#Greg Kramer#
Sixteen-year computer and video game industry veteran skilled at writing strong dialogue and story lines and creating engaging narrative gameplay with a player-focused sense of design.

##Specialties##

+ Writing engaging, minimalist dialogue. 
+ Creating three-dimensional characters and stories.
+ Employing non-verbal game elements to convey story. 
+ Crafting gameplay experiences that reward, but never require, exploration.
+ Generating and maintaining design documentation.

##Experience##

***Editor***     
**Big Huge Games**       
*April 2011-Present*

+ Edit, polish, and tune quest dialogue and other in-game text.
+ Contribute original dialogue and journal entries for existing quests and discover, identify, and remedy plot/character issues.
+ Collaborate with Narrative Designers.
+ Play test edited levels for narrative flow and player experience.
+ Edit text within in-house developed narrative design tools.

***Game Designer***   
**itch, inc.**   
*May 2010-April 2011*

+ Analyze and develop gameplay systems for ambitious Flash-based massively multiplayer online space game.
+ Draft feature prototypes and design documentation for core game systems, including faction relations, ship component valuation and balancing, and initial player experience. 
+ Collaborate remotely with lead designer and international team.

***Game Designer, Owner***   
**Grokgames.com**   
*January 2009-Present*

+ Write blog posts and essays about game industry news.
+ Deconstruct current and classic games to analyze their underlying systems with an eye towards what makes them "fun."
+ Develop digital and non-digital game design concepts and quests for existing games.

***Strategy Guide Author***   
**Clients: Prima Games, BradyGames, GameGuides.com**   
*1997-2009*

+ Produce dynamic, well-organized, exhaustively detailed game strategy guides for elite franchises such as *SimCity*, *The Sims*, and *Civilization*. 
+ Work onsite with major developers to understand and analyze each game's underlying structure, frequently contributing late design refinements and revealing overlooked playability issues.
+ Explain intricate underpinnings of complex games in non-technical terms intelligible to players of all ages and abilities.
+ Manage several elements of the publication process: drafting, generating and enhancing charts and illustrations; and coding manuscripts to aid editors and designers in creating accessible, interesting layouts.

***Reviewer***   
**Clients: Games for Windows Magazine/1UP.com, MacAddict Magazine, MacHome Journal Magazine, Next Generation Online, MacSense Magazine, Inside Mac Games Magazine**   
*1995-2009*

+ Review games for preeminent print and online computer gaming publications, focusing a discriminating player's eye on each game's merits, cultural context, and place in the market.

***Writer, Editor, Correspondent, and Columnist***
**Clients: Peachpit Press, Mars Publishing, MCV USA, Next Generation Online, Digital Diner Magazine, MacSense Magazine**   
*1995-2004*

+ Authored dozens of product reviews, news briefs, opinion columns, developer interviews, feature articles, and hint guides for influential print, online, and CD-based publications.
+ Contributed product summaries for three consecutive editions of bestselling reference *The Macintosh Bible*.
+ Co-authored detailed user manual for *Fly*, a state-of-the-art flight simulator game. Worked closely with design team during the mid-to-final stages of production, documenting complicated and frequently changing features.
+ Created "Cerebreality," a humor and opinion column about internet culture for monthly online and CD-based computer magazine.
+ Assumed editorial positions, supervising over twenty contributors and managing assets for publication.

##Skills and Tools##

+ Narrative Design Tools: Elder Scrolls Construction Set (Oblivion), Garden of Eden Creation Kit (Fallout 3)
+ Wiki: MediaWiki
+ Software Development: Perforce and DevTrack
+ Desktop Publishing: Adobe Photoshop Elements and Photoshop
+ Word Processing: Microsoft Word
+ Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel
+ Operating Systems: Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000 and Macintosh OS X
+ Layout: Adobe InCopy

##Education##

+ *Juris Doctor*, University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland
+ Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

##Interests##

+ Video and Board Games
+ Fencing
+ Very goodÑand very badÑmovies
+ Cooking

##References##

**Frank Simon**   
*Sony Computer Entertainment America*   
Senior Producer

**Richard Rouse III**   
*Ubisoft Montreal*   
Narrative Director

**Kevin Hogan**   
*Electronic Arts (Sims Label)*   
Senior Development Director

**Alaina Yee**   
*Official Xbox Magazine*   
Managing Editor