Joshua Ortega is a Bay Area-based writer, narrative designer, and creative direction consultant whose work spans nearly the entire spectrum of the popular arts. He has written for every major American comic book company including Marvel, DC Comics, Image, IDW, Dark Horse, Top Cow, and more, and has worked on high-profile properties such as Star Wars, Spider-Man, Family Guy, Star Trek, Batman, Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer, Battlestar Galactica, and The Other Dead. A former journalist, Ortega is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel ((Frequencies)), co-writer (with Academy Award-winning director TJ Martin) of the short film "…loves Martha," and has worked on a wide variety of video games, including the smash hits Gears of War 2 & 3, Shadow Complex, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Viva Piñata. He has been featured numerous times on NPR, CBS, FOX, G4, MTV, Spike TV, and Syfy, and has also been nominated for both an Eisner and a Harvey Award. Ortega also serves as a transmedia and intellectual property consultant, and has worked with various entertainment, video game, and advertising companies to develop IP across multiple entertainment platforms.

Creative Direction / Senior Narrative Designer @ Duties include working directly with development teams on creative direction, narrative design & fiction, collaborating closely with GM's, design directors, lead designers, and PM's on IP creation & development, creating meta-narrative story arcs, writing and revising game dialogue, working with development teams to "world-build" and flesh out basic concepts and backstory, story bible creation, and working with transmedia and social media partners to properly integrate games with the larger IP vision. From April 2012 to Present (3 years 7 months) San Francisco Bay AreaWriter / Narrative Designer / Transmedia Consultant @ Duties included working directly with internal and external development teams (design, art, sound, loc, etc.), collaborating closely with lead designers and producers, writing and revising game dialogue and cinematics, creating pitches and treatments for new games and new IP, working with development teams to "world-build" and flesh out basic concepts and backstory, casting and directing voice talent and working in the AR studio, working with marketing and PR on media materials and media appearances, managing franchise and IP development, working with transmedia partners to properly integrate games with the larger IP vision. From April 2010 to April 2012 (2 years 1 month) Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina AreaWriting Lead / Narrative Designer / Creative Consultant @ Duties included working directly with internal and external development teams (design, art, sound, loc, etc.), collaborating closely with lead designers and producers, writing and revising game dialogue and cinematics, creating pitches and treatments for new games and new IP, story doctoring and editing for other writers and other games, working with development teams to "world-build" and flesh out basic concepts and backstory, casting and directing voice talent and working in the AR studio, working with marketing and PR on media materials and media appearances, managing franchise and IP development, on-location writing in the studio and with external developers, working with transmedia partners to properly integrate games with the larger IP vision, and writing game manuals and other supporting documentation. From April 2006 to March 2010 (4 years) Greater Seattle AreaWriter / IP & Creative Consultant @ Wrote for various titles including Gears of War, Legends of the Dark Knight, and Batman Confidential, also served as Creative Consultant on Gears. From March 2004 to March 2010 (6 years 1 month) Greater New York City AreaWriter @ Writer for the Harvey Award-nominated Necromancer, featuring art by Francis Manapul. From March 2005 to October 2007 (2 years 8 months) Greater Los Angeles AreaWriter / Creative Consultant @ Wrote the Knights of the Old Republic story "Shadows & Light" for Star Wars Tales, also contributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist. From January 2005 to July 2007 (2 years 7 months) Portland, Oregon AreaWriter @ Worked with editor Tom Brevoort on first published comic book, Spider-Man Unlimited #8 (featuring Ryan Sook on art). From December 2003 to March 2004 (4 months) Greater New York City Area

University of Washington Joshua Ortega is skilled in: Video Games, Entertainment, Books, Writing, New Media, Screenwriting, Comics, Advertising, Film, Social Media, Content Creation, Transmedia, Content Strategy, Creative Writing, Storytelling, Creative Direction, Narrative, Editorial, Casual Games, Multimedia, Editing, Public Relations, Art, Publishing, Art Direction, Game Development, Game Design, Computer Games, Mobile Games, MMO, Xbox 360, Interactive..., Game Mechanics, Gameplay, Social Games, Level Design, Online Gaming, Console, Video Game Production, World Building, Storyboarding, Monetization