Bio

Whitney Beltrán, aka Strix, is a multiple award winning narrative designer, and narrative director for AAA video games. She is currently the Project Narrative Director at Hidden Path Entertainment, makers of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where she heads the narrative on a AAA Dungeons and Dragons video game project in partnership with Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast. Whitney is known for her gripping work on internationally celebrated titles like Bluebeard’s Bride and HoloVista, as well as State of Decay 2, Beyond Blue, Raccoon Lagoon, Dungeons & Dragons (tabletop products), and myriad of other video game and tabletop RPGs. She is an expert in world building and narrative design, and holds a Master’s in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her academic specialty area is on the intersection of mythology, psychology, and play. She has published peer reviewed academic papers, lectured internationally, contributed a chapter to the first ever university level textbook on role-playing games, and has conducted research through Carnegie Mellon’s Human Computer Interaction Institute. She has published think pieces on gaming through outlets like Tor.com and Terrible Minds. Whitney as been voted Top 100 Women in Games 2022, selected for the Game Awards inaugural Future Class in 2020, and has received a number of additional awards, both personally and as part of a team for the games she's worked on including two IndieCade wins; one for Best Narrative (2020) and one for the Grand Jury Award (2018). She has served as a judge/juror for the Diana Jones Awards, Golden Cobra Game Competition, and IndieCade. She serves on the advisory board of Fantasy Network, and has previously served on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Whitney is a diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate for games. She co-funds and directs a private high-intervention mentoring program for minority games professionals looking for their first job in the industry with her husband Ajit George.