the deets:
Alien: Rogue Incursion is an all-new single-player action-horror VR game that immerses players in the terrifying world of Alien. The game is led by Zula Hendricks, an unbreakable ex-Colonial Marine with a complicated past, on a dangerous mission bringing her to a research facility on the planet Purdan to rescue her former squad mate. With her synthetic AI companion Davis 01, Zula must fight her way to the heart of the infested Gemini Exoplanet Solutions facility and the deadly secrets awaiting within. There she will need to survive deadly attacks from the most cunning Xenomorphs ever encountered and discover new horrors and threats that once unleashed could spell the end for humankind.

Got VR? Love horror? Watch the trailer here, then check out ALIEN: ROGUE INCURSION on PSVR or Quest!

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January 25, 2025 · 3:32 pm

Writing for tabletop: Dreams & Machines

ImageLike a little bit of sci fi in your fantasy? Then check out DREAMS AND MACHINES, a tabletop RPG from Modiphius. I got to be in the writers’ room in early development. That means I got to help craft a world where civilization has collapsed and giant war machines may still be stomping around. It was so fun working with a bunch of writers from novels, games, and more to create a fun experience for tabletop players.

At its core, DREAMS AND MACHINES is all about survival, discovery, and figuring out how to fix things, or at least not break them. Players take on the role of survivors navigating a world where lost knowledge is both a treasure and a potential disaster. The game runs on Modiphius’ 2d20 system, which means cinematic storytelling, teamwork, and plenty of surprise moments.

If you’re curious to see what we cooked up, DREAMS AND MACHINES already has a plethora of material, including a starter set that introduces the world and mechanics. You can check out more details through Modiphius, so you, too, can make questionable decisions with old technology.

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December 17, 2024 · 5:35 pm

Asgard’s Wrath 2 wins XR Game of the Year at AIXR Awards!

AW2 at AIXR AwardsWinner, winner, chicken dinner! I’m proud to announce the ASGARD’S WRATH 2 win of XR Game of the Year at the AIXR Awards. If you’ve been following along, you know I wrote on this game, and it’s incredible to see the team over at Sanzaru/Meta recognized in such a big way. They absolutely earned this.

If you haven’t played it yet, ASGARD’S WRATH 2 is the biggest VR game so far, with over 60 hours of gameplay. It’s an “epic VR Action RPG where players battle gods, explore vast realms, and solve god-scale puzzles.” Check it out on Quest 2, 3, and whatever comes next!

And stay tuned, Batman! While I didn’t work on any of the following, Game Award winner Batman: Arkham Shadow will be eligible next year, and if I were a betting man, I’d say they’re going to to win their own AIXR Award. Special mention to PowerWash Simulator VR, which won Best UK XR Game. Powerwash wins in all our hearts, earning this fantastic comment that could only exist on Reddit:

There is something so satisfying about slowly watching things get sparkly and clean.

I got my two friends to get it and now we clean toilets together.
by u/pizza_sushi85 from discussion in virtualreality

Enjoy, wherever VR takes you!

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November 26, 2024 · 12:06 pm

Speaking on Writing, Romance, and Transmedia at Loscon 50!

ImageWriters, romantasy fans, TTRPG creators, transmedia storytellers, and fans, listen up! If you’re ready to level up your craft, explore new creative dimensions, or just hang out with fellow genre enthusiasts, LOSCON 2024 is the place to be. I’ll be speaking on three panels this year, alongside some other awesome pros in science fiction and fantasy. Here’s where you’ll find me:

💫 Fantasy Romance: Love in Magical Worlds
📅 Friday, November 29, 2024
⏰ 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM
📍 Los Angeles C – Hilton Los Angeles Airport

Moderator: Brandie June
Panelists: Me!, Terry Brussel-Rogers, Brandon Case, Jason Crawford

Crossing genre lines, our panelists will discuss the dreamy and the steamy and how romance works in fantasy settings. (I may throw in some sci fi cuz it’s me)

🎲 Writing for Tabletop Role Playing Games
📅 Saturday, November 30, 2024
⏰ 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
📍 Los Angeles B – Hilton Los Angeles Airport

Moderator: Lauren Cipollo
Panelists: Mex2!, Jenni Powell, Matt Conant, Erin Hunt Rado

Creating a project for an interactive or collaborative engagement is very different from writing a novel or screenplay. What’s the difference between writing for board games versus role-playing games? How do you know when a game is ‘done’? How do you write when you don’t have full control of your narrative? What’s important to keep and what can you let go?

📽️ Cross-Platform Projects: Adapting from Books to Film to Games and Back Again
📅 Saturday, November 30, 2024
⏰ 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM
📍 La Jolla B – Hilton Los Angeles Airport

Moderator: Matt Conant
Panelists: Mex3!, Jenni Powell, Arthur Sellers, Joelle Sellner, Lauren Cipollo

Translating your story across medium can be tricky, which is why so many book-to-film adaptations feel poorly conceived. But when done well, you get Lord of the Rings, The Expanse, Fallout, or countless others. Join us to discuss the differences in writing for different media, how to adapt one to the next, even which one is best for your specific project. Or learn how to craft a universe that spans the worlds of cinema, publishing, and interactive media.

Mark your calendar for November 29–December 1, 2024, and grab your ticket to LOSCON today! See you there! 🚀

And if you’re curious about the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, the world’s oldest continuously running SFF club, check out their Thursday night Zoom meetings at 8 PM PST. They’ve been meeting every week since 1938!

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