We’re taking a break from our usual “About the Team” posts this week to introduce you to some very important people! Lonely Egg gained three new Egglets recently, and we want you to have a chance to get to know them better.

Tiffany McFarlane - Lead Animator

Tiffany is bringing our game to life as the Lead Animator on In the Keeper’s Shadow. She has a degree in animation and is not afraid to use it, but outside of her work with us, she loves drawing, video games, and fashion.

“I’m in charge of the entire animation production pipeline,” she said. “Once production starts, I’ll essentially be how the individual components of the game will be animated—so like characters, environmental assets, things like that.” In particular, Tiffany said she’s really excited about rigging the skeletons of the characters you’ll see in game.

After finding out about the project and our search for an animator through co-founder Jessica Fong, who she knew from the Conference Associates program for the Game Developers Conference, Tiffany applied as soon as she could. She was extremely interested in In the Keeper’s Shadow’s art style and has a preference for narrative-focused games, so the project was a perfect fit. “My real start as a gamer came from point and click adventure games, so being able to work on an art-based adventure game like this was really cool,” she said. This passion for adventure games bleeds into her work with us as well, as she cites Double Fine’s Broken Age as a big inspiration for her work on the project.

Chris Maude - Programmer

Chris is a programming student who loves video games, programming, and taekwondo (in which he holds a first-degree black belt). “I’m the team dancer—er, programmer,” he jokes.

As a programmer, he’s getting his hands in several different parts of the projects—from helping our lead programmer Josh tie up loose ends in his code to making tools for the other teams to use in making the game. He and Jessica have actually worked together previously as well. “Myself and Jessica met at a convention where I was literally walking around talking to people,” he said, “and I said to Jessica, ‘Hey, I’m a programmer looking for an artist!’, and she was like, ‘Well I’m an artist looking for a programmer!’” That’s when the connection between the two was made, and eventually that lead him to joining the team.

Citing his passion for both video games and games design, he’s thrilled to be working on ITKS. “Having worked with them in the past…I think [Jessica and Mark] have grown a lot since I last worked with them, and things are looking really good. I already love the team environment,” he noted. Another thing that excites him about working on the game is simply that he enjoys being co-workers with people he considers to be good friends. He’s also thrilled to work on a game with such gorgeous art—which drew him to Jessica in the first place—and is looking forward to the opportunity to breathe life into it as a member of our team.

Sarah Spiers - Junior Writer

After the departure of our good friend and former lead writer, Andrea Ayres, we found ourselves looking for another person to lend a hand in crafting the world of ITKS. That’s where our new member of the writing team, Sarah, comes in!

Sarah is a games producer living in the Midwest of the US. Outside of her job and her work with us at Lonely Egg, she volunteers as a coordinator for the IGDA Scholars program. She also really loves crossfit, anime, and her cat Anders. When asked if he has anything to say, Anders commented, “I have been sleeping on Sarah’s bed all day because she’s been watching Riverdale Season Two. I do not like Riverdale Season Two.” (The accuracy of this statement is debatable because it is difficult to translate cat, but Sarah did clarify that she does like it.)

As the Junior Writer, Sarah’s responsible for helping Lead Writer Sophie with everything from crafting the script to implementing narrative into the game itself. “I’m here to bridge the gap between the narrative team and the design team,” she explains, “and just be helpful in general. And Anders’ role is to support.”

Her journey to becoming an Egglet was a unique one, as she originally planned on applying to be a writer last year (at the suggestion of now-Marketing/PR Manager Catherine) but didn’t. “And then the role for a writer appeared again, and then I didn’t chicken out,” she adds. She found herself interested in ITKS because of how intimate and personal it is. It’s a welcome change of pace to the work she does full-time, though she also greatly enjoys that work as well. “I’m excited to be a part of a team that is really, really dedicated to this and is really respectful of the subject, and you can tell that everyone’s really cares so much, which is awesome.”