Byron Donaldson

Writer | Visual Storyteller | The Best Break Dancing Byron in the World

About Me

What doth my eyes perceive over yonder hill? Why tis my “About Me” section.

Ever since I was a wee lad, I loved a good story; whether it was from a novel, comic book, tv show, movie, or video game. I look at telling a good story as a way of reaching out to people in order to help them expand their way of thinking.

I believe any story, regardless of it being in a realistic or fantastical setting, can expand a person’s way of thinking by providing scenarios and perspectives they aren’t familiar with. Seeing how great stories can potentially affect people in such personal ways is why I’m pursuing a career in visual storytelling. I want to leave a positive impact on people through whatever it is I create; encouraging them to learn something more about themselves, people from different walks of life, or the human condition. I find it even more fulfilling if I can manage to make people laugh as well.

Let’s see other things about me…I’m left handed, I break dance, graduated with a BA in English: Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and love mac and cheese.

I recently made a trailer for Wayfinders, a game I was developing. For up to date information about my professional experience, you can check out the PDF of my standard resume. You can also play my (slightly out of date) interactive resume through your internet browser.

For all the people visiting my page because of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast, I am indeed a real person.

 

Edited Videos

 
 

Heat Check Vol. 3

2v2 Finalists

Heat Check is a break dancing event in Seattle where dancers from all around the northwest compete. With footage provided by J Luck Media (https://www.youtube.com/@jluckmedia), I made a highlight reel to showcase the 2v2 finalists. 🔥 ☑️

Winner: Stray Path (Curt and Emma)

Dancers: Emma (Vancouver, BC), Curt Vancouver, BC), Fishy (Seattle, WA), and Kulani (Seattle, WA)

Video edited with Adobe Premiere Pro. Visual Effects (The Heat Check Vol. 3 title) made with Adobe After Effects.

Heat Check Vol. 3

Footwork Finalists

Heat Check is a break dancing event in Seattle where dancers from all around the northwest compete. What makes this event unique from others is there’s a footwork competition where the winner wins a spot for the footwork competition for the Massive Monkees Day competition (one of the biggest events in the Northwest where dancers from all around the world compete in). With footage provided by J Luck Media (https://www.youtube.com/@jluckmedia), I made a highlight reel to showcase the footwork finalists. 🔥 ☑️

Winner: Dann Vital

Footage provided by J Luck Media (https://www.youtube.com/@jluckmedia)

Dancers: Dann Vital (Seattle, WA) and Juan Hundred (Portland, OR)

Video edited with Adobe Premiere Pro. Visual Effects (The Heat Check Vol. 3 title) made with Adobe After Effects.

Wayfinders

This is a proof of concept trailer I made for a game I was working on. It introduces the 3 main characters; Perry (the hopeful adventurer), Archie (the sheltered enthusiast), and Lily (the dutiful yet dreamful sentinel).

The 3D models and animation assets were pre-made but all the scenes were made by me.

The song isn’t part of the game but I chose use it for the trailer because I wanted it to have an upbeat, adventurous feel. Full song can be found here: JABBERLOOP / シロクマ Shirokuma

Video edited with Adobe Premiere Pro.

The Northwest Sweet 16 2024

Down Right Fierce

I made a music video-esque highlight video of us at this year’s NW Sweet 16. We entered as “Down Right Fierce” which is a double entendre that references the Street Fighter video game series (it’s the command input to execute the iconic fireball attack, “Hadouken”). To stick with the theme of our team name, I made sure to use a song that references Street Fighter.

Song: Street Fight (An Ode to Capcom) by Year of the Ox

Sweet 16 is one of the largest break dancing events in the Northwest. Where each year, dancers from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Alaska, and Idaho are either invited to or compete in regional qualifiers for 16 spots in the 1v1.

Along with the 1v1 is the group category (2v2, 3v3, etc.). This year was a 3v3 which we (Dann Vital, Run, and I) entered and won.

Footage provided by J Luck Media (https://www.youtube.com/@jluckmedia).

Video edited with Adobe Premiere Pro.

Video Game Samples


Archie’s Descent

Archie’s Descent is a proof of concept demo that acts as a prologue for one of the main characters of Wayfinders, Archie. The goal of this demo is to showcase my writing, visual storytelling, and general comprehension of game design. It’s also to show that I’m willing to learn something as robust as the Unreal Engine.


Heritage.jpg

Heritage

Heritage is an episodic, interactive story that I am writing for the Tales: Choose Your Own Story (Android version is currently in the works). It’s about Samantha Ward, a young mythic hunter who inherits more than her father's occupation while struggling with her family's demand to integrate her into high society.


Wayfinders (formerly Wayfarers)

I originally made a demo in RPG Maker MV just as a proof of concept to showcase my storytelling capabilities but received such good reviews from it that I decided to continue developing it with the Unreal Engine.


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Runner P

When the quarantine was enacted, I decided to use that time to learn how to use the Unreal Engine and make a game. I ended up making an endless runner loosely based on an award winning movie I enjoyed watching.


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Marooned

This is a text based, choose your own adventure game I made with the Twine engine. I wanted to make this game as a way to challenge myself into making something that relies strictly on the writing/story to compel people to play it.

When I was a tester for Big Fish Games, I was part of a project where I not only tested but also did content checks for a F2P mobile application that was library for interactive fiction gamebooks.

Writing Samples


Ban’s Duty (Adventure Fantasy)

A young firebender must decide to do the right thing by betraying his country to save a young boy from execution.

Based in the Avatar: The Last Airbender world which is one of my favorite shows of all time.


Heritage: Sam’s Birthday Surprise (Adventure Fantasy)

A young mythic hunter inherits more than her father’s occupation while struggling with her family’s demands to integrate her into high society.

When given an opportunity to write for an Interactive Fiction platform, I adapted this short story into one.


Retrieval (Science Fiction)

A Retriever risks his first day on an excavation to find a certain kind of book.

There was a contest at my local library for writing a short science fiction story that resembles the works of Octavia E. Butler.


Jungle Encounter (Adventure Fantasy)

Perry and Archie come face to face with some of the local fauna and resident of the jungle.

This based my own original story/world, Wayfinders. This is one of my earlier works that showcases two of the main characters, Perry and Archie.


Dealing with Time (Science Fiction)

Mark, a young man, visits a shop that specializes in all things relating to time and meets the eccentric owners.

I was a big fan of Quantum Leap growing up and I enjoy writing quirky characters. This story is a result of those things.


 My Two Cents (Blog)