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Page 15
About Shayna Josi
Shayna Josi is a Features Writer from South Africa. Shayna has always been passionate about stories, and has dedicated her life to learning how to tell them. Aside from writing about her favorite video games on the digital publication The Best War Games, Shayna has taught English in Japan, is a ghostwriter, copywriter, and editor in the publishing industry. Shayna enjoys traveling, and spends most of her time between South Africa, the EU, and Japan. She believes the best of people come out in the stories they tell, and with stories comes the power to connect people across any divide - be it language, geography, culture, or time. To this end, Shayna’s research at university dealt with narrative worlds within video games, and how they use their environments to tell stories. Her hope is that the incredible stories told through video games will be recognized as literary, just as much as traditional storytelling mediums.
Industry Focus
Shayna’s industry focus is primarily on RPGs and life sims, but she does venture into cozy games if they're set to the backdrop of LotR. RPGs encompass everything from Dragon Age to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, with focus on commentary about character, storytelling, and game design. Life sims are also great vehicles for storytelling, with customizable environments allowing for imaginative sandbox gameplay.
Favorite Games
Shayna’s favorite games are: The Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Hades, Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition (with Trespasser), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Journey. Hades and Hades 2 triggered a deep appreciation for the Classics, while KotOR and Oblivion formed the backdrop of her childhood.
Favorite Console
Shayna grew up playing games on her family’s desktop and fighting with her brother for her turn. Having her own PC to access whenever she wanted somewhere in her teens turned gaming from a habit into a full-blown obsession. She never got the chance to play console games and missed the Nintendo boat, but does admire it from afar and dreams of owning a Switch one day. She did once own a PlayStation 4 while living in Japan and enjoyed it immensely.
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