Galen Skibyak

Master of History
Game Writer & Designer

About Me

Hello! I'm Galen Skibyak, 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 over 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, a family tree of the gods, and a luni-solar calendar for the planet. Coming soon.

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.

Sample Here!

Game Design

Video Game Development

Team Development

Moving In and Moving On
Cozy Visual NovelIn April 2024, I acted as the Narrative Designer and Writer for a seven-person team during a three day Game Jam.Read More
Play the Game

Kenna's Climb
2D PlatformerI served as the Narrative Designer and Writer for a six-person team during a four day Game Jam themed to a platformer with a twist. Our twist: Stress Mechanics.Read More
Play the Game

Bots N-BLOOM
Isometric Mystery Dungeon-LikeI developed the concept/story of the game, created a Google Slides prototype, and served as the game's Narrative Designer and Writer. This game was part of the Indie Game Academy Level 3 imitative to work as a six person team to create a Steam ready game in four months.Read More
Wishlist or Buy the Game on Steam

Carving With Care
Cozy Puzzle GameFor the Indie Game Academy's Foundry Jam 2024, I worked as the Narrative Designer and Writer for a six day game jam demo which turned into a full four month game development cycle alongside a team of eight other developers.Read More
Play the Game

Solo Development

The Wizard of POGZ
Pokémon Fan GameOver the course of one week in May 2023, I participated in the YouTuber Thundaga's Pog Jam 3. Incorporating specific challenge elements, I created my first solo video game. I used RPG Maker XP, Pokémon Essentials, and provided assets. I wrote all dialogue, created a few custom animations and art assets, and tweaked the code through teaching myself via tutorials and videos.Download the Game

Plunder Ball
3D Ball PlatformerAs part of the Indie Game Academy Level 1 program in March 2024, I created a 3D ball physics platformer over the course of two days in Godot. This was my first experience using Godot, networking with other game designers, and working with programming scripts. See the clip above for more.

Board Game Development

Inside the Classroom

As a middle school teacher for over three years, I developed numerous lessons, games, activities, and projects for students of different grades and from Special Education to General Education levels. Below are a few samples.

A locked box that says "Middle School Detectives."

Escape Rooms
Educational Escape Rooms for All StudentsDuring my over three years teaching, I created several special "Escape Rooms" for different classes--from Special Education English to 7th Grade Social Studies. Each game had a different theme, varying kinds of puzzles, and used prior knowledge, reading comprehension, logic and critical thinking skills, as well as team work to solve! I even used a real lock and prizes inside the box to add a tactile and fun experience.Read More

Instruction Booklet cover for A Favor for the Gods - Greece

Interactive Assignments and Games
Fast Paced Fun to Ingrain ConceptsFor 6th Grade's World History Social Studies course, I developed the "World History Games" which were competitive, team-based games recalling from the lessons of the past semester. It served as a cumulative review for the student's final and got students thinking, working together, and excited!

Outside the Classroom

A lifelong gamer from board games to tabletop RPGS, I have created prototypes of my own complete board games, as well as added custom cards to pre-existing games that I loved.

Roll Film...Action! (2025/2026)
Solo Pen and Paper Roll and WriteI created a simple set of rules for a game using only a hexagonal pencil with six markings and a small notebook. Designed over the course of a few weeks to be an easy to play game perfect for travel or quiet moments. The game is themed to making movies and guides a single player through making them by rolling their pencil (or a 6 sided die) and making choices to craft the best cinematic experience.

A Favor for the Gods -- Greece (2021)
Yacht Dice-Like Educational GameIn an effort to teach players Greek geography as well as Ancient Greek religion, I crafted a game that takes players across the country acquiring the favor of different guards to venture to Tartarus and seal away Kronos. I prototyped the game on paper, as well as on Tabletop Simulator, and playtested the game at Protospiel in July 2021.Read More

Moving In and Moving On
with Gelatinous Cat Games (2024)

Moving In and Moving On Screenshot of Outdoors

Team: Gelatinous Cat Games
My Roles: Lead Narrative Designer and Writer
Engine: GameMaker (YarnSpinner and Crochet dialogue addons)
Timeframe: Three Days for Ludum Dare 55 Game Jam
Play the Game: Moving In and Moving On on Itch.Io

As a member of the team, I helped to:

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 complete game in 72 Hours. (Adding interior design to level, fixing Yarn script and minor bugs, etc.)

