Google • Gmail & Workspace
Portfolio
Make Words Count
For 13+ years, I’ve built content systems for products used by billions, treating conversation as the fundamental thread that connects us all. From leading the redesign of flagship products like Gmail across 7 pillars (alongside 17+ designers and 10 researchers) to driving a 25% registration lift at Allrecipes and localizing beloved Nintendo titles, I specialize in creating useful, honest, and human experiences.
My Work at Google: Flagship Products & Systems
Sunnyvale, CA • Aug 2016 – Sep 2022 • Previously: michaelar@
Google • Systems Thinking
Google • Currents
Google Chat Threading + History, Lifecycle Comms & 20% Projects
Complex State Systems, Crisis Management & Conversational AI
Google Chat • Dasher (2022)
Google+ & Spaces
Google 20% Projects
Life Before Free Kombucha Google: Allrecipes, Nintendo & WildTangent
Seattle & Redmond, WA • 2007 – 2016
Allrecipes • 2013–2016
Nintendo • 2012–2013
WildTangent • 2007–2012
Why I Write • My Moma Mission Statement
I Make Words Count.
For 13 years, I’ve built content systems for products used by billions, treating conversation as the fundamental thread that connects us all.
From leading the redesign of flagship products like Gmail to localizing beloved Nintendo titles, I specialize in creating useful, honest, and human experiences. At Google, that meant being able to talk to anyone, anywhere, in a way that benefited us all.
The Connecting Thread: Conversation
Designing content for diverse user experiences, marketing, and game dialogue.
Featured Projects
Flagship product redesigns, enterprise content systems, and conversion-tested UX writing
Google • Gmail
Google Chat • Dasher
Allrecipes
Why a Style Guide? In This Case, Consistency.
The guidelines for Google+ / Connect / Currents needed to be comprehensive, but also flexible enough to support a product strategy that changed every few months. One challenge was ensuring existing language supported, or at least didn’t contradict, changes in direction—such as adding a “hybrid” content mode and then shutting down consumer Google+.
Consistent patterns of information help users spend less time figuring out what to do, and ensure Currents looks, sounds, and behaves cohesively alongside Docs, Drive, Sheets, Gmail, Chat, Meet, and Calendar.
Original Artifact: Key Constructs (Streams & Tags)
Click image to zoom. Full 22-page PDF available for download.
How We Talk to Users: “Voice = Climate. Tone = Weather.”
Voice is what a particular writer sounds like. Google has a lot of writers, but we all strive to write using the same voice. Tone is the attitude behind those words, which can change depending on the situation—is it serious (dealing with money or account deletion), or playful (a Photos surprise)?
| Layer | Pillar 1 | Pillar 2 | Pillar 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Useful: Put the most important info first, and don’t burden users with the details. | Honest: Be clear and direct with bad news or complicated concepts. | Human: Use plain language. Contractions, short words, nothing fancy. | |
| G SUITE | Authentic: Don’t use jargon or technical terms. Give each interaction a touch of humanity that reminds users there are people behind G Suite. | Empowering: Our users are the star of the show. We build tools to help them do what they do best. Ultimately, they’re in the driver’s seat. | Enthusiastic: In a sea of enterprise software, G Suite differentiates by being comfortable enough in our own skin to admit we’re excited about the future of work. |
| CURRENTS | Connective: Brings together people and knowledge. Think connective tissue—sparking ideas across an entire organization, rather than just a team. | Thoughtful: Supports longer-form posts and slows things down. Think conversation—bringing attention to discussions that aren’t task-based like email or chat. | Harmonious: Everyone has a voice here. Avoid creating division with terms like “senior leadership” or discouraging language. Currents is “we’re all in this together.” |
Key Actions & Preposition Architecture
To prevent vocabulary collisions with Google Docs and Drive (where “Share” means file collaboration), I established clear rules for every core user action in Currents:
| Term (Use / Not) | When to Use | Usage & Preposition Rules |
|---|---|---|
|
