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MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. He has contributed writing and narrative design to a number of game projects, most notably Bloom Digital Media’s LongStory series. His debut novel, Murder at the World's Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer and lead programmer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the largest independent comics festivals in the world. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat.…MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. He has contributed writing and narrative design to a number of game projects, most notably Bloom Digital Media’s LongStory series. His debut novel, Murder at the World's Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer and lead programmer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the largest independent comics festivals in the world. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat.

MJ L YONS

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MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. He has contributed writing and narrative design to a number of game projects, most notably Bloom Digital Media’s LongStory series. His debut novel, Murder at the World's Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer and lead programmer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the largest independent comics festivals in the world. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat.…MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. He has contributed writing and narrative design to a number of game projects, most notably Bloom Digital Media’s LongStory series. His debut novel, Murder at the World's Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer and lead programmer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the largest independent comics festivals in the world. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat.

Available to hire

MJ Lyons is a writer, game maker and arts organizer. He has contributed writing and narrative design to a number of game projects, most notably Bloom Digital Media’s LongStory series. His debut novel, Murder at the World’s Fair, was published by Renaissance Press, and his collection of queer erotica short stories, QUEER WEREWOLVES DESTROY CAPITALISM, was published by Microcosm Publishing in spring 2021, the first entry in their “Queering Consent” series, and was also nominated for a Lambda Literary award. He is a producer and lead programmer for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, one of the largest independent comics festivals in the world. He occasionally publishes zines and chapbooks by emerging LGBTQ artists under the name Goblin Cat.

Skills

Script

Copywriting

Leadership

Experience Level

Script

Expert

Copywriting

Expert

Leadership

Expert

Language

English

Fluent

French

Intermediate

Work Experience

Senior Writer, Narrative and Project Coordinator (Contract) at Bloom Digital

August 1, 2023 - April 30, 2024

Managed and revised game scripts for demo, playtest builds, and the final release of LongStory 2. Partnered with the technical team to implement and adjust existing scripts as required. Structured and wrote an early demo build of Bandocracy, adapting prior writing into a new script format. Coordinated with project management and marketing teams for QA, playtests, and fan engagement activities ahead of release. Researched and contributed to world-building documents and supported copy-editing during QA to optimize in-game narrative text.

Narrative Writer (Contract) at Bloom Digital

January 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023

Wrote multiple episodes of an episodic, award-winning visual novel sequel focused on navigating healthy relationships for young people. Worked in a small team with high independence, meeting deadlines for full episodes or scenes within shared episodes. Coordinated with the narrative lead to fulfill deliverables and ported legacy Bloom scripts into a new game engine to provide updated scripts for LongStory Season 1.

LongStory Season 1 Lead Narrative and Writer (Contract) at CrimsonSky Games

March 1, 2022 - November 30, 2022

Led redesign of narrative and writing processes from conceptualization and narrative design through QA and debugging on an established episodic visual novel. Coordinated with fellow leads to improve the narrative pipeline and deliver engaging writing for multiple stakeholder groups, including management, Patreon supporters, and Steam players. Innovated narrative design and writing to enhance gameplay and the overall creative experience of an ongoing story and game world. Also handled extra-narrative work such as marketing copy, UI language, and prose writing.

Festival Producer and Lead Programmer at Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)

March 1, 2021 - Present

Launched and led the weekend of programming for a 20-year independent legacy arts and culture festival, coordinating among publishers, featured guests, exhibitors, and internal staff. Represents the festival within the national and global independent comics community by attending events, forging partnerships, and supporting collaborative relationships with artists and organizers. Programmed a robust roster of panels and presentations spanning topics such as creative law, comics censorship, and featured guest spotlights.

Interactive Writer (Contract) at The Last Taxi Interactive (ZenFri Inc.)

May 1, 2017 - September 1, 2017

Pitched and wrote unique engaging NPCs remotely for an in-development VR resource management game using a Twine 2.0 backend. Crafted characters for a proprietary dystopian futuristic world featuring branching conversation narratives with multiple endings/results based on interactive player choices and narrative/mechanic variables. Independently met writing deadlines and iterated based on feedback during two-week production cycles to ensure narrative quality and project consistency.

Interactive Writer (Contract) at The Last Taxi Interactive

May 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017

Pitched and wrote unique engaging NPCs remotely for an in-development VR resource management game using a Twine 2.0 backend. Crafted characters within a dystopian futuristic world featuring branching conversation narratives and multiple player outcomes. Worked with narrative and mechanic variables to support branching structure and coordination across two-week production cycles to meet deadlines while maintaining narrative quality and project consistency.

Writer (AMP: Year 3 Contributor) (Contract) at Third Eye Games

February 1, 2016 - October 1, 2016

Worked with team and lead producer to create a cohesive tabletop game product. Contributed world-building to the third installment of a popular modern-day superhero tabletop RPG book (crowdfunded successfully and delivered to backers). Provided outlines and iterative writing as needed while coordinating with the lead producer to submit deliverables on deadline.

AMP: Year 3 Contributor (Contract) at Third Eye Games

February 1, 2016 - October 31, 2016

Contributed to a cohesive tabletop game product in collaboration with the team and lead producer. Added world-building content to the third installment of a modern-day superhero tabletop RPG book (successfully crowdfunded and delivered to backers). Produced outlines and iterative writing as needed and coordinated deliverables to meet project deadlines.

Narrative Writer (Contract) at Bloom Digital

May 1, 2015 - October 1, 2020

Developed two separate IP titles working with producer, narrative lead and technology lead on character concepts, initial narrative structure, narrative design, and editing. Collaborated with writing team, producer, creative lead and programmers to write, edit and finish deliverables for multiple installments of LongStory and supplementary content across episodic mobile game production cycles. Outlined, mapped and scripted two episodes and supplementary content for a visual novel for young people focused on navigating healthy relationships and communication. Created content using proprietary tools and supported QA leading up to launches. Showcased LongStory at GDC 2016’s Indie Megabooth.

Narrative Writer (Contract) / Episodic Video Games at Bloom Digital

May 1, 2015 - October 31, 2020

Developed two separate IP titles with collaboration across producer, narrative lead, and technology lead, including character concepts, narrative structure, and narrative design/editing. Wrote, edited, and finished deliverables for multiple installments of LongStory and supplementary visual novel content, using proprietary tools and supporting QA leading into launches. Outlined and mapped episodes and supplementary content on themes of navigating healthy relationships and communication. Presented LongStory at GDC 2016’s Indie Megabooth.

Regular Contributor (Freelance) / Columnist at Pink Triangle Press

June 1, 2010 - November 30, 2017

Collaborated with a co-columnist, editor, and illustrator to produce an LGBT-history column delivered bi-monthly. Curated a History Boys brand that expanded into live events and event appearances. Generated story assignments for print and online distribution with a focus on queer and trans content related to unique local and national news and arts/culture topics. Maintained an editorial blog as part of FAB Magazine daily content operations with support across changing backends and CMS systems.