Joining Something Wicked Games as its lead system designer following over two years as a senior quest designer at Amazon, Akil Hooper’s experience with RPGs is extensive: With 21 years of experience in the games industry, Hooper’s credits on games in the genre include his role as a designer for the critically acclaimed Fallout: New Vegas, as well as recurring positions as game designer, lead designer, and creative director on Sony Online Entertainment’s EverQuest and EverQuest II - all game titles that redefined what was possible in their respective genres. Experienced in bringing AAA-quality titles to market, Hooper brings knowledge gained through years of leadership at numerous notable studios to Something Wicked Games.
Robert Land joins the team from a year-long position as a senior level designer at Crystal Dynamics, the most recent leadership position during his 16-year career. A long time developer for acclaimed RPGs, Land filled the roles of level, content, and narrative designer at Obsidian for titles Pillars of Eternity and South Park: The Stick of Truth prior to work at Crystal Dynamics on unannounced projects. In joining Something Wicked Games as its lead level designer, Land brings the experience of knowing how to craft areas, stories, and more in RPGs that stay with players long after they put the controller down.
Bringing over 15 years of industry experience to Something Wicked Games, Jessica Sliwinski is an experienced writer and narrative designer who now leads the creation of Wyrdsong’s story as the studio’s lead narrative designer. Having joined Something Wicked Games in November 2022, Sliwinski was promoted to her current role this past June. Prior to beginning her work on Wyrdsong, Sliwinski assisted in the creation of new stories for massive franchises, including Star Wars through Aspyr Media’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake as a senior writer, Wicked Realm Games’ Star Trek Timelines as a lead writer, and BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic as a writer, the latter of which has won numerous awards (GDC 2012 Awards for Best New Online Game, 2012 DICE Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay) and was lauded by critics upon launch for its storytelling. With years of experience crafting memorable characters and engaging storylines, Sliwinski’s addition brings a talent for creating memorable stories and moments in the upcoming Wyrdsong.
These three additions are only a few of Something Wicked Games’ additions to its team, which has grown with numerous talented industry veterans around the world since being revealed at Gamescom ONL 2022. With a total of 36 staff across all of its departments and plans to bring that total to nearly 100 by the time development is fully ramped, Wyrdsong promises to bring a fresh, AAA-quality experience to RPG fans.
Learn more about Something Wicked Games at https://somethingwickedgames.com/. For continued updates on Something Wicked Games, be sure to follow the studio on Twitter @SomeWickedGame.
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