All my life I’ve been a fierce force of imagination, persistence, and hard work: like a dragon hunting for gold. But instead of treasure, I’ve been searching for stories to tell and ways to make an impact.

Born in Belarus, I studied journalism in Bulgaria and worked in marketing in Russia, but storytelling has always been my true passion. I create narratives that allow people to explore fresh perspectives in a safe, immersive way.

As a queer, neurodivergent woman from a patriarchal country, I’m passionate about shedding light on complex topics through my work. Over the years, I’ve designed more than 100 LARP games, written 10+ original tabletop campaigns, and worked as a script supervisor on the short film Mein Name Akim (2024), which tells the story of transgender refugees in Germany.

During my MA in Serial Storytelling at IFS Cologne, I honed my skills across genres, working on solo projects as well as collaborating in Writers' Rooms.

Currently, I’m co-developing a visual novel game with a co-author as a passion project.

Now that I've completed my degree, I’m eager to bring my creativity to TV and gaming, crafting stories in both English and German.

Dragons never stop breathing fire. And neither do I, with an endless flow of ideas and stories I can’t wait to share.

Alena Lysiakova

🎧 Too much sound can ruin your audio game.

Audio designers love layering: music, background ambience, footsteps, breathing, radio static, wind, distant sirens, and emotional underscore. 

And suddenly your “immersive experience” feels like standing inside a broken washing machine. 

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most people don’t play audio games in perfect silence. They’re commuting. Cooking. Walking. Folding laundry. 

Audio storytelling competes with real life. If your game requires 100% concentration at all times just to understand what’s happening, you’re designing against the format.

Cognitive overload is real:
🐲 Constant SFX + dense dialogue = fatigue
🐲 Overlapping voices = confusion
🐲 Permanent music bed = emotional flattening
🐲 No breathing room = listener burnout

Immersion doesn’t come from “more sound.” It comes from intentional sound. Silence matters. Contrast matters. Clarity matters. Design audio like oxygen.

Good audio narrative design respects the listener’s brain, because the worst experience isn’t “hard,” it’s exhausting.

#NarrativeDesign #AudioGames

Alena Lysiakova 🐉

Narrative designer and screenwriter ▶️ Let's create stories that make an impact

Here’s something most audio writers don’t plan for 👉 players will mishear things. 


Names. Instructions. Locations. Important clues. And no, it’s not because they’re inattentive. It’s because audio competes with real life.

If your entire branching logic collapses because someone misheard “Mara” as “Nara,” that’s not player failure. 👉 That’s architectural fragility.

Designing for mishearing means:
👾 Avoid critical distinctions that rely on similar-sounding names
🐲 Reinforce important information through variation, not repetition
👾 Use context to clarify meaning instead of assuming perfect recall
🐲 Make systems resilient to imperfect listening

In audio, clarity isn’t about simplifying the story. It’s about building redundancy intelligently. The player shouldn’t need studio-level focus to follow your game.

If your structure only works in perfect silence with perfect attention, it’s not built for the real world.

#NarrativeDesign #AudioGames #InteractiveStorytelling

The uncomfortable truth about writing for audio: sometimes experience gets in the way. 🐲 


I coach a lot of writers transitioning into interactive audio, and I keep seeing the same pattern: the more experienced the writer, the harder it can be to adapt.

Not because they’re not talented, but because they’re used to controlling the frame.

In audio, you don’t have visuals to lean on. You don’t have text people can reread. You don’t have cinematic shortcuts.

You have a voice. Timing. Space. Silence. Choice phrasing. Cognitive load.

And if you try to force screenwriting logic or prose logic onto audio without adjusting, the story simply doesn’t breathe. 

💡 Audio is a different architecture. It demands different pacing, different exposition control and different emotional calibration.

That’s why transitioning with a coach helps. Not because you don’t know how to write, but because someone needs to point out the invisible friction early.

You can read all the documents you want. Clarity usually comes when someone listens and says, “This works. This doesn’t. And here’s why, specifically for audio.”

Different medium requires different muscles. And once they click, audio becomes addictive.

#NarrativeDesign #AudioGames #StoryCoaching

Dating used to be awkward dinners and nervous eye contact… now it’s co-op bosses and shared loot drops. 🎮💘

In my latest article, I dig into why playing together is becoming the new dating, and how games are quietly reshaping connection, chemistry, and even heartbreak.

👉 https://lnkd.in/eU6XgMn8

If you’re into storytelling, relationships, or just fascinated by how games intersect with real life feelings, this one might hit a nerve.

#GamingCulture #Storytelling

Open article: Why playing together is the new dating by meer.com

🎧 Your audio game must survive interruptions


People don’t play audio games the way they play visual ones.  They’re walking. Cooking. Commuting. Someone asks them a question. A notification pops up. The subway arrives.

And suddenly your carefully crafted scene is paused for five minutes.

🐲 When they come back, the player shouldn’t feel lost. That’s why good audio narrative design builds re-entry points into the architecture, those small structural cues that help the brain reconnect:

👾 A character briefly restating the immediate goal
👾A reaction that reminds the player what just happened
👾Environmental cues that re-establish the situation
👾A choice that naturally summarizes the stakes

These moments are navigation; because audio games exist in the middle of real life, not inside a perfectly controlled gaming session. 

