So, who am I? Most people call me Gabe. I grew up in the Dominican Republic, playing baseball, and staying in my room when I didn’t have other obligations. At some point early on, I discovered video games—and if you ask my dad, he’d probably tell you they’re the reason I stopped playing baseball. (I’m joking. If you’re reading this, I love you, dad.) Truth is, I love storytelling. Ever since I started playing video games, I saw myself pursuing this interactive way to tell stories. I’d fill notebooks with stories and terrible, disproportionate illustrations, then go on to create pen and paper role-playing games. Eventually, I started tinkering with any game engine I could get my hands on, as well as video editors, which took my love for storytelling to new heights.
I went on to study Film & Media Arts and Marketing at American University in Washington, DC. The idea of studying game design was a hard sell for my parents—film was slightly easier. (But only slightly.) Since graduating from college, I’ve been writing and making games with every minute I’ve got to spare. I am currently working as a QA Test Analyst on God of War Ragnarok at Sony Santa Monica. Previously, I worked as a QA Tester on FINAL FANTASY 7: Remake and FINAL FANTASY XIV at Square Enix. Aside from my work in games, however, I’m currently working on revisions for a middle-grade fantasy novel, which got selected for mentorship in Author Mentor Match Round 9.
All of that aside, this page is my break from the world. If I want to tell a story, or expand on that little world that’s been in the back of my head, this is where I go. And if you’ve stumbled upon it and perused any of the stories found here, I want to thank you. Because what’s a storyteller without anyone to tell stories to?
Why “stories from aidalon”?
Back in 2018, I was working a job I wasn’t passionate about, and my creativity took a major hit. I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t creating. It didn’t feel good. Then I started toying with the idea of being a Dungeon Master for a group of friends. Slowly, I started developing a world for my friends to adventure in. That world became “Aidalon.” We started playing in that world in June of that year, and we continued to play in it for three years, until July 2021. I created this website in 2018, as a place where I could turn our Dungeons and Dragons sessions into words on paper. I’ve since repurposed it to be more of a general creative outlet. But for three years, Aidalon has been my biggest inspiration to create—I owe my creativity to that world, and to the friends and players who’ve helped me build it. Though this website is no longer exclusively about D&D, Aidalon will always be remembered as the story that rekindled my love for storytelling.