Overlay Dynamics
Immersive Narratives Layered Onto Reality
2017-Present · Lenses: Words, Websites, Games, Narrative, Legit Business, Work for Hire, Public Weirdness, Spatial Stories, Collaboration, Actual Sincerity · Roles: Concept, Writing, Copywriting, Design, Web Design, Development, Game Design, Puzzle Design, Worldbuilding, Fabrication, Art Direction, Production, Consulting, Collaboration
OverlayDynamics.com · View the Pitch Deck
When I’m not writing, making things, or doing dumb bits, I’m combining all of these pursuits to run an immersive experience company called Overlay Dynamics. We build story-based puzzle games called Overlays that bring players into the real world, using existing landmarks and public art as clues. You can think of them as treasure hunts, alternate reality games (ARGs), outdoor escape rooms, or puzzle video games transposed onto physical spaces.
If none of those descriptions work for you, just imagine the movie National Treasure, only instead of Nicolas Cage following clues hidden in the Declaration of Independence across America to find Templar treasure, it’s you following clues hidden in a mobile website across a public park to find something infinitely less valuable than an underground chamber full of plundered relics.
I’ve consulted on puzzle games for marketing agencies and major movie studios, built team-building games for corporate organizations and private parties, and have been developing projects for a variety of tourism boards and public institutions. They’ve taken the form of pen and paper treasure hunts, responsive websites, social media posts, and branching-narrative web apps.
I’ve made a number of free-to-play Overlays (listed below) if you want to try one out. Is there a puzzle game hidden in this website? Great question!