Use Post, posting, posted Use Comment, commented Not Share, sharing (reserved for Docs/Drive collaboration) |
Original text and images authored by a single user. |
• Posted in [community name] (a community is a subset/within) • Posted to Google+ / Currents (the whole) • Pro tip: Avoid prepositions altogether by visually treating quotes differently: Carla posted That was a long way… |
|
Use Create, created Not Share a poll, add a poll |
Polls, new communities, and collections (say “posted a poll” when referring to publishing). |
• [Name] created a poll [poll name] • Note that a poll always includes the content type—a poll—unlike other post types. |
|
Use Like, liked / Remove like Not +1 or Dislike |
Referring to the thumbs-up icon (which replaced the Google+ +1). |
• Reversing your like action is remove like, never dislike (there is no dislike option). |
|
Use stream, streams Not Admin stream, custom stream, feed |
The visual flow of content cards and saved-search topic feeds. |
• DO Refer to the home stream as just Home in the UI; say create a stream. • DON’T Capitalize streams or say add a stream. |
|
Use Suggested because you follow #cats Not “Posts you might like” or “Suggested posts” |
Inline content recommendations. | • “Posts you might like” is too vague and risks losing user trust if wrong. Always spell out the signal: “You follow #cats”. |
Greenlines & Accessibility (9M+ Users)
What are greenlines? Greenlines are annotated mocks for elements on a page that help screen readers process a layout as if someone were looking at it.
Greenlines help 9+ million visually impaired users better navigate our products. Every new feature in Google+ and Currents required associated greenlines and localization-conscious strings (short, free of idioms/colloquialisms, and free of UI spatial references like “left” or “above”).
Android vs. iOS Platform Conventions
| Rule | Android (Material) | iOS (Apple HIG) |
|---|---|---|
| Capitalization | Sentence case | Title Case |
| Periods | Omit after single sentence or last sentence | Always use |
| Referring to apps | Don’t enclose in quotes | Enclose in quotes |
Meet the Writer (~ Me ~)
This Is How I Look Most of the Time
Hi, I’m Mika Ritter—a Senior UX Writer and Content Designer with 13+ years of experience building content systems for large-scale products, from flagship Google Workspace apps used by 1.5 billion people to Nintendo 3DS classics and Allrecipes.
Before tech and gaming, I earned my B.S. in Entomology from Texas A&M University—which turned out to be surprisingly great training for taxonomy, systems thinking, and filing very detailed bugs in Buganizer.
Following my tenure at Google (2016–2022), I took a planned sabbatical from 2022 to 2025 to support aging family, travel, pursue creative interests, collaborate with UX writing peers on emerging AI-assisted design workflows, and even take on a crew position at Trader Joe’s in 2025.
Field Research in New Zealand
“I’d wanted to see a Kea for years. This Kea did not disappoint.”
End Credits: My Desk at Google
Complete with Android collectibles, a floatplane poster, pine-cone trees, and an “I HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO SAY” cat print.
End Credits: Things I Do a Lot
You can learn a lot about a person by looking at their desk. Outside of UX writing, I do these things a lot:
- Watch pretty good TV
- Play a game with dinosaurs in it
- Ride my bike
fastslow, these days - Drink malty beers and eat chips
- Aspire to be a private pilot, because flying
- Agonize over word choice
“The absurdity of nature and general whimsy sustain me. Combine the two and you get snakes in hats.” Content warning: hats
My Rudemates
Meet Benjamin and Hobbes—co-coworkers, nap specialists, and tireless supervisors of every style guide draft.
Benjamin & Hobbes
“Benjamin and Hobbes spreading viruses, probably”
Resume — Mika Ritter
Summary
Senior UX Writer with 13+ years’ experience building content systems for large-scale products, including work in AI-assisted design workflows, usability testing, and cross-functional delivery.
Sabbatical / Elder Care
2022 – 2025
- Took a planned sabbatical following my Google tenure to support aging family, travel, and pursue creative interests.
- Stayed current with UX writing practices through peer collaboration and exploration of emerging AI-assisted design tools.
