Haris Orkin

For Dragonshard, I came in at the start of production to help create the setting, the world, the playable characters and an overarching story.  The game combines elements of traditional real-time strategy gameplay with role-playing elements such as hero units, and questing.   The single-player campaign follows the struggles of three competing factions to gain control of a magical artifact known as the Heart of Siberys.  Developer: Liquid Entertainment.  Publisher Atari

 

​

I co-wrote the story for the original Call of Juarez in 2005 and came back in 2008 to co-write the story for the prequel and help with the narrative design.   I also wrote the script as well as cast, and directed all the voice actors.   It's a Western-themed first-person shooter  set just after the end of the Civil War.  Developer: Techland.  Publisher:  Ubisoft.

​​

​

​

EALA hired me to co-write the sequel to the legendary cold war alternative future satire. I co-wrote the story and the script and was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award for it in 2009.  The Command and Conquer series famously uses full motion video for their cutscenes and for Red Alert 3 we had an all-star cast that included Jonathon Pryce,  J.K. Simmons,  George Takei, Peter Stormare, Ivana Miličević,  Gina Carano,  Gemma Atkinson, Kelly Hu, and David Hasselhoff.   Developer and publisher: EALA.   

 

 

I was brought into Dead Island early on to help craft a narrative as Techland conceived the game.   As the game concept changed, so did the narrative.  I helped design quests, weapon mods, class abilities, and achievements.  I co-wrote the story, co-wrote the script and all the collectibles.   (Including Sam B's theme song: "Who Do You Voodoo.") I also directed all the voice talent.  To date, Dead Island and it's sequel have sold over seven million units.

 

 

 

Relic hired me as a script doctor for Company of Heroes 2.  I came in after most of the story was written and did a rewrite of the dialogue and helped them to re-structure the story.   I also contributed to the combat barks that Company of Heroes is famous for.   Relic later flew me to London to supervise the VO direction at Side UK.

 

 

 

 

Techland brought me in from the very beginning on Gunslinger. I collaborated with their writer on site to create an epic narrative. I helped with the narrative design and the collectibles we called Nuggets of Truth.   I wrote the script and cast and directed all the voice talent.  The reviews were stellar and the game stayed at the top of the sales charts for months.    Publisher: Ubisoft

 

For Dying Light, I  co-wrote the script with a handful of other writers.  I worked on and off site and as the concept and mechanics of the game changed, so did the narrative.  I cast the talent and directed the VO and facial motion capture at my studio in Sherman Oaks. Dying Light was released in January 2015 and was at top of the sales charts in the U.S. and the UK for months. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive and so far it has sold over 6 million copies.   Developer: Techland.  Publisher: Warner Brothers.

​

 

Hard West started as a Kickstarter by Creative Forge Games.  I was one of the contributors to the Kickstarter, which eventually was picked up for distribution by Gambitous Entertainment.  I also was one of the writers.  (The lead designer previously worked on the Call of Juarez series.)  It's a turn-based strategy game with a weird west setting.  Released November 2015, it has garnered great reviews.

 

 

​

 

2K hired me to work both onsite and off for the third installment of the storied francise.  I worked closely with the rest of the writing team to help craft what I think will be ground breaking open world narrative.  Mafia 3 is slated to be released in 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

Ubisoft Massive in Malmo, Sweden flew me over to help out on the Division.  I worked onsite and off on many areas of the the narrative.  I was part of an international writing team led by my friend, Richard Dansky,  the central writer for the Clancy games.  I also supervised the VO direction in Los Angeles.  Released March 2016.  

​

​

I had worked with Reikon Games co-founder, Magdalena  Tomkowicz,on Techland's Dead Island Franchise.  She is extremely talented and I loved working with her and jumped at the chance to help out with Reikon's debut game, Ruiner.  She created the characters, setting, and story and I served as a consultant and co-writer and rewrote the text and dialogue to make sure it played perfectly in English.  

​

I was approached by Jon Myers and Dave Grossman of Earplay, a company that creates and publishes interactive audio games. They asked if I wanted to create an original title for them and of course I said yes.  I had the perfect project in mind.  A radio comedy originally written by Richard Procter and produced by Michael LeFevre. (Michael also wrote all the music.)  I rewrote it with Richard to turn it into an interactive experience and we produced it with much of their original cast.  It's currently available for IOS devices everywhere.

 

I had worked on a previous project for One More Level.  For Ghostrunner I consulted on the overall story, edited dialogue, and did a light polish on the dialogue.  

 

 

​

​

CI Games hired me to consult on the story and write the script for the lastest game in their long-running franchise. I also consulted on the casting and helped with the voice direction.