Her narrative design creates an evocative world between characters.

— Matthew Jenkins, Environment Artist, Abertay University
Courtney is the hardest working person I know.

— Peter Robe, Graduate Research Assistant, Human Computer Interaction & AI, University of Tulsa
One word can capture her work: "timeless."

— M. Teresa Valero, School of Art, Design and Art History, University of Tulsa
Really hard worker, has leadership skills, and is very well organized.

— Kristina Cutajar, Concept Artist, Abertay University
She contributes effectively in a multitude of ways to any team.

— Gavin Wood, Environment & 3D Artist, Abertay University

Great game design has a unique combo of rich artwork and engaging narrative. (Courtney) creatively balances both and is a rare find.

— Jim Korakis, Chief Executive Officer, Good Life Marketing & Media
A fantastic artist, and insightful team member.

— Zachary Reyes, Software Developer, CymSTAR – Simulation Engineering & Manufacturing
I'm proud that I discovered her talents for my project.

— Cecilia Zhang, Indie Producer, Former Project Leader at JJ World (Beijing)
Her narrative design creates an evocative world between characters.

— Matthew Jenkins, Environment Artist, Abertay University
I feel confident that she will continue to succeed in any project she undertakes.

— Akram Taghavi-Burris, Instructor Computer Simulation & Gaming, Tandy School of Computer Science

COURTNEY VALENTINE SPIVEY

game designer, character artist, hobby programmer.

GAME PROJECTS

Semester Long projects I worked extensively on with other members of my teams, usually at Abertay University. (So far)

Accused Witches of Scotland (A.W.S.)

I worked as the Narrative Designer, Character Artist, and created most of the UI on this AR (Augmented Reality) location-based mobile game experience documenting the life of Grissel Jaffray, a woman located in Dundee that was accused of witchcraft. This was a semester long project with the Accused Witches of Scotland group, located in Scotland. (Video coming soon, currently using placeholder)

First Step of the Gods

First Step of Gods was a upper level game created by students 2 semesters ahead of me. I worked as an contract artist and worked with the other artist, Jeff Suen, to rebuild the look of the game. My tasks included redesigning UI and drawing the opening cutscene. This game had its ups and downs but ultimately we were able to create a cohesive tower defense game with some exciting & quirky gameplay.

BORE

Bore was the first long term game project I had at the University of Abertay. I worked as an UI/UX designer, narrative designer and character artist. Along with my teammates, we created a game full of lore, mystery and resource management. Watch the trailer here! To find out about the development process and my roles, click 'Read more'.

GAME JAMS

Projects I've completed with various people in short amounts of time.

The Kind-ers

During the 2020 annual 48 hour UKIE game jam I worked alongside four Abertay students to create The KIND-ers. The theme was on diversity and inclusion as a game concept and because we wanted to stray from any and every human stereotype we decided on a children's theme with basic blocks as characters. I worked as the background / UI artist and was one of the level designers.

Anemone

Hell jam was a hot mess, but I learned how to rig character animations in Unity and it was honestly a very fun experience regardless. I had two great teammates and together, we built a frustrating game that was immediately disqualified for not adhering to a special game jam constraint.

A River's Journey

Created for the UKIE Water Jam (2021).

Bramble's Playground

Created for the 2021 Global Game Jam. Find Karen's child before Bramble's Playground closes for the evening. You, the minimum wage employee trying to close up on time, have to navigate through the treacheous boundaries of Bramble's Playground as you locate the four missing toys the child has scattered all over the place while also trying to catch a slippery, strangely muscular baby...thing. Good luck! I worked as a game designer and UI artist.

Wiggly Lovers in Outer Space

My team's submission to the Brackey's Game Jam 2021. Play as an alien couple where you escape humanity's clutches. Blast through the humans with your lasers and become stronger as you merge together with your lover. I worked as game designer and background/UI artist.