- Also took a crew position at Trader Joe’s in 2025.
Google | UX Writer — Gmail and Chat
Sunnyvale, CA | Jul 2019 – Sep 2022
- UXW for flagship products used by 1.5 billion people during a major redesign across Hub’s 7 pillars, working alongside 17+ designers and 10 researchers.
- Drove content strategy for the “next generation of Gmail” (Hub) from inception to launch.
- Ensured cross-functional alignment with UXD, PM, engineers, marketing, privacy, and legal.
- Crafted comprehensive explorations of naming and verb-oriented navigation labels, using them to build consensus and create guidelines.
- Partnered with UXR on usability testing, surveys, and voice and tone explorations.
- Worked with marketing on video scripts for Cloud Next 2020.
Google | UX Writer — Currents and Google+
Sunnyvale, CA | Aug 2016 – Jul 2019
- UXW for Spaces (2016 app), Google+, and Currents.
- Wrote style guides, notifications, onboarding, tooltips, search result framing, end-of-stream and empty state messages, etc.
- Partnered with UXR and Marketing on product vision, value prop, and messaging (Currents).
- Led content strategy for shutdown banners, announcements, and other relevant touchpoints (Google+ and Spaces).
- Owned shutdown communications for 3rd party, consumer, enterprise, and internal workstreams (Google+).
- Led content testing on tag-related language and stream naming.
Allrecipes | Senior UX/UI Writer
Seattle, WA | Sep 2013 – Apr 2016
- UXW for Allrecipes’ redesigned site and Dinner Spinner iOS and Android apps (including registration flow improvements yielding a 25% lift in sign-up starts).
- Additional writing for email (e.g., 4.17M-recipient Breakfast Campaign with 27.47% open rate & 17.77% CTR), social campaigns, branded cookware, Cooking School, video spots, and in-app purchases.
- Produced a comprehensive Allrecipes UI writing style guide.
- Partnered with UX Designers and Researchers on prototyping and usability study scripts.
Nintendo of America | Associate Localization Writer
Redmond, WA | May 2012 – Apr 2013
- Creative writer for the EN-US release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Style Savvy: Trendsetters.
- Localized game dialog and scenarios for several character archetypes and key personas, re-characterizing animal personality types to better align with U.S. cultural norms and mitigate stereotypes.
- Performed post-localization gameplay and informal QA in collaboration with global writers, translators, and developers.
WildTangent | Senior Marketing and Web Writer
Redmond, WA | May 2008 – May 2012
- Promoted to team lead for creative services.
- Served as the liaison for creative partnerships with HP, Toshiba, Acer, T-Mobile, et al., including joint WT/HP campaigns in Brazil.
- Planned, wrote, and A/B tested email campaigns with high-level performance analysis.
- Managed content localization process across 10 languages.
- Wrote email newsletters, promos, landing pages, triggered UI messages, paid search ads, game descriptions, print pieces, and the WT style guide.
- Wrote the script for FATE: The Cursed King and collateral material.
WildTangent | Global Customer Support Manager
Redmond, WA | Jul 2007 – Mar 2008
- Primary writer for customer support site and internal knowledgebase.
- Project manager for WildTangent customer support localization and global staff training.
1. The Challenge: All Your Conversations in One Place Across 7 Pillars
I owned UX writing for “Hub,” a core part of developing Google Workspace that combined Gmail, Chat (direct messages + spaces with embedded tasks/editors tools), G Suite Search and Assistant, 3rd-party integrated apps, Meet (with jimgroves@), and Currents. I also supported the “Lattice” horizontal team, comprised of Visual Design (VisD), UX Research (UXR), and UX Engineering (UXE).
My coverage extended across Hub’s 7 pillars, working alongside 17+ designers and 10 researchers at any given time, in addition to PM, Eng, Marketing, Privacy, and Legal requests.
Mobile Unified Navigation
Integrating Mail, Chat, Rooms, and Calls into a single mobile bar without overwhelming the inbox.
