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Internship Game Narrative Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Senior Game Designer (Combat)

Santa Monica, CA ยท On-site

$145K - $181K/yr

... narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II ... Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team What skills you ...

Game Designer - TCG

Seattle, WA ยท On-site

$176K/yr

Collaborate with narrative design, creative, and product teams to ensure mechanics are well ... Deep passion for trading card games as both a designer and a player Location All employees of ...

This includes mechanical and narrative design, play innovations, playtests, product exploration, and other design-related tasks. This Associate Game Designer role draws on your D&D knowledge, your ...

Game Designer - TCG

Seattle, WA ยท On-site

$98K - $123K/yr

Collaborate with narrative design, creative, and product teams to ensure mechanics are well ... Deep passion for trading card games as both a designer and a player Location All employees of ...

New

Game Designer - TCG

Seattle, WA ยท On-site

$98K - $123K/yr

Collaborate with narrative design, creative, and product teams to ensure mechanics are well ... Deep passion for trading card games as both a designer and a player Location All employees of ...

Senior Writer

Carlsbad, CA ยท On-site

$82K - $152K/yr

Collaborate effectively with other disciplines including designers, engineers, artists, producers, and animators to deliver a world-class game narrative. * Research subject matter relating to the ...

Associate Game Designer - D&D

Renton, WA ยท On-site

$33.30 - $50/hr

This includes mechanical and narrative design, play innovations, playtests, product exploration, and other design-related tasks. This Associate Game Designer role draws on your D&D knowledge, your ...

$37 - $50/hr

We're looking for self-motivated, proactive designers who enjoy creating unique experiences and can ... Prototyping, implementing, and owning gameplay scenarios, narrative sequences, interactive objects ...

Showing results 21-40

Internship Game Narrative Designer information

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How much do internship game narrative designer jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 13, 2026, the average hourly pay for internship game narrative designer in the United States is $16.33, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $14.42 and $19.23 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an internship game narrative designer?

Internship Game Narrative Designers are early-career professionals or students who assist in creating and developing the story, dialogue, and world-building elements for video games. In an internship role, they collaborate with senior narrative designers and other game development teams to help shape the game's narrative, write character dialogue, and ensure the story integrates smoothly with gameplay. This position is typically a learning opportunity where interns gain hands-on experience, contribute creative ideas, and build a portfolio for a future career in game writing and narrative design.

What are the typical tasks and responsibilities of an internship game narrative designer?

As an Internship Game Narrative Designer, you'll often assist with writing dialogue, creating character backstories, and collaborating with other departments such as art and design to ensure narrative elements are well-integrated into the game. You may also help brainstorm plot points, review scripts for consistency, and participate in playtesting sessions to evaluate how well the story flows in gameplay. This collaborative role gives you hands-on experience with the storytelling process while learning how narrative supports overall game design. Your contributions directly impact the player's emotional engagement and help shape the game's world and characters.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an internship game narrative designer?

To thrive as an Internship Game Narrative Designer, you need strong creative writing skills, understanding of storytelling techniques, and a basic grasp of game design principles, often supported by a relevant degree or coursework in writing, literature, or game development. Familiarity with narrative design tools like Twine, Ink, or game engines such as Unity or Unreal Engine is commonly required. Excellent communication, collaboration, and adaptability are standout soft skills, as narrative designers often work closely with multidisciplinary teams. These skills ensure engaging, cohesive storytelling that enhances player experience and aligns with the game's vision.
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Infographic showing various Internship Game Narrative Designer job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 77% Full Time, and 23% Part Time. Highlights an 77% In-person, 15% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $33,957 per year, or $16.3 per hour.

Senior Game Designer (Combat)

Santa Monica, CA โ€ข On-site

Naughty Dog
PC Gamesย โ€ขย 51 - 200 employees

Full-time

Re-posted 16 days ago


Job description

Ability to work onsite from our Santa Monica, CA based studio is required.ย 

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 Part I is now available for the first time on PC.

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:ย 

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

What skills you will use:ย ย 

  • 5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter gamesย 
  • At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts preferredย 
  • Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not requiredย ย 
  • Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)ย ย 
  • Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the "let's try it" mentalityย 
  • Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketchingย 
  • Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trendsย ย 
  • Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combatย 
  • A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactfulย ย 
  • Strong leadership and mentoring skillsย