My name is Nick Pritchard, and since 2020 I have been employed as a Game Designer with Kuato Studios, a game studio specialising in language-based learning experiences for young children through mediums like Marvel, Disney and Custom IPs.

Having spent over a decade in narrative design, including writing and producing award winning short films, I began my transition into the games industry in 2017, self-publishing several games on multiple platforms before joining the team at Cluedupp Games, and most recently Kuato Studios. Games Design has always been a passion of mine, and with a dual industry background, I am able to leverage knowledge and experience from both industries to deliver impactful narrative content, and engaging game design.

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As a long time Dungeons and Dragons player, I began my game design journey creating pen and paper systems for players. This included modifying classes, creating new rulesets, and expanding on the world with unique and engaging quests. Designing gameplay systems and integrating them into the narrative was a great introduction to the world of game design, and I used these lessons as a foundation for my game design experience in the industry. Over the past few years I have worked across multiple genres to design systems for platformers, narrative driven horror games, and first-person shooters, each bringing their own unique challenges and rewards.

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Upon graduating from York University in 2014 with a BSC in Film and TV production, I worked primarily within the media industry across a variety of roles, from Runner to Writer. I made the move into the video game industry towards the end of 2017, where I began to self-teach C# in the Unity Engine, releasing my first platforming prototype at the end of that year to positive community feedback.

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I used this as a foundation to pursue more formal education by undertaking a master’s degree at Teesside University, over the course of which I developed several more titles as both an independent developer, and as part of a team. One of these projects, Captive Audience, was released in late 2018 to critical success, garnering over 1 million views thanks to popular social media influencers picking up the game and creating content around it. As narrative lead for the project I scripted, cast, and recorded 40 pages of dialogue, before remastering the game for public release.

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As my master’s project I designed and developed a reactive narrative system that would conform to the players actions and alter the narrative events and dialogue as appropriate. Using the Captive Audience universe I had created as a foundation, I created an original, yet inter-linked narrative. This acted as the foundation for my reactive system, with multiple branching dialogue trees created to accommodate the variety of options presented to the player. This was then packaged into an immersive world I constructed and programmed from scratch, to create an immersive horror experience that promoted intra-diegetic immersion.

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Having graduated in July 2019 with my MA Games Design (with distinction), where I received the Dean’s Award for best overall average across taught provision, I have since been hard at work within the industry, taking part in the development of a variety of projects across multiple platforms, genres and themes. I am a driven learner, keenly interested in developing my skillset, and a strong team player, and look forward to whatever the future may hold.

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