Desktop Integrated Workspace (Cloud Next ’20)
Side-by-side Room chat and live Google Docs (“Meeting notes”) inside Gmail, eliminating tab-switching.
2. Updated Onboarding: UXW Tactics + A Little Marketing Sizzle
I wrote the splash screen onboarding text for Gmail (Hub)—UX writing and marketing swirled together—introducing the new with the old so users knew their inbox was safe while discovering faster ways to talk and collaborate. It tested exceptionally well in biweekly usability studies.
Screen 1: Reassure & Frame
“See what’s new in Gmail — Your inbox stays the same, but now there are more ways for you to talk and collaborate without switching apps”
Screen 2: Direct & Group Chat
“Chat about it — For ongoing conversations and quick replies, chat with a person or group”
Screen 3: Collaborative Rooms
“Stay organized as a team — Rooms have their own chat, shared files, and shared tasks to break down barriers to collaboration”
3. Navigation & Naming: Less Like a Storage Box, More a Place to Work Together
I advocated for verb-oriented navigation labels to give Gmail a more dynamic feel—less like a storage box and more a place to work together.
However, naming the collaborative “spaces” was tricky:
- Rooms, groups, or spaces (Collaboration tab): Evaluated physical metaphors, MVP scope (10–15 teammates), and long-term Discovery scale (thousands of people). Advocated strongly that the 1:1 messaging tab be called Chat (not People) so it wouldn’t collide with collaborative spaces.
- Mail or Inbox: Evaluated cohesion across mobile and web mental models.
- Call or Calls (Meet): Conducted two rounds of naming and usability validation.
“Placing Chat and Rooms side by side on mobile, in particular, is confusing; chat is a part of these units, but not the primary purpose—which is collaboration.”
Original Naming Exploration Artifact
Evaluating “Rooms” vs. “Groups” for the Collaboration tab (click to zoom).
4. Gmail Mail Merge, Email Personalization & Smart Canvas (Feb 2022)
Beyond Hub navigation and Chat integration, I also partnered on Gmail Mail Merge / Email Personalization (`go/gmail-mail-merge-PRD`) and Layouts v2 (`Fancymail V2 UX | go/layouts-v2`)—shaping multi-send placeholders, server-side replacement flows, and Mail Merge as a first iteration of Smart Canvas in Gmail.
Gmail Mail Merge & Smart Canvas PRD (Feb 2022)
Multi-send mail merge, placeholder replacement, and Fancymail V2 layouts.
Designing Language for a Moving Target
The guidelines for Google+ / Connect / Currents needed to be comprehensive, yet flexible enough to support changing product strategies—including the addition of a “hybrid” content mode, the sunset of consumer Google+, and the absence of brand or marketing direction until January 2019.
I created go/currents-writing so product managers, engineers, and designers could self-serve routine pattern questions (Remove or Delete? They or He/She? Post or Share?) while knowing exactly when to loop in a UX Writer (multi-step flows, persuasive text, or emotionally charged scenarios like moderator post removal).
Key Constructs: Streams & Tags
Clear DO and DON’T guardrails accompanied by real UI component captures.
1. Product Positioning: A Vision for Currents
Currents didn’t have dedicated branding or marketing help until January 2019—but our team needed a point of view before then.
When UX Researcher giuliamazza@ approached me with the idea to create a vision deck, I happily teamed up with her. Together, we mapped the core mission (“Why work matters”) across three pillars—Productivity (Currency: Information), Mission (Currency: Purpose & Alignment), and Socializing (Currency: Recognition). Later, our work was drawn upon directly to create official marketing assets.
Original Vision Deck Matrix
Co-created with UXR before formal branding existed; later adopted into official marketing assets.
2. Better Onboarding: Preferred by 80% of Test Participants
Version B: Contextual Modal + Tooltips
Preferred by 80% (4 out of 5) of usability test participants over the legacy 3-screen flow.
Currents onboarding originally consisted of a welcome email and a 3-screen warm welcome. Users didn’t know what to expect from the product, yet were asked to choose people and tags to follow before they could even try it out.
