Steve Kraus Game Writer • World-builder • Voice Actor keyboard_arrow_down Hi! I'm Steve, a lifelong
world-builder and game writer.
I'm also an actor, something I brought behind the mic in recent years. In that space I'm known as SJ McKeen and have voiced a couple of video games.

Game Writing & Development

World of Evindale

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Rebels Rising Press

I always wanted to know what was outside that dungeon. Do that for several decades and you wind up with a planet. Made all the maps. Tossed in a few creatures, too. Some festivals, people, cultures, and … you get the point.

Here’s a map of the continent of Erinnal in the multiverse known as Evindale.

It features:

  • Eight ages, from a time of elemental creation all the way to a brightpunk future
  • Three continents, 40+ developed countries
  • Language, lexicons, and dialects, oh my!
  • 20+ original playable lineages
  • 40+ deities in three pantheons
  • Regional, local, and adventure maps
  • Featured as the setting campaign setting for streamed actual play games, as well as a successful live-action role-playing game (LARP)

Dec 26, 2024 – Due to a backend issue, the website is being reconstructed.

The Third Kingdom

LEAD WRITER
Altered State Machine / Futureverse, Auckland

I was initially brought on to create a metaverse platform for decentralized artificial intelligence “brains” called the World of Alleriya. I was quickly elevated to Lead Writer to guide the writer’s team where we united multiple disparate IPs into a single metaverse, The Third Kingdom.

Muhammad Ali – The Next Legends

LORE MASTER
Altered State Machine, Auckland

The Greatest’s attitude and philosophy needed to permeate every aspect of this game. Not only in how boxing could be represented, but also in Ali’s sense of racial and social activism. As Lore Master, I researched Ali’s life and provided guidance to ensure the game carried his legend properly.

Non-Linear Storytelling

WRITER, GAME MASTER, GRAPHIC DESIGN
Vox & Quill, Twitch

Decades in the TTRPG space have taught me how to design adventures and levels for balanced play. In a world of open design, optional scenarios could lend players a wonderful sense of agency over their experience.

Untimely Heroes ran in its full as an actual play on Twitch.

Game Development – RISE AGAINST

DEVELOPER, WRITER
Rebels Rising Press

I wanted a quick and dirty RPG system that rewarded teamwork, used no dice, and fostered roleplay over rules. The result was proven in a highly successful actual play on Twitch.

Scripts

Live Theater

WRITER, DIRECTOR
New York Renaissance Faire, Tuxedo Park, NY

Renaissance Faires present a unique challenge rarely seen outside of the turkey leg and ale atmosphere. Trunk shows, known for their quick wit and snappy delivery, rely heavily on rapid-fire repartee and absurd humor. Three Monks & A Trunk is a prime example, drawing standing-room-only crowds with its energetic performance.

Opening gate scenes are meant to introduce important characters and the story arc of the faire’s season, but also of what shows they might see and any wares that might be found by those waiting to get in.

BROTHER BENEDICT

Hedonism. Debauchery. Outlandish behavior. Welcome to the faire.

[Increasingly impassioned.]  My gentle friends, no doubt thou hast come here to feast, hear song and to be merry. This is, after all, what many of us seek in life, even we humble brothers.

However, we – the Friars of the Castigating Condemnation, or FCC — have discovered the truth behind these so-called revels.

The entertainment within these walls is disguised as fun BUT innocents such as thyselves are at risk for eternal damnation and therefore must be exposed!

[Stunned] Expose the evils. Not you.​

SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM
[Enters. Spots LOXLEY] Captain, who is that?

FERRET, A GUARD
Robert Earl of Loxley, Lord Sheriff. He be not on the invitee list. Oh, and he gave us coin to pay for the peasants’ entry!

SHERIFF
Thank thee, Ferret. No floggings tonight for thee.

FERRET
[Visibly upset.] Damn.

SHERIFF
Good my Lord Robert. Welcome to Sterlingshire. Tell me,
what causes have you to pay for these…
[scans audience, disgusted]
people?

Video Scripts

WRITER
Altered State Machine, Auckland

Renaissance Faires present a unique challenge rarely seen outside of the turkey leg and ale atmosphere. Trunk shows, known for their quick wit and snappy delivery, rely heavily on rapid-fire repartee and absurd humor. Three Monks & A Trunk is a prime example, drawing standing-room-only crowds with its energetic performance.

Opening gate scenes are meant to introduce important characters and the story arc of the faire’s season, but also of what shows they might see and any wares that might be found by those waiting to get in.

SCENE AUDIO & VOICEOVER VIDEO
1 MUSIC BED THROUGHOUT TITLE CARD “Origins: Alleriya GENOME MINING Part I
2 Seekers, on a mission to investigate the Alleriyan metaverse, discovered a massive Tear between realities that radiated a mysterious form of energy. Near this Tear in space, a research vessel called The Intrepid drew their attention. EXT. SPACE A tear in space in the distance, Seekers approach inquisitively.
3 Within, the Seekers noted a researcher, Professor Jenny Brian, who was studying the Tear and the particles it emitted. They also noticed a massive particle collection device the professor had created. INT. PROF. JENNY BRIAN AT CONSOLE INSIDE THE INTREPID

Barks

WRITER
Sample

Short and informative, random or in response, NPC barks can be used to flavor the environment, provide information, establish culture, or even pass a mysterious clue along to help further the narrative.

(wary) “You’re armed and uninvited. We gonna have a problem?”

(haunted) “Are… are you real?”

(slowly taking inventory) “Let’s see. I’ve got a Bag of Infinite Potatoes, Boots of the Slippery Slope, ummmm, oh, an Accordion of Summoning. But, eh, no belt pouch. Sorry.”

(resignation) “Listen, sugar. If we’re going to do this, you’d better make sure people remember us.”

(warning) “STOP. If you touch that control one more time, we’re both getting spaced!”

(uncomfortable) “I’m telling you something smells funny. You sure we need to be here? Oh my gods, what did I just step in…”

(preaching) “The Void calls! Embrace the emptiness! Seek the wisdom from eternal silence!”

(fearful) “Wait… you’re not with them, are you? Please say you’re not. [beat] You are. Shit.”

(manic) “Oh, this should be fun! Soooooo? Which blaster you gonna use? PLEEEEEASE SAY THE MEGADUECE EXCELSIOR 2000! That thing blows holes in NEBULAS. [beat] Heh, “blows”.”

(feigning authority, then bragging) “We are from the Ecliptique Dynamique d’Harmonie Primordiale. [aside] Eh? Eh? Sounds good, right? Eh?

(perceptive) “Nah, you ain’t no scavenger. Ain’t a place ’round here where you get boots like that. So who the fuck are you, huh?”

(proud) “This forge has stood for centuries. Only the best smiths have touched its surface. And now you’re one of them.”

MARKETING

Technical Brochure

WRITER, LAYOUT
AFP Imaging Corp., Elmsford, NY

FESTIVAL BROCHURE

COPYWRITER, LAYOUT
New York Renaissance Faire., Tuxedo Park, NY

Scroll to Top