Shawn French, writer of stuff
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shawnfrench.bsky.social
Shawn French, writer of stuff
@shawnfrench.bsky.social
1K followers 510 following 160 posts
Writer of video games (Epic Tavern, Murder on the Midway), comics (Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit, Escape from Jesus Island), film (The Wrong House), & audio tales (Blood Forest, Return to Blackout Point). Editor of a shit-ton of comics.
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shawnfrench.bsky.social
As a special Halloween treat, my latest audio collaboration with director @finalrune.com just dropped. You can find our twisted little serial-killer tale THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY in the Undertow feed, wherever you get your podcasts.

open.spotify.com/episode/3xDw...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3tt...
A photo from an audio production, featuring Shawn French as serial killer Harlan Caine staring down Ellie Backman in the role in Kat, a late-night college radio DJ targeted by a disturbed caller.
October 31, 2025 at 4:00 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
3-panel Meme of Donald Glover in Community. Panel 1: Glover cheerfully arrives with a stack of pizzas. "Sweet! I can still catch the second half of the Raiders game." Panel 2: Glover stares in horror. Panel 3: Wide shot showing the room is trashed and on fire, Pierce is on the ground with a gunshot wound, and Jeff is frantically trying to extinguish the flames.
October 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Doctors I trust more than RFK Jr.
Black and white image of Jay Robinson as Dr. Shrinker, glaring maniacally from behind his shrink ray.
September 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
One of my favorite images from any comic I've worked on is the lobby scene from Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit #1. The original artwork for this double splash by Steve Mardo (colors by Steve Lavigne) was eight full 11x17 pages.
A chaotic lobby scene from a comic book. Inspector Victor Marshall is entering the Fantastical Crimes Unit lobby, where lots of little chaotic moments are playing out. Escaping monsters being chased, tentacles emerging from cages, a dragon sleeping beneath the stairs, little chase scenes all over, and dozens more characters engaged in all manner of hijinks. The original black and white artwork for Steve Mardo's lobby scene in Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit. Original artwork measures 44"x34".
July 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
A narrative design presentation I'm doing for @narrascope.org on Sunday with @tomomoriwaki.bsky.social & Rich Bisso from Hyperkinetic Studios. This should be fun!
The description for NarraScope panel this weekend. CRISPR for Game Storytelling: Contextual Injection and Narrative Assembly in Epic Tavern Richard Bisso, Shawn French, Yoshitomo Moriwaki Sunday 4:00 pm–5:00 pm (US Eastern)(Room: URBN-125) (remote presentation) How can we create video game narratives that feel as dynamic and responsive as a skilled Dungeon Master running a tabletop RPG? Traditional approaches in video games often struggle to reflect the full complexity of player choices and world events without becoming ham-handed or unwieldy. This panel explores a systems-based approach to this problem. Much like CRISPR edits DNA with precision, this solution dynamically injects context into traditionally written content, ensuring that dialogue, quests, and character interactions continually respect past events, choices and the myriad conditions of the evolving game world. We’ll break down the mechanics behind this system, discuss the benefits of context-aware storytelling over traditional branching structures, and examine how dynamically assembling narrative elements can lead to more immersive and engaging game worlds. [narrative design, writing, tools]
June 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Clive Barker endorsed our batshit, Jesus-cloning monster comic back in the day. I'd love to collaborate with him on a film adaptation.
Mortimer Glum's comic book cover for Escape from Jesus Island, featuring a monstrous Antichrist rising from the ground, his arms wrapped in barbed wire and red steam pouring through the deep scar wounds in his head. The blood flowing from him passes through a miniature representation of the Vatican, leaving a pool of blood in which a dove has been impaled by an arrow.
May 22, 2025 at 1:07 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
A diagram entitled Is It Too Late to Be a Writer? Are you dead? Yes- It is too late to be a writer. No- It is not too late to be a writer.
May 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
A compilation of me getting my ass kicked on the final day of shooting The Wrong House. Ended up with three broken ribs and a dislocated hip, and it was probably the most fun I've ever had doing anything.
May 14, 2025 at 10:19 AM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
In a zombie apocalypse, I'll take my chances with Pariah from Escape from Jesus Island. No need for a second character, thanks.