UXD ohu@ and I proposed a new onboarding experience with a revised welcome email, a splash screen with a single-sentence value proposition, and contextual in-product tooltips. Our contextual and progressive onboarding was preferred by 80% of test participants.
3. Active Tags Exploration: Trending vs. Popular Tags (2019)
In 2019, I led content testing and UX explorations on tag-related language (Active Tags exploration):
- Newness (“coolness”) vs. Lasting Impact: Differentiated short-term velocity (Trending tags / Trending today / 25 updates this week) from long-term organizational volume (Most popular:
#dooglers,#foodies,#music2019). - Substance Over Vanity Metrics: Challenged default promotional microcopy like “Join the conversation” when a trending tag only had likes rather than substantive discussion, and questioned how staleness is handled if a “Most popular” tag hasn’t seen a new post in 6 months.
Active Tags Exploration (Feb–June 2019)
Evaluating “Newness (coolness)” vs. “Lasting impact” and tag calculation transparency (click to zoom).
4. Interactive Carousel: End-of-Stream & Empty States (Browsing vs. Seeking)
In go/currents-endstream-messages (updated Dec 21, 2018), I audited every feed, notification panel, search tab, activity log, and member list in Currents, establishing a clear behavioral rule:
- Browsing behavior (Streams, Notifications): Use “That’s all for now”—it’s friendly and shades hopeful (unlike negative-sounding “Looks like you’ve reached the end” or “It’s the end”).
- Seeking behavior (Search results, Activity log, Member lists): Use “Showing all [results / community matches / people matches / members]”—because “Showing all” is positive and confirming, whereas “no more” or “end” sounds like an error.
Artifact Carousel: Messaging — End-of-Stream & Empty States (go/currents-endstream-messages)
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5. Naming Workshop: “Streams” vs. “Feeds”
Early in Currents’ development, I conducted quick hallway testing of the name streams, and later ran a cross-functional naming workshop (based on Spark) with UXD, UXR, and PM, clustering raw participant data across value pillars (Stay Informed / Filters Content, Focused / Organized, and Broader Perspective / Company-wide). Spoiler: We stuck with streams.
Spark Naming Workshop Clustering Data
Mapping user mental models across Filtering, Staying Informed, and Broader Perspective.
1. The “Charlie Day” Problem: Explaining Chat History + Threading to Literally Anybody
When Google Chat introduced inline Threading inside spaces where History could be toggled On or Off mid-conversation (or governed by enterprise domain retention policies), users faced four intersecting states:
- Original message: History Off + Current State: History Off
- Original message: History Off + Current State: History On (the whole thread still self-destructs 24 hours after the first message!)
- Original message: History On + Current State: History Off (the first message is saved per org policy, but new replies are deleted in 24 hours!)
- Original message: History On + Current State: History On
In February 2022, I authored the (Dasher) Chat history addendums deck and spec document—iterating through UI mocks, menu toggles, and edge cases with PM (Angela Ying), UXD (Travis Gohr), Legal (Genaro Lopez, Paul Herzlich), and Eng (Greg Leaver) to reach final sign-off.
Interactive Presentation Carousel: (Dasher) Chat History Addendums (Feb 2022 • 10 Slides)
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2. Presence, Classic Hangouts Migration & G Suite Marketplace
Alongside Threading + History, I owned UX writing for:
- Presence Indication: Do not disturb, mute notifications, activity status, and custom status text.
- 3rd-Party App Submission to the G Suite Marketplace: End-to-end user discovery, installation, permissions, and uninstallation flows.
- Migrating Users from Classic Hangouts to Hangouts Chat: Admin console changes, classic client deprecation banners, and the Dynamite PWA launch.
Owning Product Comms Across 4 Workstreams for 4 Billion Accounts
Because Google+ had been integrated with most Google products for 8 years, millions of people had a consumer Google+ profile without realizing it—and worried that “Google+ shutting down” meant losing their Gmail, Google Photos, or YouTube accounts.
