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Game Narrative Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Embedding VC

Founding Game Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

$182K/yr

The world is generated and the narrative is emergent. The content adapts to each child's interests and developmental needs in real time. The game designer's job isn't to build levels, it's to design ...

Naughty Dog

Senior Technical Designer

Santa Monica, CA

$114K - $122K/yr

Prototyping, implementing, and owning gameplay scenarios, narrative sequences, interactive objects ... Working with minimal supervision while keeping lead designers and directors well-informed. What ...

Turtle Rock Studios

Senior Sandbox Designer

Irvine, CA

$120K - $160K/yr

The Senior Sandbox Designer plays a pivotal role in crafting engaging, systemic, and narrative-rich ... Collaborate closely with narrative, level design, AI, gameplay, and systems teams to deliver ...

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Game Narrative Designer information

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How much do game narrative designer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for game narrative designer in the United States is $149,118.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $155,000.00 and $155,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Game Narrative Designer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Game Narrative Designer, you need strong storytelling abilities, a deep understanding of interactive narrative structures, and often a background in creative writing or game design. Familiarity with game engines (such as Unity or Unreal), branching narrative tools (like Twine or Ink), and sometimes scripting languages is beneficial. Outstanding collaboration, communication, and adaptability enable effective teamwork with designers, programmers, and artists. These skills ensure that compelling, cohesive stories are seamlessly integrated into engaging gameplay experiences.

What is a Game Narrative Designer job?

A Game Narrative Designer is responsible for creating and shaping the story, characters, and world of a video game. They collaborate with writers, designers, and developers to integrate narrative elements into gameplay, ensuring a cohesive and immersive experience. Their work includes writing dialogue, developing lore, and designing branching story paths that respond to player choices. A strong understanding of storytelling, game mechanics, and player engagement is essential for this role.

What are some typical responsibilities of a Game Narrative Designer within a development team?

A Game Narrative Designer is responsible for crafting stories, dialogue, character arcs, and world-building elements that drive the player's engagement. Day-to-day tasks often include writing and editing scripts, collaborating with designers and artists to ensure the narrative fits the gameplay, and helping to develop branching storylines or dialogue trees. The role also involves playtesting to assess narrative flow and working with audio teams to sync voiceover or sound elements with story moments. This collaborative, iterative process is key to creating immersive gaming experiences that successfully blend gameplay with storytelling.

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Game Narrative Designer jobs near you
Senior Game Designer (Combat)

Senior Game Designer (Combat)

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE)

Santa Monica, CA

$145K - $181K/yr

Other

Posted 10 days ago

Job description

This is a hybrid/ onsite position.

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Parts I and II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we're busy at the kennel working onIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us.

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

What you will do:

  • Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
  • Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implementing and tuning enemy AI behaviors
  • Work with animators to develop enemy locomotion and traversal, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and other custom abilities. Make every enemy archetype feel unique and memorable
  • Collaborate with the Design team to conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems
  • Communicate with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the enemies you're owning
  • Write and maintain documentation that establishes the core vision of the enemy archetypes
  • Drive communication and collaboration for enemies you design and the levels they are in, ensuring communication across disciplines and meeting deadlines
  • Effective and respectful communicator and collaborator, both with other designers and members of other departments
  • Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems and fine-tune them based on player experiences
  • Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team

What skills you will use:

  • 5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter games
  • At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts preferred
  • Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not required
  • Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
  • Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the "let's try it" mentality
  • Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketching
  • Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trends
  • Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combat
  • A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactful
  • Strong leadership and mentoring skills
The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that includes annual bonus and other incentive plans.
$145,100-$181,400 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

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