#HorrorWritersChat
Horror image of a seven-headed humanoid monstrosity crouching on a pile of bones. Text at the bottom identifies the creature as Pariah, Beast of the Antichrist. Artwork by Mortimer Glum.
May 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
The Plan: Lock Trump away forever in a perfect replica of the Oval Office surrounded by actors.
Nathan Fielder is wearing a laptop computer on a shoulder harness, so it's hanging open in front of him hands-free.
April 30, 2025 at 4:12 AM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
In a lifetime of weird creative gigs, one of my favorites was filming MMA events from a cage-mounted stand.

Fun fact: I nearly got launched into the front row once when a heavyweight's spinning back kick missed his opponent and slammed full force into the post I was standing on.
Photograph of a mixed martial arts event. I am filming from a cage-mounted stand and a fighter has jumped onto the top of the cage in celebration after a win. The refs are trying to get him down.
April 20, 2025 at 2:02 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
One of my favorite covers for our comic-book adaptation of Epic Tavern, entitled Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit (Scout 2021). Cover art by Scott Koblish, with colors by @simongough2099.bsky.social.
Scott Koblish and Simon Gough's cover art for Tales from the Fantastical Crimes Unit #1. Features a grinning female orc barbarian (Grusilla Marrowsucker) with one foot atop a pile of skulls. In the background stands a young necromancer (Emilia Mortalis) and detective Victor Marshall.
March 12, 2025 at 12:47 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Game writers, what terrible quest-title pun are you most proud of? I'll go first.
#gamedev
March 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
A two-screenshot meme of Fred Armisen in a comedy sketch. Top Panel: Worked on a mediocre game? Fired. Bottom Panel: Worked on a critically acclaimed game? Believe it or not, also fired.
February 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Quick tip for my friends in #comics: If you trim the boards a bit, tees fit perfectly in standard bags/boards. You can keep them neatly organized in a short box and never have to fold shirts again.
A photograph of someone holding a t-shirt for the horror comic Escape from Jesus Island. The t-shirt is neatly enclosed in a standard comic book bag/board.
February 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
One of my favorite covers for our horror comic Escape from Jesus Island never even made it to print. Definitely one of the strangest stories I've ever written, which is saying something.
A comic book cover by artist Mortimer Glum. It depicts the monstrous form of the Antichrist with barbed wire wrapped around his forearms and tortured souls in a cloud above him. His left hand is extended puppetmaster-style over a flaming marionette of the crucified pope.
February 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
I've reached the level of hermit where I shovel a path through the Maine wilderness all winter just to ensure I never encounter another human on my daily walks.
A photo of a 1/4 mile shoveled walkway through the snowy Maine woods.
February 8, 2025 at 10:01 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Incidentally, this is also a good approach to communicating the vibe of a character at a glance. I use these sort of diagrams in all my world bibles.
February 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Shawn-coded characters
Animal from The Muppets, playing the drums. Ender Wiggin from Ender's Game Michael Bluth from Arrested Development, with a freshly bruised/cut face and a dejected expression. Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th.
February 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Meme of Pam from The Office saying, "They're the same picture."
January 26, 2025 at 4:55 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
The story in every other medium vs the story in video games. #gamedev
A simple circular diagram of The Hero's Journey narrative structure. A complex branching narrative map with hundreds of entries, each representing an entire quest.
January 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Murderville's Who Killed Santa? special (Netflix) is one of my favorite things ever. I've probably watched the big reveal 20 times over the past two years, laughing like an idiot every time.
Jason Batemen (dressed as an elf) and Will Arnett (as a detective) are crouched over Santa's dead body. A candy cane is sticking out of his chest.
December 21, 2024 at 6:02 AM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Great Moments in #gamedev History...
Lead Designer (and Pistons fan) Mark Turmell rigging the original NBA Jam so the Bulls would always miss potential game-winning shots against Detroit.
Screenshot of NBA Jam, showing the Pistons winning after the Bulls missed a buzzer-beater shot.
December 14, 2024 at 3:11 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
A closeup of the game log showing only 15 gold coins were found in this giant room full of gold coins.
December 8, 2024 at 10:44 PM
shawnfrench.bsky.social
Ever get the feeling a game is straight-up gaslighting you? There are apparently only 15 gold coins in this room. #warcraft
A screenshot from World of Warcraft showing a massive room overflowing with gold coins. In the bottom-left log, it shows the player received 15 gold pieces for unlocking this room full of treasure.
December 8, 2024 at 10:44 PM