editing & design consultation
consultation & editing are dreamy opportunities to channel my obsession with ttrpg mechanics & game philosophy into conversations with people about their work. it’s my favourite thing. i love working closely with designers to narrow in on what they’re trying to do & say with the rules of their game, developing a thorough understanding of their intentions so that i can help them make sure those intentions are conveyed at both the micro & macro level đź–¤
- design consulting for going rogue 2e, 2023 CRIT Award Winner for best GMless game
- substantive editing, design consulting, and writing on the scum & villains expansion
- design consulting on I Have the High Ground, 2022 & 2023 IPR Best Seller with over 700 copies sold
- developmental and substantive editing and design consulting on PLANET FIST, winner of the SUBSTANCE award in the FIST: Ultra Jam
- substantive and line editing for Likeness Machines
related podcast appearances
character creation cast, july 2022, with i have the high ground designer jess levine
contributing writer
as a game designer & writer, i specialise in genre fiction, character creation, & creating depth in condensed formats. i’m particularly into crafting tables that hit the very delicate balance of specific & open that makes them the most inspiring & useful as a tool. you can also check out my games!
- adventure design and writing for Zine-o-Map vs Mini-Adventure, 224% funded on crowdfundr during zine month 2023
- adventure design and writing for Milk Bar (forthcoming)
testimonials
Jess Levine of Jumpgate Games: Satah has design consulted on I Have the High Ground, going rogue 2e, and PLANET FIST. If you liked any of them: they wouldn’t have been ANYWHERE near as good without Satah’s work. Did you think the IHtHG “Descriptor” mechanic for making PCs foils of each other was clever? Satah. Did you like the idea of THE BOND pillar in going rogue 2e, representing a relationship as a setting element? Satah. Do you find PLANET FIST item rules elegantly concise? Satah.
Jess Levine, when reviewers of I Have the High Ground and going rogue 2e noted her impeccable inclusion of tips & advice to players: I want to note that having Satah as a design consultant on both helps drives this—Satah is GREAT at identifying player pain points & challenging me to write notes that help players navigate the game-as-played. I am very proud to have widely applicable tips, examples, and designer’s notes labeled as my “calling card””because I believe they’re vital to player experience & I’m proud of how I write them, but it’s been so crucial how Satah’s critical eye has repeatedly prompted me to do so.
Pearse Anderson, creator of Likeness Machines: I needed to release the project on a tight timeline — who knew when the strike would end — and the one editor who jumped in to help on that timeline was Satah. I finished the rules for this TTRPG (Likeness Machines) and passed them to Satah without ever playtesting the game, naming it, or feeling 100% about it. That didn’t stop Satah, who turned around edits under schedule with tons of suggestions. Dense, marked-up Google Doc. Love it. Working with Satah, we were able to blend Old Hollywood anachronisms with dystopic AI satires and still keep it all on one page. I was still learning the terms of my own mechanics (Crises, Stress, Reversed Major Arcana, etc.) and they helped flatten that while keeping the tone. Thanks to their quick work and many late nights designing and re-designing Likeness Machines’ layout, I was able to release the game 3 days after their edits, after only 2 playtests! It’s been passed out on Hollywood lots, Chicago strikelines, and over Twitch streams.