Dexter and his beloved pup, Rover.

For our first-ever Employee Spotlight, Brunette Games employee No. 3 Dexter Woltman has agreed to treat us to a look inside his brilliant mind. Read on to see how the Writer | Designer III approaches work, as well as and his thoughts on horses vs. ducks.

What's something about your position you can apply to daily life (or vice versa)?

Flexibility! When it comes to game writing, expectations can change in a moment. Your story has to work to the demands of the game. I take this aspect to heart, and I try to remain flexible in my day-to-day life. I'm an avid planner (seriously, I'm obsessed with scheduling my social life), but I've accepted that it's OK when things don't go according to plan. Sometimes the best things come out of diverging from the straight-and-narrow.

What's your favorite thing about working for Brunette Games?

For my birthday, the team gifted me a Porg lamp. Porgs are puffin-like creatures from Star Wars. I collect them—I have plushies, keychains, mugs, shirts, LEGOs, and custom artwork (I'm not crazy; you're crazy). But it's not just that I liked the gift—it showed how the Brunette Games team took special interest in my hobbies. That's how it always is between us. We're not just an exceptionally productive team, but we understand each other inside and outside of the (metaphorical) office.

What's your favorite thing about being a game writer?

I love seeing my stories come to life! It's immensely satisfying to play my own content once it's released, and the benefit of Brunette Games is working on a wide variety of titles. I remember the first time a development team created artwork for a character I pitched, and everything felt real. Even if a game's story has already been established before I'm brought on, I embrace the opportunity to put my own stamp on it.

What kind of game character would you be?

I want to be the comedic fool who approaches the player for a totally random, abrupt side quest that hardly relates to the main story. About to defeat a great evil? Maybe you can help find my missing pet rock first—it looks like every other rock, and I will insist each rock you bring me is not the right one. I strive to be this kind of random quester in real life, too. I don't want to be cliche and say I love spontaneous adventures, but I am the spontaneous adventure.

Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or 25 duck-sized horses?

A horse-sized duck. I'm allergic to horses, so the 25 duck-sized horses would quickly overwhelm me and make me sneeze to death. But I'm pretty sure I could distract a horse-sized duck with some bread... I used to own pet ducks, so I know what makes them tick. I also used to own horses and, as you would imagine, the facial tissue budget was very high.

What's your favorite movie or TV show? Why?

NBC's Hannibal! I could go on forever about this show. It's thrilling, bloody, and a little bit gay. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with an evolution of storytelling across its three seasons. It also has a fitting finale, and I always prefer shorter shows with satisfying conclusions than ones that drag one forever—I'm looking at you, AMC's The Walking Dead. I'm still watching 11 seasons and various spinoffs later, but it's a toxic, love-hate relationship. I do not learn from my mistakes.

The not-so-annual Clam Fest returns to Quahog!

By Dexter Woltman

An all-new celebration is coming to a shore near you! Join the residents of Quahog in celebrating Clam Fest, a brand-new, time-limited event in Jam City’s Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff. Written in collaboration with the writers of the hit TV show, Brunette Games brings plenty of mollusk-themed shenanigans to the wacky world of Family Guy that fans have grown to love. 

Inspired by a classic episode from the TV show, the event’s storyline follows Mayor Wild West as he runs a themed festival called Clam Fest to boost the town’s revenue. Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff has always used golden clams as a means of currency in the game, but now we bring them to the forefront.

Are you tired of the word ‘clam’ yet? I’m not!

With support from the talented team at Brunette Games, I designed this new event for Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff. But what not everyone may know is that I’ve been waiting to pitch this event for years, and it all goes back to a unique—if not outright weird—obsession: clams!

Storytelling has always been a passion of mine, and when I was a kid, clams stood out to me for their peculiar form. It was fascinating for me to think a shell could be alive. I wrote short stories titled “Planet of the Clams” and created a 12-part series of animations. These videos followed the clams’ inevitable takeover of the world and included lovable favorites (of mine) such as the Clampocalypse and infamous Clamzilla. Trust me; if there’s anything I’m good at, it’s making clam puns.

These childhood stories acted as a springboard for what would eventually lead to a career in narrative design. They helped me realize how much I enjoyed writing stories with exciting worlds and engaging characters. Growing up, I drew comics, made games, and wrote books. It all led me to a major in scriptwriting at Webster University, where I met the one-and-only Lisa Brunette—later, I joined Brunette Games.

Since entering the game-writing industry, my passion for clams hasn’t waned. In fact, Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff isn’t the only title where I've featured clam-related storylines! To start, there’s Redemption Games’ Sweet Escapes, where the lovable cast of characters deals with a clam infestation during the second season.

Joy faces the giant clam in Sweet Escapes!

The clams pop up all across Dessert Island, and the bunny Joy and her friends must find a way to deal with them before they take over their sweet shops! Normally, clams aren’t a key interest for target demographics, but Sweet Escapes drives it home with its quirky antics guiding the way. It became a beloved storyline in the second season, and received positive feedback from players!

Redemption Games supports the clam storyline with incredible world design. They created unique clam assets to scatter around the island, including some which players could interact with by tapping on them.

But the fun doesn’t end there! When designing the storyline for Gear Inc.’s Animal Island, we featured Shelly, a soft-spoken clam. Over the course of the game, she takes a central role in protecting the island from a swarm of locusts.

With Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, Sweet Escapes, and Animal Island, I had exciting opportunities to incorporate my unique interests into my professional work. Continue following Brunette Games, and you’ll be sure to find the occasional clam reference or two. And check out Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff’s Clam Fest! The time-limited event runs through August 24th, 2022.

You can download Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Brunette Games Founder Lisa Brunette was recently interviewed by the Mid County Chamber of Commerce as part of a roundup of women entrepreneurs and business owners. We’re proud to be members of the Chamber, and Lisa’s thrilled to be included in the roundup, which you can read in its entirety over at the Chamber Chatter newsletter.

But since there wasn’t space for Lisa’s full interview, we’ll include the rest here.

Q: If you could speak to a younger you, what advice would you give her? 

Ha, ha, I know this sounds impossible, but someday your talent as a writer will actually provide you with a decent income.

Q: If the state of your business was a season (winter, spring, summer, fall), which season would it be and why? 

The winter of our discontent! We experienced an unparalleled boom during the COVID lockdowns when everyone was stuck at home, looking for something to do. Unfortunately, decision-makers are comparing this year to that anomaly instead of looking at numbers from pre-COVID, which would give them a much more accurate yardstick. 

Q: Anything else you'd like to say? 

Brunette Games and Brunette Gardens are the third and fourth companies I've owned, so I guess that makes me a serial entrepreneur. Even when I've worked for other companies, I'm the person who builds a team or department from scratch or steps in to "fix" a troubled program! I used to think of this tendency as a burden, but now I see it's a blessing.