“I strive to uncover the narrative depth within every detail around me, weaving connections until what once went unseen reveals itself. For me, narrative design is a kind of night sea voyage.”
◉ About me
My name is Kevin Steger, better known as Kjeld Stormarnson, a game design student and freelance narrative designer. Originally coming from a science-oriented background, I chose to pursue my path in the game industry, where I focus on interactive storytelling and game design. I am currently based in Kiel, in northern Germany, with close proximity to Hamburg. Whether you are looking for a freelancer to support your project, a team member for development, or simply want to follow my personal projects, you’re in the right place. I am an ambitious and visionary individual who combines structured thinking with creativity.
As a Game Design student at IU International University, I continuously study and explore the processes behind video game development. My focus includes understanding how collaborative workflows, agile methodologies, and project management shape the development of games. Through my studies, I also gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of game development, learning how different departments – such as design, art, programming, and narrative – work together, function within production pipelines, and contribute to the creation of a cohesive game experience.
◉ Hobbies
In my private life, I greatly enjoy spending time in nature and have a strong passion for outdoor activities and survival skills. I have practiced martial arts since the age of four and have explored disciplines such as Muay Thai, MMA, and Krav Maga throughout my journey. I have also trained in the longsword discipline within HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). My passion for martial arts and my close ties to the live music scene eventually led me to a part-time role that has accompanied me throughout my time at university. Since 2017, I have worked as a bouncer in Kiel’s nightlife, offering a front-row view into what often feels like a parallel universe of human behavior.
Creative hobbies are equally important to me. I enjoy writing, drawing, participating in pen-and-paper role-playing games, and both creating and playing video games. Some of the titles I particularly enjoy include Star Citizen, Layers of Fear, and Kingdom Come Deliverance. I’m also a long-time fan of the Gothic and The Elder Scrolls series. In addition, I am a dedicated fan of the horror genre across multiple media, including video games, literature, and film. Black metal music has long been a personal passion of mine, and in the past I was also actively involved in creating music within the genre.
ABOUT ME
My name is Kevin Steger, better known as Kjeld Stormarnson, a game design student and freelance narrative designer. Originally coming from a science-oriented background, I chose to pursue my path in the game industry, where I focus on interactive storytelling and game design. I am currently based in Kiel, in northern Germany, with close proximity to Hamburg. Whether you are looking for a freelancer to support your project, a team member for development, or simply want to follow my personal projects, you’re in the right place. I am an ambitious and visionary individual who combines structured thinking with creativity.
As a Game Design student at IU International University, I continuously study and explore the processes behind video game development. My focus includes understanding how collaborative workflows, agile methodologies, and project management shape the development of games. Through my studies, I also gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of game development, learning how different departments – such as design, art, programming, and narrative – work together, function within production pipelines, and contribute to the creation of a cohesive game experience.
In my private life, I greatly enjoy spending time in nature and have a strong passion for outdoor activities and survival skills. I have practiced martial arts since the age of four and have explored disciplines such as Muay Thai, MMA, and Krav Maga throughout my journey. I have also trained in the longsword discipline within HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). My passion for martial arts and my close ties to the live music scene eventually led me to a part-time role that has accompanied me throughout my time at university. Since 2017, I have worked as a bouncer in Kiel’s nightlife, offering a front-row view into what often feels like a parallel universe of human behavior.
Creative hobbies are equally important to me. I enjoy writing, drawing, participating in pen-and-paper role-playing games, and both creating and playing video games. Some of the titles I particularly enjoy include Star Citizen, Layers of Fear, and Kingdom Come Deliverance. I’m also a long-time fan of the Gothic and The Elder Scrolls series. Gothic 2 was the first video game I ever seriously played. In addition, I am a dedicated fan of the horror genre across multiple media, including video games, literature, and film. Black metal music has long been a personal passion of mine, and in the past I was also actively involved in creating music within the genre.
FAQs
What does Game Development mean to you?
Game Development has always been the one path I wanted to pursue professionally, but it is more than a career ambition to me. It is also a genuine passion and something I love doing in my personal time. I enjoy building projects, developing ideas, and turning creative visions into experiences – whether professionally, academically, or simply because I want to create something.
Why Narrative Design?
While I continuously develop my skills across several disciplines, Narrative Design has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. To me, it goes far beyond writing stories or dialogue. It is about building a network of logic, authenticity, context, and meaning that makes a world believable.
Narrative becomes especially powerful when it builds bridges between disciplines. Whether connected to Level Design, Systems Design, Game Design, or Game Writing, these intersections allow narrative to reinforce gameplay, atmosphere, and immersion. That is why I consider Narrative Design one of the key disciplines of game development.
Do you participate in Game Jams?
Absolutely. I consider Game Jams one of the best environments for challenging creativity, efficiency, adaptability, and problem-solving under pressure. They force you to make decisions quickly, work within strict limitations, and turn ideas into something playable in a very short amount of time.
For me, they are also an opportunity to experiment, collaborate with different people, and expand my creative and technical repertoire beyond my everyday work and larger projects.
What does Fearplay mean to you?
I founded Fearplay together with my girlfriend and creative partner Lunaria in 2023 as a space to pursue ideas that we might rarely have the freedom to explore elsewhere. As passionate horror fans, we chose to focus on the genre while giving ourselves the creative freedom to experiment, build worlds, and explore unconventional concepts.
Today, Fearplay is our most ambitious passion project, but it is also something deeply personal: a small creative family of like-minded people who come together alongside work and everyday responsibilities to create something of our own – and, in a way, find room to breathe within the darkness we create.
What was your first video game?
Gothic 2 was the first video game I ever seriously played and the first one I owned myself. Before that, I had occasionally experienced games such as Anno 1602 and Stronghold Crusader through friends, so I actually discovered gaming relatively late.
But Gothic 2 changed everything. Its atmosphere, exploration, worldbuilding, and sense of adventure created an experience that has stayed with me ever since. It remains one of my favorite games to this day – and I still return to Khorinis and the Nameless Hero at least once every year.
What is your favourite game?
If I exclude lifelong favourites such as Gothic 2, Layers of Fear, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Silent Hill, my answer would actually be Star Citizen.
It is not only the ambition and extraordinary scope of the project that fascinate me, but also my personal journey within its universe. Through Star Citizen, I became deeply involved in building and strengthening its German-speaking role-playing community, experienced countless memorable adventures, and met people who became close friends. For me, it has grown beyond being just a game – it became a shared universe filled with stories, experiences, and relationships that I genuinely associate with a part of my life.