Writing myself out of a job…?
In the aftermath of a transformative year, I find myself thinking about a peculiar irony — have I, in my pursuit of innovation, written myself out of a job? This reflective piece charts my journey from a layoff at Intel to the birth of a groundbreaking AI tool, Lumyn, also known as the Living Story Engine (LSE). As I write about the creation and evolution of this digital storytelling engine, I explore how generative AI like ChatGPT has not only reshaped my career but also redefined the narrative capabilities of writers everywhere. This article is a personal account of embracing the very technology that threatens my profession.
Last year marked a transformative chapter in my life. After being impacted by layoffs at Intel, I embarked on a new venture as the narrative designer for a mobile game, my first professional writing gig in a genre I had long admired — cyberpunk.
Teaming up with Joe Payne, who saw potential in me despite my modest portfolio of tabletop RPGs and character-driven journalism school projects, marked a fresh start in my career. My passion for blending the fantastical with the real had always been a cornerstone of my creativity.
This was evident in my Dungeons and Dragons quests with characters like Meriwhim Sporefoot, a whimsical halfling inspired by Jennifer Coolidge, whose love for psychedelic mushrooms made her as vivid in gameplay as in my imagination. This knack for interweaving the fantastical and the real further developed while I crafted a memoir during the 2020 COVID lockdown, dealing with the loss of a friend whose life often blurred the lines between fiction and reality. This blend of imagination and real-life influence became the essence of what I brought to the digital streets of our new mobile game.
As I was writing for the game, Joe introduced me to ChatGPT, which had just been released earlier that year. We had already been employing generative AI to create concept art using Midjourney, but its role quickly expanded as we began to weave AI into our storytelling process, using it to create timelines and develop characters.
ChatGPT evolved from a mere tool to an essential collaborator, revitalizing my storytelling and breathing life into narratives in ways I never thought possible. It dramatically reduced my writing time; tasks that once took days were now completed in just a few hours.
In March of 2023, during a sun-drenched walk following a marathon three-hour writing session dedicated to developing mini-games and their surrounding lore, Joe and I found ourselves on the phone deep in conversation about the future role of ChatGPT and other AI tools in game dev.
As we reflected on our progress with the game, Joe and I both expressed a wish for a more refined tool than what ChatGPT offered at the time. While we recognized the immense potential of generative AI in world-building, we envisioned a tool powered by similar technology but tailored to the specific challenges we had faced. As a duo with limited resources and minimal technical expertise, we needed something that could empower small teams like ours. During this reflection, we speculated about the needs of other small, emerging studios that required tools to facilitate game development without extensive programming skills or large teams.
This conversation planted the seeds for what would eventually become Lumyn, marking the beginning of a new journey to revolutionize interactive narratives. We envisioned transforming scripted interactions in games into rich, responsive storytelling landscapes. Inspired by our experiences working on the game — we set out on the path to develop Lumyn, a testament to the power of AI in storytelling and an enabler for creators facing similar hurdles.
We shared this idea during a technical panel aimed at students who were taking courses in game development, and it quickly captured the interest of the University of Arkansas for use in their game design courses. This past term, we commenced practical testing with game development students, garnering insightful feedback that will shape LSE’s future.
As Professor Dave Frederick re-capped it, “Some really cool shit happened”. In the student’s Game Design 2 presentations, they showcased what Lumyn helped them do across three diverse projects. Teams modernized the tales of Greek gods, some crafted detailed backstories from sketches, and others explored deep cultural and spiritual lore. These applications enhanced both creativity and efficiency, expanded creative horizons, and also brought to light limitations like the engine’s tendency for detail overload and the need for precise inputs. As the students advance to their final projects, LSE continues to evolve, proving both its potential and its challenges in enriching digital storytelling.
Lumyn exemplifies the transformative power of AI in storytelling, proving that innovative technology like the LSE doesn’t replace writers but expands their creative horizons. This journey has redefined my role, not writing me out of a job, but empowering me — and indeed all storytellers — to operate on a grander scale. I have chosen to embrace this opportunity to amplify my storytelling capabilities, and if anything — it has made things a helluva lot more exciting and expansive than I ever thought possible.
Follow me to stay in the loop on Lumyn as I talk more about it in the coming weeks and months. I am so excited to keep on pushing in this new direction, and hopefully stay employed while doing it!
