Freelance Video Game Writing: The Life & Business of the Digital Mercenary for Hire

Nashville native Toiya Kristen Finley, Ph.D., has been a freelancing writer and editor her entire adult life. She earned a doctorate in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University. Over her career, she has published more than 80 works of fiction, nonfiction, comics/manga, and games, and has over 20 years of experience writing in a range of genres, tones, styles, and voices. She gained editorial experience interning at Henry Holt’s imprint, Owl Books. At Binghamton, she founded the literary journal Harpur Palate and served as its managing/fiction editor. In 2011, she cofounded the Game Writing Tutorial at GDC Online with Tobias Heussner and served as an instructor in 2011 and 2012. In videogames, she has worked as a game designer, narrative designer, game writer, editor, and diversity/narrative consultant (or some combination of the five) on everything from AAA titles to mobile games to games for children to small indie projects. Recent work includes writing visual novel Siren Song (Stardust Works), copyediting for Destiny 2 (Bungie), and developmental editing on Insecure: The Come Up Game (Glow Up Games). A presenter at conferences throughout the year, she has lectured on freelancing and storytelling and led workshops on narrative design and game design. She is a member of the IGDA Game Writing Special Interest Group’s Executive Board. The Game Narrative Toolbox (CRC Press), a book on narrative design she coauthored with Jennifer Brandes Hepler, Ann Lemay, and Tobias Heussner, was published in 2015. Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-Sized Storytelling (CRC Press), which she edited and contributed to, was published in 2019. Of late, she has been working on her own visual novel series, beginning with Incarnō: Everything Is Written.