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Brook Warner Jensen

Writer, Narrative Designer

Brook Warner Jensen

I write about grand, cosmic forces beyond our control and the ways we can still seize agency within them.

Using diverse branching dialogue structures, unique designs, and a strong technical background, I am always seeking to recreate that feeling I had of being 13 years old, playing Knights of the Old Republic in the dead of night, opening up to a new party member for the first time amidst all the misery of the galaxy around us.

Branching Dialogue

Branching Dialogue

I specialize in writing dynamic, interactive webs of dialogue and prose to build tension, connection, and surprise.

It's You: A Breakup Story features one enormous, single conversation with over 2000 voice-acted lines which simulates the trauma of cutting out a toxic partner from your life. Sense of Harmony uses similar techniques to explore how sex workers navigate boundaries when delivering emotional services to their clients.

My work is heavily influenced by the design philosophies of Jon Ingold in that I firmly believe that structure just as much as content tells the story.

Narrative Gameplay Design

Narrative Gameplay Design

I design gameplay to tell story through play. Whether that is the emotionally fraught, tax-filing challenges in OverTaxed or the "cybernetic empathy" in Sense of Harmony, I'm interested in experimenting with the ways mechanics can convey a game's central conflicts and themes.

I've also designed and implemented exploration based gameplay mechanics, like the eavesdropping system of BloodyCoat (pictured left).

Implementation and Pipelines

Implementation and Pipelines

Having worked as a AAA engine and tools programmer for multiple years, I'm proficient with technical implementation and scripting.

I am also mindful of processes and pipelines for narrative data. This includes creating plugins for existing tools, writing automated tests, and designing new data layouts to best suit a project's needs.

I am also the lead maintainer of both the Javascript implementation of Articy and the WIP C++/Unreal port of Ink: InkCpp.

Featured Projects

Sense of Harmony

Writer, Designer

Interactive Fiction

October 2020

Play Online IFDB Page Watch on YouTube 10th Place IFComp 2020

An evening in the life of Elizabeth Boldan: part-time student, part-time sex worker, full-time cyborg.

Created using Articy and a custom-built web engine, the game explores themes of transhumanism, empathy, and healthy boundaries. I designed the game's central cybernetic empathy mechanic, wrote all the game's prose, and designed the characters.

Created as an experiment, this game was widely successful (placing 10th out of 103 in the 2020 Interactive Fiction Competition) and I am now working on producing a full game using its characters, setting, and system.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Writer, Programmer

Action/Adventure

October 2019

Luigi's Mansion 3

The third installment in the Luigi's Mansion series. I worked as a writer, tools developer, and engine programmer.

As a writer, I wrote character bios and other internal world documents for animators and designers. I also drafted dialogue for the Director ghost, Morty, as well as assorted cutscenes between Luigi and E. Gadd.

As a tools developer, I designed and implemented new tools and pipelines for creating cutscenes and other story content.

As an engine programmer, I created new render, networking, and build subsystems using C++ and Python.

It's You: A Breakup Story

Lead Writer, Designer

Visual Novel

August 2018

Steam Page Itch.io Page Let's Play Ink Scripts Kickstarter Page Over 900 Sales Rated Positive on Steam 5 Stars Itch.io

A game with only one ending: breaking up with your abusive boyfriend. An emotional, hour-long phone call disaster simulator.

I worked as the lead writer and designer alongside two other writers, two artists, a voice actor, and a musician. The game was funded through a successful Kickstarter which drew in over $2000 and a number of dedicated fans.

It's You: A Breakup Story

Visual Novel

Breaking Up with Your Boyfriend

The game has only one ending: breaking up with your shitty ex. It's going to be hell though.

NPC Topic Navigation

Josh doesn't want to talk about your relationship. Instead, he constantly tries to shuffle the player back to one of many topics he'd rather rattle on about.

Varied Responses

To keep the game fresh, Josh chooses between many voice-acted alternate lines in common situations like the player not answering quickly enough.

Additional Work

OverTaxed

November 2020

Itch.io Page Wordplay 2020 Commission

A game about reaching out to your niece. A game about helping your Uncle with his taxes.

BloodyCoat

May 2020

Unreleased cybernetic detective prototype built with Unreal and Articy.

Baking with Betsy

October 2018

Baking with Betsy

An absurdist short story about a housewife who awakens from cryogenic stasis every eight hundred years to bake her dying husband a birthday cake.

Choices Don't Matter

June 2017

Choices Don't Matter

An essay published in First Person Scholar about what it means for a choice to "matter".

Grofast Industries

December 2016

Itch.io Page 5 Star Rating on Itch.io

80k word Twine game about investigating a fatal workplace accident and unpacking your own damage about heroism.

We're All Going to Die

December 2015

Itch.io Page Trailer Most Original Game (GI Jam 2015)

Time looping story puzzle game where the ship explodes every 60 seconds.

In A Flash

September 2015

Itch.io Page 4 Star Rating on Itch.io
In A Flash

Phoenix Wright-style adventure game/visual novel about investigating infidelity.