Derek Spicer
Narrative writer, game designer, and lover of video games
Story of Derek Spicer
I love creating worlds. Whether they be on the page or in a game engine, I enjoy bringing fictional and fantastical universes to life. In terms of gaming, I love fantasy-based RPGs. My other interest beyond writing narrative is level & world design for games.
I'm in the midst of developing a space fantasy novel series. I've finished the first book, ORB OF EMANCIPATION (see below), and it is available to order. More sequels to follow.
The Tales of Havera
Book one, The Tales of Havera: Orb of Emancipation, available now!
Five-hundred years after Earth vanished, the remnants of humanity live as subjugates of an oppressive alien race, the Bokori. Resisting their egalitarian at any costs culture, a burgeoning Human separatist movement thrives by occupying the Bokori homeworld's jungle moon. Adam Mortis finds himself unwillingly at the helm of this crusade upon the death of his father. Ignored by the wider galactic community and even opposed by many members of his own race, Adam must battle against all odds, along with his inner demons spawned by the months of torture at the hands of the Bokori's cultural police, to free his people, allowing them to chart their own path with a sense of cultural identity they've not had in centuries.
Unbeknownst to everyone, a whisper in the depths of deep space heralding the awakening of far greater, ancient powers threaten to render Adam's cause moot. Havera, a mysterious scholar of the influential, colorful Cauduun race and harbinger of events to come, has arrived on the Bokori moon. Her own personal mission will unknowingly drag Adam and a group of ragtag alien partners into a primeval conflict involving deities, a near-mythical ancient alien race of unspeakable destruction, and long-lost magical artifacts that form the very core of life itself in our galaxy. The first of these "Vitriba" is...the ORB OF EMANCIPATION.
Queens Havera Anthologies
While working on the main novel, I began writing a few short stories involving background lore of my universe. In this case, I have brief anthologies about the nine Cauduun queens who share their name with the title character, Havera (early concept art pictured in background). The twist with these anthologies is that they are written in universe by Havera, herself. As a scholar of the Praetorian Order, she wrote these popular histories just prior to the events of the main story.
Tell me which of these "Tales of Havera" is your favorite!
Havera I "The Liberator"
Havera II "The Forgotten Queen"
Havera III "The Schemer"
Havera IV "The Warrior Queen"
Havera V "The Devout"
Havera VI "The Tailless"
Havera VII "The Lusty Queen"
Havera VIII "The Adventurer"
Havera IX "The Unyielding"
Lady: The Backyard Adventure
This is a short game my friends and I created for our final project. It's a platforming action-adventure game inspired by Super Mario 64 and other similar games. Take control of Lady, a ladybug living in a village under the deck. Navigate a real-world backyard to defeat the nefarious Mantis & his minions to restore peace to your domain.
Other Writings
A few samples of my WIP spec screenplays upon request
Untitled Animated Fantasy Pilot
Pilot - Opening Action Sequence
A half-hour animated action-comedy pilot inspired by table-top role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. An unlikely group of novice adventurers are tasked with rescuing a princess after the initial more-experienced adventuring team was annihilated in the first rescue attempt. Seems like a straight forward premise. Wait til you meet the novice adventurers: a clumsy dwarf barbarian, a cursed changeling that cannot sustain a transformation, a one-armed demonic-looking ranger, and a nymph cleric that cannot control her magic led by a disgraced drunk human monk. What will happen when they find the princess? Oh, did I mention the princess is a half-orc and secretly a warlock?
Eldritch Games
Pilot - Meet the Team Party Scene
Go behind the scenes of a popular fictional AAA gaming studio based out of Raleigh, NC in this hour-long drama. They are Eldritch Games. Creators of popular fictional titles such as Knights of Ill Repute and Cosmic Killers, Eldritch is about to release their new title, Day and Age, after a tumultuous development cycle. See the company through the lens of Jason Stuckmann, the stressed Eldritch CEO, and Gabi, the spunky newest addition to the quality assurance team. Sex, drama, cultural clashes, and crunch. That's what you expect from a bunch of gamer nerds, right?
The Binding
Carrie Meets Her Grandmother
In this fantasy-horror film, Carrie Prince, a traumatized college graduate living with her mother, learns of a family secret following the death of her estranged-father. Her father and grandmother were Spirit Binders, people with unusual affinity for the supernatural and the power to bind ghosts to their soul. While her mother tries to protect her from this truth, Carrie's grandmother seeks to train young Carrie. Carrie must learn to control her extraordinary powers in order to confront the evil spirit that killed her father. An evil spirit with an unexpected connection to Carrie's past.