I led the creative vision and marketing strategy for Macabre, delivering a Kickstarter that raised AUD 350,000 and built a combined audience of more than 350,000 across wishlists, email subscribers and social platforms. The game ranked in the top one per cent of wishlisted titles on Steam.
Creative Leadership and Direction
As Creative Director on Macabre, I oversaw all creative and promotional outputs from concept through execution. Working within a small multidisciplinary team, I remained hands on across cinematics, trailers, campaign development and community communication. By focusing on our strengths and building efficient workflows, we delivered high-quality creative far beyond what is typical for an indie studio of our size.
Launch Trailer
The launch trailer represents the final creative identity of Macabre. I directed the tone, pacing and narrative framing, overseeing in-engine cinematics, camera design and edit. This trailer defines the world and emotional sensibility of the game and serves as our primary promotional asset for launch and platform submissions.
Social & Media Campaigns
With almost no traditional marketing spend, I built Macabre’s audience through grass roots social content. Over several years I experimented with hooks, pacing, formats and storytelling angles across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. These iterations generated millions of organic views and contributed to a combined audience of more than 350,000 across Steam wishlists, email subscribers and social platforms.
Macabre has been featured at the PC Gaming Show, Realms Deep and SXSW Sydney, and covered by many international publications.
In-Engine Cinematics
I directed and produced real-time cinematic sequences in Unreal Engine 5 to support both marketing and worldbuilding. These pieces focus on mood, environmental storytelling and camera design, blending real-time workflows with cinematic sensibility.
Cinematic Collaboration
Alongside our in-engine work, I directed a cinematic teaser with an external studio. I provided creative supervision, narrative direction and shot briefs while the partnering team executed the work in their preferred pipeline.
Kickstarter Creative and Campaign
I led the full creative and strategic direction of our Kickstarter campaign, developing the pitch video, visual identity, messaging and daily promotional content. With a focus on clarity, storytelling and organic reach, the campaign hit its funding goal within 38 hours and went on to raise AUD $350,000.
Showcase and Talks
Macabre has been featured at SXSW Sydney and the PC Gaming Show. I have delivered talks on game marketing, community building and PR strategies for independent studios, sharing insights into audience psychology and long-term engagement.
