Lisa Brunette was named an ironSource top Medium contributor of 2022 after her article, "The top 5 mistakes game mystery writers make — and how to avoid them" became one of LevelUp's most-loved pieces of the year.

In her article, Lisa pulls from both game-industry and book-publishing experience to identify the most common pitfalls writers face when crafting a mystery for a game. She uses examples from popular mobile games to illustrate her points and offers advice for navigating the complex work that is creating a successful mystery story (a feat that can easily baffle even the most adept writers).

Here's an excerpt:

Whether it’s the vaudeville relic of the mustache-twirling villain or the über-perfect heroine, painting with too broad a brush is tempting when you’re writing game mysteries. But some of the best-known characters in the genre are… complicated. The PI who’s battling her own drug addiction while trying to track down her brother’s killer. A boy who’s pushed to murder his own father in a fit of wild self-preservation. Maybe even the perpetrator of a justified revenge murder. We want to know more about people whose lives occupy the grey areas. The ones in mere black or white? We’ve seen ’em all before.

Our other contributions to ironSource Medium include Dexter Woltman's article, "Punchline: How to use humor to bridge player connection," and Sara Hardin's article, "Who Goes There? The Importance of Writing Distinct Character Voices."

Fans of Brunette Games can expect more industry articles from the team in the future. "We've enjoyed a wonderful partnership with ironSource LevelUp over the past year," says Lisa. "Both our studio and their company share a commitment to furthering knowledge in the game industry, so we're a natural fit. It's awesome to see that readers have responded well, and I'm excited to have the Brunette Games team continue to share our expertise in articles planned for 2023."

Among the Brunette Games team, Andy Mack is admired for his uncanny ability to voice humans, dogs, and everything in between. He's one part of our roster of incredible voice actors, and he agreed to let us pick his brain on voice acting, his own pup, and more.

What do you enjoy most about being a voice actor?

I enjoy the variety of being a VO actor the most. Instead of soul-crushing cubicle work, I get to be a cowboy bandit and then a medieval wizard and then an annoying robot sidekick—so the diversity of roles in a given day keeps me laughing!

What's your favorite thing about doing VO for games?

My favorite thing about doing VO for games is feeding my inner child who still wants to play games all day. I don't have much time to play games anymore, but I'm still connected to them through work, so there's still a great connection to that sense of wonder.

What's your VO "dream role"?

My dream role would either be for a Final Fantasy entry (Final Fantasy X is still my favorite game of all time) or a Disney-related game since I grew up with the company and am a former cast member.

What's a surprising/interesting fact about you?

I was obsessed with the movie Rad (1986) as a kid and started racing BMX when I was eight years old. I raced multiple times a week and even qualified for Nationals!

Do you have any pets?

I sure do have a pet. He's a wonderful old basset hound/pug mix named Kenny Powers. Here's his recent Halloween picture where he is clearly ashamed of his parents...

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

I mentioned Rad earlier, and it's tied with Back to the Future for my favorite movie. However, my favorite TV show is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. "The Nightman Cometh" and "High School Reunion" episodes are two of the funniest things I've ever seen, and the characters are such narcissistic psychopaths—in the best way possible. Plus, who doesn't want/need a little Danny DeVito in their lives?