Liv PeelenWriter, Narrative Designer, and Loremaster
Profile

Versatile writer and narrative designer with five years of experience at the intersection of story and gameplay. Comfortable driving complex narrative deliverables, working in large, cross-functional teams, and mentoring early-career writers. 2024 Unreal Fellowship: Games Alumna

Professional Experience
Loremaster Instructor, Italian Videogame Academy
01/2025 – Present
  • •Created robust, comprehensive lesson plans to help students identify and develop game hallmarks and translate them to additional live story mediums.
  • •Fostered a community that encouraged inquisitiveness and an open dialogue centered on different organizational practices.
  • •Mentored students on writing lore bibles, TV and film adaptations, and narrative problem solving.
  • •Collaborated with students to create custom lore bible templates and documentation that they could use in their upcoming projects.
    • Narrative Designer - Project GST, Tencent Games
    03/2024 – Present
  • •Wrote in-game cutscenes, mission dialogue, character arcs, and barks to support gameplay and interactive storytelling.
  • •Provided rewriting and editing services to the narrative team on mission cinematics, mission quests, character barks, in-game text, faction lore, live ops modes, and open world events.
  • •Contributed seasonal narrative content and supporting documentation under a fast paced live-service production schedule.
  • •Provided World View Concept design feedback, including vehicles, clothing, weapons, environments, dialects, and larger art asset models.
  • •Adjusted Meta Content Wrappers so that narrative materials and environmental designs better contributed to the player's experience of a "New York City" style game setting.
  • •Met biweekly with the Associate Narrative Director at Gameloft, building up a personal connection and facilitating meetings between teams when conflicts appeared as well as ensuring transparency and clarity in expectations and deliverables.
  • •Oversaw voice recording sessions in London, which included reserving recording blocks with Molinare, coordinating director and casting schedules, sharing videos for in session clarity, dividing extra characters and line counts amidst existing actors' schedules, and assisting with casting for new and upcoming characters.
  • •Assisted with in-studio voice recording sessions in London, tracking changes, maintaining worksheets, and communicating the Narrative Team's desires with actors and director to better construct character voices.
  • •Assisted with virtual voice recording sessions in Los Angeles, providing directorial assistance and communicating intention to the actors in session.
    • Narrative Designer - Development & Portfolio Support, Tencent Games
    06/2024 – 01/2026
  • •Created narrative documentation (playtest notes, pitch deck reviews, lore bibles, and narrative breakdowns) for Tencent Projects such as Dying Light: The Beast, Soulframe, Dune: Awakening, and more.
  • •Proactively identified potential risks and issues before they impacted projects, either through technological implementation or story adjustments.
  • •Analyzed story points, solved narrative problems, and reviewed live builds in writer's room sessions.
  • •Reviewed cinematic and gameplay scripts and provided narrative feedback for story integration.
  • •Aligned with Narrative Leads and Narrative Directors on pillars and goals for narrative content.
  • •Attended a writer's room for a Dying Light TV adaptation, providing lore assistance, pitching characters, and a three-act season outline.
    • Loremaster, Tencent Games
    09/2022 – 01/2026
  • •Created and maintained narrative design documentation to clearly and concisely communicate the narrative vision across departments.
  • •Interfaced with stakeholders and IP guardians about legal and narrative standards, with and without the Narrative Director present.
  • •Implemented glossaries, style guides, world building documentation, and lore bibles to maintain editorial standards across game departments.
    • Junior Writer, NExT Studios
    06/2022 – 03/2024
  • •Wrote, proofread, and implemented barks, UI text, in game audio logs, written logs, and flavour text for the live tactical extraction shooter Synced.
  • •Worked with other members of the design team to realize narrative briefs for main story missions and PVE events.
  • •Took ownership of assigned characters and lore, developing them from conception to execution, while ensuring quality, efficiency, and timely delivery.
  • •Analyzed and evaluated feedback from playtests to improve the game on a both a broad and pointed narrative perspective.
    • Education
    Unreal Fellowship: Games, Unreal Engine
    07/2024 – 08/2024 | Remote

    This rigorous three-week virtual program guides participants through the entire process of producing a functioning game with Unreal Engine—from concept and art style to delivering the final package.

  • •Programing using the Blueprint visual scripting system and its integration mechanisms
  • •Using lighting techniques to achieve specific atmospheric conditions
  • •Optimizing and packaging games for final production.
  • •Efficiently filling environments using procedural content generation (PCG) tools
  • •Developing a distinctive art style that unifies the project's visual aspects
  • •Producing advanced Niagara visual effects that interact dynamically with gameplay
  • •Creating custom shaders that react to gameplay
    • Game Writing Masterclass II, The Narrative Department
    09/2023 – 12/2023 | Remote

    The Narrative Department's Game Writing Masterclass II is a six-week online course designed to give senior and lead writers and designers the language and confidence to navigate the leadership challenges that come with advanced game development.

    Game Writing Masterclass I, The Narrative Department
    03/2022 – 06/2022 | Remote

    The Narrative Department's Game Writing Masterclass is a six-week online course designed to give aspiring and working game writers the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to grow their craft and their careers.

    BA Honours English and Creative Writing

    Concordia University
    09/2019 – 12/2022 | Montreal, QC, CAN
    Projects
    Synced, live tactical shooter
    06/2022 – 09/2024

    In the wake of a cataclysm known as the Collapse, the nanomachines have turned against their creators, consuming humans to propagate themselves and transforming into deadly nanos. Players assume the role of a Runner, brave fortune-seekers who scour the Meridian to collect the precious nano-energy called nerva.

    About the Bones, novella
    09/2016 – 08/2017

    When bones from a small hand are found in Elliot Collins’ backyard, he doesn’t know what to think. His home on Reading Island has always been safe and secure and the cleanest place in all of Maine. But when his little brother’s best friend Joe goes missing, Elliot begins to wonder if Reading Island might not be as perfect as everyone makes it out to be.