World Design | JT Manning

Black Salt

Narrative/Systems Designer

A narrative design project where I worldbuilt a dark fantasy pirate story to meld with tactical RPG gameplay first. This project then evolved into a traditional Tabeltop RPG book. I worked on the narrative and systems for each version of this project, from digital design to physical.

The Chronicles of the Silver Rider

A Lord of the Rings Narrative

Narrative/Quest Designer

I took a pre-existing IP and created the entire narrative for a third-person action game. I designed and iterated on characters, locations, story beats, quests, dialogue, and narrative systems like branching paths and dialogue choices while keeping within the

realm of the IP.

Merith: Ancients Awakening

Magic: the Gathering Custom Set

Systems/Narrative/

Worldbuilding Designer

I spent 6 months creating and testing a custom set focused on 3-color pairings. I also worldbuilt the plane and created a storyline to go along with it to mirror as best I could a standard Magic set release.

Through large amounts of iteration, I ended up with a full sized set that worked well with the standard environment of 2020 as well as having its own limited format identity.

What I Learned

I learned as I revisited this project, the value of being succinct and intentional, while also learning that following through with a design and being swift, yet complete, leads to elegance.

The Cursed Levendria

Level/Narrative Designer

A level design focusing on environmental storytelling to tell the story of a gothic town poisoned by some entity, with secrets and reveals hidden all throughout the town.