Narrative designer

A narrative designer is a role in contemporary video game development.

Some studios use this title to describe game writer roles, or primarily writing positions; some use it to describe game content designer, level designer, cinematic designer, mission/quest designer, or even UX (user experience) designer positions.

There are no agreed-upon industry-wide definitions of what exactly comprise a narrative designer's responsibilities. These may include, but are not limited to:[1]

• Championing the story: ensuring that game features and elements across the development team are all helping to tell the same story
• Writing scripts for cinematic cutscenes, voice-over, character dialogue, or combat barks
• Writing in-game text elements such as quest journals, item descriptions, or tutorial pop-ups, and out-of-game text elements such as website text, trailer scripts, or marketing materials
• Suggesting, designing, documenting, and/or implementing environmental storytelling elements from audio cues to art assets to UI (user interface) stylistic decisions
• Designing characters, including character biographies, art briefs, or casting sides if human actors will be used
• Designing and documenting game worlds and settings
• Designing, documenting, and implementing missions/quests, parts of levels, or instances
• Directing voice-over, motion capture, and/or performance capture recording sessions
• Supervising or working within the project's localisation or internationalization pipeline

As aforementioned, some studios may use the title of "narrative designer" as an alternative alias for game writers; many similarities can be drawn between the two, as the objectives of a game writer may vary from game to game and project to project, making the requirements as variable, at times, as those of a narrative designer. This is because games can be substantially different in comparison to one another. However, out of the many comparisons that can be drawn between a narrative designer and a game writer, here are two examples: acceptance of a brief detailing what's to be expected of the writer's work in regards to a game they're to work on, and collaboration with a team likely not only to contain other writers, but other workers in the facets of game production (designers, coders, etc.).[2]

Stephen Dinehart describes the core of a narrative design's job to be "...to champion story, craft compelling narrative elements, and define the systems through which they will be delivered to the player."[3]

Dinehart claims to have written the 'Narrative Designer' job position for THQ Canada dba Relic Entertainment on the initiative of Tarrnie Williams, Executive Producer, in 2006 to "champion story" based on his work on Medal of Honor. The role was eventually offered to and accepted by Dinehart.[4]