Galen Skibyak
Galen Skibyak
She/Her
Master of History
Game Writer & Designer
About Me
Hello! I'm Galen Skibyak (she/her), a game designer and writer! Whether it is on the table or the screen, I want to write and design it.With a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in History, as well as a minor in Anthropology, I love researching and writing, especially for videogames, board games, and TTRPGs. I have a dream of making games with deep, fantastic lore, historical influence, and memorable and fun characters and stories!Furthermore, I am certified and have 3 years of experience in the field of education and I love tangential learning! I believe gaming is a great medium for introducing people to new concepts and cultures!I'm also available for live streams and actual play content.
Writing Samples
The Anafrustima: A Worldbuilding Zine (2024)
Work in Progress
An upcoming Zine in the style of an anthropological journal studying the Anafrustima, a culture of the distant planet, Adelfós d. Stemming from a college assignment, this expanded story will include everything from the written script of the culture to samples of their origin stories and a family tree of the gods. Coming in 2024.
Kitsune: A Look into the Lasting Presence of the Fox Spirit in Japanese Culture (2020)
This Master's history thesis encapsulates a dive into the the representation of foxes in Japanese culture as far back as the 7th century C.E. and up until the modern era. It covers folklore, oral storytelling, Noh and Kabuki plays, paintings and Netsuke carvings, mascots, and even anime and video games as it delves into the vast and fascinating history of kitsune in Japan.
Game Design
Video Game Development
Moving In and Moving On
Ludum Dare 55 with Cat Tale (2024)
Moving in and Moving On Title Screen
Created with the outstanding help of the following:
Ally Studham "Vulspera" - character art, concept art, animation, pixel art, game design
Cris (Christine) Luu "Ariyassa" - sound design, music, production, programming
Sisi Peng "artmuse62" - narrative design, game design, marketing, production
Tess Winlock "Miraiya" - programming, game design
Jenna Ivey "soulpuncher" - voiceover
"waterhog" - voiceover
After an outstanding experience at Indie Game Academy Level 1, a few companions from my cohort and I came together to form Cat Tale! Over the 72 hours between April 12th and 15th, we created our first game together, Moving In and Moving On, using Game Maker. This visual novel about summoning ghosts and helping them find peace was submitted to Ludum Dare 55 and was in the top 30% overall (3.56 from 41 user reviews) and the top 15% in mood (3.95 from 43 reviews).My role in the jam as a Narrative Designer and Writer was to:
Help with overall Game Design.
Collaboratively craft concept, story, lore, aesthetics, environment, etc.
Design and write of most dialogue/narration/interactions.
Use Crochet to create a Yarn script.
Assist teammates where needed to produce a working game in 72 Hours. (Adding interior design to level, fixing Yarn script and minor bugs, etc.)
LudumDare 55 Reviews:"So much work put into the depth of your game: great audio, I imagine a lot of time spent on writing the sceneario, the dialog, the interactions, the branching system..." -@deformhead"What a wholesome story! The ghosts weren't scary at all, everyone is so nice. I like the vibe of the old manor..." -@woona"Good game with an engaging storyline. Not my favorite genre but this game drew me in-- the story is not complex but it's touching and atmospheric..." -@alexascher