💡 If your story only works when the listener gives it uninterrupted attention, you’re designing for an ideal player that doesn’t exist. Good audio architecture assumes interruptions and quietly guides the player back in.

#audiogames #narrativedesign #storyarchitecture

All screenplays benefit from being visual. 
💡 But for vertical storytelling, it’s not a nice bonus: it’s survival.


In a traditional film or TV script, you can sometimes get away with dialogue carrying the scene. Two characters talking in a room can still work if the emotional stakes are strong enough. In verticals, that scene is dead on arrival.

The viewer is watching on a phone, often half-distracted, scrolling with their thumb, ready to abandon you at any second. If nothing visually happens, the story simply disappears. 👉 Vertical scenes need immediate visual signals.

You don't need long exposition or dialogue. Just one visual action that tells the entire story beat.

🐲 That’s the real discipline vertical storytelling teaches you: if the audience can understand the moment without sound, you’re probably doing it right.
#Screenwriting #VerticalSeries #Storytelling

In visual games, players always know where they are. There’s a map, a UI, and a quest log. Basically, something grounding them.

In audio there is nothing like that. Which means if you don’t deliberately build structural anchors, your story starts to drift.

Structural anchors are recurring elements that help listeners orient themselves without realizing it.

It could be:
🐲 A specific location you return to
🐲 A character who always reappears between major beats
🐲 A ritual moment (a radio check-in, a diary entry, a nightly call)
🐲 A recurring sound cue that signals transition

These anchors are architecture. Without them, scenes blur. Branches feel random. The player doesn’t feel lost because the plot is confusing; they feel lost because there’s no spatial or emotional reference point. Audio needs repetition with intention.

When players hear that familiar voice, that recurring space, that structural checkpoint, their brain relaxes. Orientation returns. Engagement stabilizes.

#NarrativeDesign #AudioGames

Just added another tool to the storytelling toolbox. 🎮

I’ve completed the course “Unreal Engine 5: Blueprint Scripting 101.”

As someone who usually lives on the narrative side of games, it’s always interesting to peek under the hood and understand how the systems actually work. Turns out Blueprint logic is not nearly as scary as it looked at first glance.

More ways to connect story, mechanics, and player experience — always a good thing. 🐲 Now back to building worlds.

Open article: Udemy Course Completion Certificate by ude.my

I’ll be attending Series Mania Forum on March 24 to 26.


Do you want to talk series and verticals? 🎬  
🐲 Let's meet and talk over coffee in Lille. 

#SeriesMania #VerticalSeries #Networking

James Cooper

Final Draft Resumes

I launched Final Draft Resumes with the aim of providing consulting services to job seekers and helping them navigate the increasingly complex job market. 

Some of the key pieces of information that I'd like to share with you: 

🔹 I work with professionals in almost every industry from science and engineering to sales and business development. 

🔹 Whether you're a new college graduate, experience professional, or seasoned executive, I can help you sell yourself with a solid resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile!

🔹 I work YOU one-on-one to help create a tailored set of career documents that are unique to your background, experiences, and skillset. 

🔹 My company, Final Draft Resumes, has a solid 5/5 rating on Trustpilot!

Professional Resume Writer // ATS Expert // Cofounder

I provide my clients with LinkedIn makeovers that include: 

🔹 Creating headlines that reflect what you do and the value you bring!

🔹 Developing summary sections that showcase your background and what you bring to the table. 

🔹 Results-oriented content of all your prior positions! 

🔹 Analysis of your LinkedIn activities and recommendations for leveraging the network to make new connections and find new career opportunities!

LinkedIn Branding Expert

Private Consultancy

Contract career coach and resume writer, connecting with clients across over 20 industries including engineering, sales, marketing, and pharmaceuticals. 

Provided guidance to professionals in the areas of:
-Career switches
-Salary negotiations
-Interview training
-Resume writing

Career Coach

AECOM

As a member of the recruiting team within a multinational engineering services corporation, I screened thousands of candidates across multiple internal divisions and supported hiring managers with in-person and remote candidate interviewing and decision-making.

Recruitment Specialist

I’m James, a Professional Resume Writer with 16+ years of experience in talent acquisition and career services!

I kickstarted my career in 2008 as a recruiter with AECOM, a Fortune 500 company, where I reviewed and screened 1000s of resumes and filled 100s of corporate and engineering positions across Canada and the U.S. 

Today, I manage my own career services company company, Final Draft Resumes, where I help executives, middle managers, and established professionals from almost every industry, including: 

🔹Science
🔹Engineering
🔹Information Technology 
🔹Cybersecurity
🔹Sales
🔹Marketing
🔹Multimedia
🔹Management Consulting, and tons more!

I've helped job seekers land coveted positions at some of the most renowned companies and institutions in the world including KPMG, PwC, and Amazon. 

My services include: 

⭐️ One-on-one interview consultations!

⭐️ Captivating and ATS-friendly resumes (from scratch - no templates!)

⭐️ LinkedIn branding and profile audits 

Website --> 🌐 www.finaldraftresumes.com! 

Client Testimonials -->  www.trustpilot.com/review/finaldraftresumes.com

--- 

Connect with me at ✉️ jc@finaldraftresumes.com.

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Alena Lysiakova

James Cooper

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