Our game placed top 30% overall out of 1582 games.
We received a 3.56 overall from 41 user reviews and the placed in the top 15% in mood (3.95 from 43 reviews).A Sample of 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

Kenna's Climb
with Team Bladesong (2024)

Team: Team Bladesong
My Roles: Lead Narrative Designer and Writer
Engine: Unity (YarnSpinner and Crochet dialogue addons)
Timeframe: Four Days
Play the Game: Kenna's Climb on Itch.Io
WARNING: This game contains flashing lights and shaking camera movements, which may not be suitable for those who are photosensitive or are prone to motion sickness.

Over the course of a weekend, I worked to strengthen my skills as a writer using Yarn and Crochet to implement dialogue and cutscenes, as well as work with a small team of four other developers asynchronously to create a game themed around the mechanic of "Fear and Stress."

Bots N-BLOOM
with Team Bladesong (2024)

A screenshot of Bots N-Bloom happy scene.

A screenshot of Bots N-Bloom talking to characters.

Team: Team Bladesong
My Roles: Lead Narrative Designer and Writer, Junior Game Designer
Engine: Unity (YarnSpinner and Crochet dialogue addons)
Timeframe: Four Months
Purchase the Game on Steam: Wishlist or Buy Bots N-BLOOM on Steam

As a part of Indie Game Academy Level 3, I worked alongside my amazing team of five other developers in crafting a working game ready to release on Steam by the end of a three month development cycle. The game is a solarcore/hopepunk isometric Mystery Dungeon-Like with charming companions and a quirky cast of characters. For this game, I:

Crafted the concept and pitched the idea with a Google Sheets prototype to my team.
Wrote the story, dialogue, and other in-game text.
Implemented quests and objectives.
Reached out to and worked with a cultural consultant.
Hosted a live playtest session and Q&A with students from a local college.
Use Crochet to create a Yarn script for dialogue as well as many game mechanics.
Utilized GitHub and Jira to work alongside team.

Carving with Care
with Gelatinous Cat Games (2024)

Team: Gelatinous Cat Games
My Roles: Narrative Designer and Writer
Engine: Unity (YarnSpinner and Crochet dialogue addons)
Timeframe: Six Days for Indie Game Academy's Foundry Jam 2024, then expanded to full production cycle of four months
Play the Game: Carving with Care on Itch.Io

Originally developed as a low stress puzzle game with multiple endings. As a member of the nine developer team, I helped to:

Collaboratively craft concept, story, characters, lore, aesthetics, environment, etc.
Draft and write of half of the branching paths of dialogue and interactions for the four main patrons that lead to numerous different ending combinations.
Use Crochet to connect and manage Yarn scripts for the dialogue options.
Help develop puzzles with multiple solutions and branching paths.
Utilize GitHub and Jira to work alongside team, push updates, and stay organized.

A Favor for the Gods — Greece (2021)

A Prototype by Galen Skibyak
1-4 Players, Ages 8+, 30-60 Minutes
"The gods need a favor: destroy Kronos. Gather the strength of three gods—one from each realm—and travel to Tartarus to face Kronos once and for all. Roll dice, trade with others, strategize, and take on the task ahead."In March 2021, I developed the first prototype of this game. It was originally intended to be the first in a series of games based on several ancient societies to help students and all players learn about them in fun and engaging ways.

Created a game map by hand in Adobe Photoshop based on the geography of Greece, highlighting both real locations and those found it mythology.
Developed cards and dice game mechanics based on the religion of Ancient Greece.
Crafted a paper demo and coded the prototype into Tabletop Simulator.
Hosted playtests of the game at Protospiel Online in July 2021.
Playtested other developer's board games and gave constructive feedback.

Resources Alpha
Gods Alpha
Tabletop Simulator Alpha
Physical Demo Alpha
Physical Demo Alpha
Sell Sheet 2021

Escape Rooms for the Classroom (2021-2024)

Bespoke Classroom Escape Rooms for Any Subject
Grades 6-8, Special Education and General EducationEach year of my educational career, I taught different subjects and classes. With Alternative Licensure in Special Education and Social Studies, I taught a wide range of classes across all three middle school grade levels, served as an EA in inclusion classes, and worked as a Special Education Case Manager.As a teacher, I wanted to add fun and novelty to the classroom and so I created several special escape rooms for my students. Most used a similar layout of a small pamphlet to be filled out by students in small groups of around three to five students, though some solo and duos played and completed them as well. Below are a few examples. The following lessons taught students different combinations of the following skills depending on the theme and class.