Meet Marcus Brooks | Game Designer and Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marcus Brooks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marcus, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Authenticity. When I began getting into the independent animation industry, one thing I didn’t particularly care for is the amount of oversight in the design process that pertained to marketability. A story is carefully crafted alongside its visuals, characters, themes, so on and so forth. So on my first project, being told “We can’t have three black protagonists on the cover because it won’t be good for marketing,” radicalized me pretty hard. Now that I understand more about marketing and the design process, I understand the symbiosis a little more, but above all else I want to deliver experiences that are as unique as they are quality.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I never thought I would be a good writer, as I hated Language Arts. The only thing that I wanted to do when I was younger was make video games like Pokémon or Kingdom Hearts. This desire persisted as I went to a video game camp to make little demos using level editors. Actualizing the skillset to make the games I wanted to make was not as feasible as getting together a bunch of like minded individuals and guiding them with enough knowledge to communicate what I wanted them to do. In my personal time, I still mess around with UE5 and RPG Maker, but I spent the rest of my childhood learning about Theatre, History, Politics, and Music. These became foundational in what I began to observe and even seek out in my media consumption, but it became even more prevalent in the things that I created. I became this outspoken writer/director who has as much confidence in the power of small exchanges as much as he does massive twists. The lines that hold our stories are more comfortable to me than any bed I’ve ever slept on.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would have them stay in Snellville, where I grew up. To this day, there are plenty of food places to try and we would have a lot of things to go do in between staying at the new hotel they just built on 124. Briscoe and Lenora Church Park are the parks I grew up in as well. I remember when you used to be able to catch bass in Briscoe Park. To be honest, I still don’t know if the fish are biting over there or not, but i do have a picture to prove they were at some point.
Duluth is a perfect dinner city. Largest source of Eastern Cuisine in the state, and not an ounce of authenticity lost for it. Living by there adds another 30 pounds.
When I was homeless, I stayed at a youth homeless shelter off of Hope Rd. While living there, I found all sorts of abandoned places and spots that it seemed only I knew about. There was a lot of reflecting at that point in my life so I started to collect quiet places to think.
I’d say the best time to come to Atlanta is Momocon, hands down. Especially if you can score a room at the Omni Hotel. You get to see Atlanta as a predominantly Black city show it’s appreciation for nerd culture at full force. It’s probably some of the most wholesome displays of Black Culture we have, and it’s at an anime festival! I try to attend Momocon every year and I definitely recommend it to anyone curious to try it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Nubieya Mckinley is the reason I even have the confidence to create things at all. Constant support from someone who you respect deeply can push you to lengths you never thought possible. The motivation is also so contagious that you happily motivate everyone who you believe has even the slightest drive.

Website: https://www.newstoriesplus.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-story-plus/people/