My Portfolio

This page is a collection of things I have personally made or worked on in some capacity!

~Writings~

Here's a collection of some of the stuff I've written! It's a growing list :)

(You can also check out some more of my bloggy writing in the header bar thingy.)

A Historical Survey of Memes

Explore the finest, most artistic memes the Internet has to offer, curated and discussed by none other than the Duke of Frogtown himself! A Historical Survey of Memes is an 8-page-long zine styled in the fashion of an 18th century chapbook featuring hand carved meme block prints, historical facts, and expressive poetry.

Written by Joel Troutman

Art by Joel Troutman

two pages of the zine. shocked pikachu and stonks

Check out the zine here!

And here's an article detailing the process of making it.

~Games~

Here's a list of some of the games I've worked on! Some of them are solo projects while others are things I've worked on as part of a small team. It's a growing list!

Did You Hear About Billy?

Did You Hear About Billy? is a narrative generation tabletop RPG mystery played with 2-5 players, plus a gamemaster. Players search locations, string together clues, and fight off horrors (both human and weird) in their search for the missing Billy. Building upon hearsay and the local legends of Appalachia, the game uses a deck of cards to generate the story’s mystery as well as its twists, developments, and red herrings.

Writing, design, and art by Joel Troutman

I made this project as an entry to the One-Page RPG Jam 2023. All of the art, design elements, and writing is my own. I pulled from Appalachian legends to flavor the world, design the game's rules, and inspire the aesthetic. It's a small game, but I learned a lot creating it and had a lot of fun along the way.

Keepless Nights

Keepless Nights is a visual novel about social anxiety and agoraphobia. Play through the daily life of an isolated protagonist as they struggle to build connections and explore the realities of living on their own. Will you open up to the world or fortify yourself from society?

Art by Roy Ocskasy and Emily Brown

Writing by Joel Troutman and Markella Voltz

Programming by Magda Videva

Made for Games4SocialImpact 2021

Winner of Jammer's Choice and Best Art Design

key art for keepless nights (women want me fish fear me)

You are (not) in control

You are (not) in control is a fan-made Neon Genesis Evangelion interactive narrative. Play as 14-year-old Shinji Ikari as he struggles with the trauma of saving the world from cosmic destruction while also dealing with the confusing turbulence of puberty. Your choices shape Shinji's mental state and dictate the events of the story. Open up to other characters, face your fears, and decide the fate of humanity by answering one question: will Shinji get in the robot?

Writing and programming by Joel Troutman

~Editorial~

Here's a list of some of the published stories and books I've worked on in some editorial fashion, ranging from proofreading to in-depth feedback and structural editing.

War Horses: Chevalier

by Scott Warren

Life as a tank mechanic won’t make you famous, but at least no one shoots at you.

That’s what veteran maintainer Rande ‘Vandal’ VanDelle of the Chevaliers Private Calvary thought. Until, during a routine maintenance patrol, he found himself fighting for his life inside the company‘s oldest upright tank.

Bruised, battered, and barely standing, Vandal soon returns to the cockpit to bolster the ranks of a desperate defense force. As he and his fellow Chevaliers attempt to hold back the flood of turncoats, spearheaded by a legendary cadre of off-world mercenaries, Vandal must learn to master the fickle and deadly upright tanks if he wants to live to see the next contract.

Check out War Horses: Chevalier here!

I gave Scott editorial feedback and notes on the story and writing.

Oathbreakers Anonymous

by Scott Warren

As champion of the Goddess of Fate, Marluck had it all: fame, power, status—until his divine favor was stripped while fighting a freakish fledgling god-beast. He somehow became an Oathbreaker: a reviled fallen paladin, scorned by all. A sentence from which most never recover.

Bereft of his powers and cast down lower than the cobbles, Marluck stumbles across the Oathbreakers Guild, where other ex-holy warriors like himself meet weekly and share their woes amid cheap ale.

It helps, for a time. But when a stranger in the group whispers of four holy sites where other Oathbreakers found favor once more, Marluck is helpless to resist the siren song of renewed succor within the fold of his goddess.

Together with three eccentrictic paladins of wildly different faiths—each with demons of their own—Marluck sets out on a do-or-die quest to find favor once more.

oathbreakers anonymous cover, art by scott warren

Check out Oathbreakers Anonymous here!

I gave Scott editorial feedback and notes on the story and writing.

Back to Beorn's

by Jeremy Tuber

"Back to Beorn's" is a relaxing bedtime story about Bilbo's return to the Shire following the Battle of the Five Armies. Focusing on the journey home and Bilbo's desire to find peace after his adventure, the story also relaxes its listeners with soothing descriptions of cozy settings and decadent foods.