I owned product communications for the shutdown of consumer Google+ (completed April 2, 2019) as well as the earlier 2016–2017 sunset of the Google Spaces app. This included months of emails, in-product banners, posts, and Help Center FAQs reviewed by dozens of stakeholders up to the SVP/VP level across four separate workstreams:
- Consumer: Clear, reassuring emails and banners explaining how to download Google+ data via Takeout while emphasizing that Gmail, Photos, and Drive remained safe.
- Enterprise: Reassuring G Suite admins and organizations that workplace accounts were continuing and transitioning to Google Currents.
- Developer / 3rd Party: Deprecation notices for Google+ APIs and OAuth Sign-In integrations.
- Internal: Coordinating messaging across partner Google teams.
Consumer Google+ & Spaces Sunset Architecture
Click image to inspect the 4-workstream breakdown and sunset banner copy.
From Mika’s Slide Deck: *Grace and sensitivity
1. Duplex (Announced at Google I/O 2019) & Kids Zone
Duplex is Google’s automated calling service announced at I/O 2019. The initial scope for this 20% project was to provide UX writing support for reservation experiences made through the Google Assistant—for example, making a restaurant reservation or booking a haircut appointment. Midway through the quarter, 20% project lead kristenwong@ and I also expanded our support to ship UX writing requests for Kids Zone.
2. The Scribble Team (Google Doodles Blog)
“Scribbles” are the behind-the-scenes blog posts that launch alongside Google Doodles. As one of three editors, I guided 20+ volunteer writers—helping to keep them on topic, on brand, and still having fun (while killing their darlings with a light touch). Probably the most fun project I’ve worked on at Google.
3. Google Social Good (Donation History Portal)
Way back in 2016, I was the UX Writer for iterations of Google’s donation history portal. My job was to transform data pulled straight from the API into jargon-free writing, putting the most important info first and encouraging additional charitable giving.
Google 20% Projects & Side Hustles Artifact
Click image to enlarge.
1. Language Updates to Improve Sign-Up Rates (+25% Lift in Registration Starts)
What we tested: Within the desktop top nav and registration modal, which registration CTA and flow performs best with anonymous users without cannibalizing sign-in discoverability for cookieless registered users?
| Top-Nav CTA Variant | Why It Works (Pros) | UX & Conversion Concerns (Cons) |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up or Sign in | Simple, straightforward, predictable. Registered users immediately get it. | Lukewarm. Doesn’t indicate what you get in return. “Sign up” alone is often associated with a paid subscription. |
| Create a profile | “Profile” is consistent with other navigation and more welcoming than “sign up.” Implies a personalized experience in exchange. | May confuse cookieless registered users (create vs. sign in). May sound more tedious at the outset. |
| Join Allrecipes | Friendly, emphasizes community, straightforward, aligns with brand legacy. | Connotations of “join” can imply paying for membership or expected participation unless paired with “Join for free!” |
The Winning Registration Flow Redesign (+25% Lift)
Designer Tiffany Jessup and I tested changing Allrecipes’ registration flow to favor signing up over signing in—defaulting anonymous users to a simplified “Join Allrecipes” view with a clear value proposition:
“Allrecipes uses the recipes you save and cooks you follow to suggest great content for you. Join for free!”
Result: We saw a 25% lift in registration starts by simplifying the UI and defaulting to the version on the left for anonymous users.
Result: We saw a 25% lift in registration starts by simplifying the UI and defaulting to the version on the left for anonymous users.
Original Artifact: Registration Flow A/B Test (+25% Lift)
Words: Mika Ritter • Design: Tiffany Jessup • Concept: Both (click to zoom).
2. Overlays & User Education (2015 Site Redesign)
To introduce home cooks to the completely redesigned Allrecipes social feed and profile experience, I wrote welcoming, bite-sized educational overlays and contextual callouts:
Welcome Modal: “Calling all cooks”
“Welcome to the new Allrecipes, where the food you like and friends you follow help us suggest more delicious dishes just for you.”
Profile Tour: “It’s All About You”
“Your favorites, friends, and photos are all here. Liven up your profile with a new pic!”
Settings Callout: “Give ’Em a Taste of Your Personality”
“Change your profile pic, about me, or account settings.”
3. Copywriting & A/B Testing: “the SCOOP” Breakfast Email Campaign
Beyond core UI strings, I drove engagement through playful email and social media campaigns—writing all copy and testing subject lines across millions of subscribers:
Hero & Social Contest
“Rise & shine!” + “Say yes to breakfast! Tag #MyAllrecipesContest”
Pinterest & Flapjacks
“Breakfast Pinspiration — Warning: There may be cinnamon buns.”
Smoothies & Video Recipes
“Breakfast in a blender” & “Overnight Blueberry French Toast”
| Version | Winning Subject Line | Sent | Opens | Open Rate | Clicks | CTR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version C | Best. Breakfast. Ever. | 4,171,500 | 1,146,006 | 27.47% | 203,609 | 17.77% |
4. Allrecipes Dinner Spinner (iOS & Android), Style Guide & Cookware
- Allrecipes Dinner Spinner (iOS & Android): UX writing for the flagship mobile app’s 3-reel recipe spinner, personalized feeds, and in-app purchases.
- Allrecipes UI Writing Style Guide: Authored the comprehensive UI style guide to standardize terminology across web and mobile teams.
- Cooking School, Video Spots & Branded Cookware: Wrote supplemental material for physical branded cookware packaging, Cooking School courses, and usability study scripts.
Character Voice & Cultural Adaptation at Nintendo Treehouse
As an Associate Localization Writer at Nintendo of America from May 2012 to April 2013, I collaborated with a global team of writers, translators, and game developers to adapt two major Nintendo 3DS titles for North American players:
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo 3DS, Released June 2013): Re-characterized select animal personality types to align with U.S. cultural expectations and mitigate stereotypes. Revised or rewrote all the dialogue for several villager archetypes and key characters, ensuring every conversation felt distinct, warm, and endlessly replayable.
- Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Nintendo 3DS, Released October 2012): Wrote and localized boutique fashion scenarios, customer personas, and styling dialogue. Fun historical artifact: In the North American release of Style Savvy: Trendsetters, the player’s charismatic boutique mentor (named “Evie” in the European/PAL release) was localized for North America as “Michaela”!
- Post-Localization Gameplay & QA: Played through builds in-context to catch text overflow, pacing issues, gender/plurality variables, and tonal consistency.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo 3DS)
Over 13 million copies sold worldwide; Michaela Ritter is officially credited in the Nintendo of America localization staff roll.
Nintendo 3DS Localization & Credits Artifact
Click image to inspect the New Leaf villager dialogue & credits and the Style Savvy: Trendsetters “Michaela” localization detail.
From Global Support Manager to Creative Services Lead & RPG Scriptwriter
I began at WildTangent in July 2007 as Global Customer Support Manager—building the customer support site and internal knowledgebase, managing support localization, and training global support staff—before being promoted in May 2008 to Senior Marketing and Web Writer and Creative Services Group Lead:
- Creative/Script Writer for FATE: The Cursed King (2011): Authored the game script, realm lore (the desert city of Ekbatan), quest dialogues, and launch collateral for the fourth installment of WildTangent’s beloved dungeon-crawling action-RPG franchise.
- Global OEM Partnerships: Served as the creative liaison for partnerships with HP, Acer, Toshiba, and T-Mobile, including acting as primary point of contact for joint WildTangent/HP campaigns in Brazil.
- WildTangent Style Guide & Storefront Copy: Created the official WT style guide and wrote hundreds of game descriptions, UI messages, newsletters, promotions, landing pages, contests, and print materials.
- A/B Testing & 10-Language Localization: Led email planning, authoring, A/B testing, and ESP performance analysis, while managing content localization across 10 languages.
FATE: The Cursed King (2011)
From Mika’s portfolio deck: official key art for FATE: The Cursed King, for which she wrote the script and collateral material.
FATE: The Cursed King Script & OEM Localization Artifact
Click image to enlarge.