Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Game Writer

🎯 Role Definition

We are hiring a Game Writer (also advertised as Narrative Designer / Dialogue Writer) to create compelling storylines, believable characters, engaging quests, and immersive in-game text for AAA and indie projects. The ideal candidate will write high-quality scripts, manage a story bible, collaborate closely with designers and audio, and implement narrative systems across engines (Unity/Unreal) and narrative tools (Articy, Ink, Twine). This role balances creative authorship with technical implementation, localization readiness, and iterative design based on playtesting and analytics.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Narrative Designer / Junior Game Writer
Content Designer or Quest Designer
Scriptwriter, Screenwriter, or Creative Writer transitioning into games

Advancement To:

Senior Narrative Designer / Senior Game Writer
Narrative Lead / Lead Writer
Narrative Director / Creative Director

Lateral Moves:

Systems Designer (content systems)
Content Designer / Quest Lead
UX Writer or Localization Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and write polished, production-ready scripts for in-game dialogue, cutscenes, cinematic sequences, and NPC interactions that support gameplay objectives and emotional pacing across linear and branching narrative structures.
Design and author branching quests, mission flows, choice-driven narrative trees, and multiple outcomes that tie into game systems and player progression while ensuring coherence with gameplay mechanics.
Create and maintain a comprehensive story bible and narrative design documents that cover character biographies, worldbuilding, lore, timelines, thematic pillars, and tone guidelines for cross-discipline alignment.
Collaborate with game designers, systems designers, and combat designers to integrate narrative beats into level design, quest triggers, pacing, and reward structures so that story and mechanics complement each other.
Write clear, concise UI and UX copy, HUD text, item descriptions, codex entries, achievement copy, and tutorial text that communicates intent, maintains voice, and reduces player friction.
Script and sequence in-game cinematics and cutscenes, work with animators and cinematics teams to produce shot lists and timing notes, and ensure narrative continuity between gameplay and cinematics.
Draft casting notes, direction, and localized scripts for voice over (VO) sessions, coordinate with audio directors and voice actors, and review VO takes for tone, timing, and performance fidelity.
Implement dialogue and narrative content into engines or tools (Unity, Unreal, Ink, Articy, Twine, Ren'Py), work with engineers and implementers to ensure state tracking, flags, and variables are robust and testable.
Iterate narrative content through playtests and QA feedback loops, triage issues such as broken lines, context errors, and tone inconsistencies, and rapidly produce revised content to meet sprint deadlines.
Produce pitch documents, vertical slice narratives, and prototype story arcs for early-stage development, including one-pagers, mood boards, and narrative mockups to help secure buy-in from stakeholders.
Lead or contribute to localization workflows—prepare source text for localization, annotate strings for context, implement placeholders and spacing rules, and coordinate with localization leads to QA translated copy in-engine.
Create microcopy and emergent narrative hooks for procedural or systemic storytelling, ensuring variable-driven content remains coherent across permutations and edge cases.
Establish and maintain narrative style guides and tone-of-voice documents to ensure consistency across multidisciplinary teams, external writers, and outsourced narrative vendors.
Facilitate cross-functional narrative reviews and sprint planning sessions, clearly communicating narrative priorities, dependencies, and trade-offs to producers, art directors, and tech leads.
Analyze player engagement metrics, telemetry, and qualitative feedback to refine story pacing, dialogue length, and quest complexity; propose data-driven revisions to improve retention and player satisfaction.
Mentor junior writers, provide editorial feedback, and manage external writing contributors, ensuring quality control and alignment with project milestones and brand voice.
Draft marketing-aligned narrative content such as lore blogs, character bios, pitch copy, and trailer scripts in collaboration with the marketing and community teams to align external messaging with in-game narrative.
Anticipate and identify narrative technical constraints—string length limits, memory budgets, branching combinatorics—and design content that respects engineering and platform limitations.
Maintain version control of scripts and narrative assets using tools like Perforce or Git, document change logs, and ensure that narrative revisions are trackable and reversible across builds.
Participate in sprint retrospectives and continuously improve narrative delivery processes, tooling, and pipeline integration to reduce friction between writing and implementation.
Drive accessibility-minded writing practices, such as clear language, content warnings, and alternative text for narrative UI, to support inclusive player experiences across diverse audiences.

Secondary Functions

Assist narrative QA by running script checks, context validation, and continuity passes across builds and localizations.
Support the localization team with context notes, glossary maintenance, and approval of translated in-game text and subtitles.
Coordinate VO scheduling, plate-taking, and approval of final audio assets for integration into builds.
Produce and maintain narrative asset lists and localization spreadsheets for producers and build managers.
Help craft narrative-driven tutorial flows and in-game prompts that reduce onboarding friction and convey mechanics through storytelling.
Participate in community-facing narrative events, developer diaries, and post-launch story expansions to maintain ongoing player engagement.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Expert-level narrative design and scriptwriting for games, including branching dialogue, choice architecture, and nonlinear storytelling.
Proven experience authoring in-engine dialogue and cutscene scripts using tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Articy Draft, Ink, Twine, or Ren'Py.
Proficiency with localization-aware writing: string management, context tags, placeholders, pluralization, and preparing text for translation.
Strong knowledge of voice-over production workflows: script annotation, timing, direction notes, and integration of VO assets.
Familiarity with version control systems (Perforce, Git) and content pipelines for narrative assets in a live build environment.
Ability to write concise and user-focused UI/UX copy that integrates narrative tone with usability requirements.
Experience using narrative prototyping and branching tools (Articy, inklewriter, Chat mapper) to create testable story flows and interactive prototypes.
Understand gameplay systems and how narrative hooks interact with player progression, rewards, and retention KPIs.
Comfortable with spreadsheet-based localization workflows and managing large volumes of strings, keys, and metadata.
Basic knowledge of data analysis and telemetry to interpret engagement metrics and inform narrative iteration.
Strong editing, proofreading, and grammar skills with the ability to produce production-ready copy under tight deadlines.
Familiarity with accessibility best practices for text, subtitle timing, and content warnings.

Soft Skills

Excellent communication skills: able to explain narrative trade-offs clearly to designers, engineers, producers, and executives.
Collaborative mindset with demonstrated ability to take and incorporate feedback from cross-functional teams.
Strong organizational skills and ability to maintain large narrative bibles, trackers, and change logs.
Creative problem-solving and adaptability in fast-moving production environments with shifting priorities.
Empathy and player-centric thinking to craft emotionally resonant characters and believable motivations.
Leadership and mentorship aptitude for guiding junior writers and external contractors toward consistent output.
Attention to detail and an obsessive focus on continuity, tone, and the player’s holistic narrative experience.
Time management and prioritization skills to deliver high-volume content on schedule while keeping quality high.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing, English, Film/Screenwriting, Game Design, or equivalent professional experience in narrative writing for games.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, creative writing programs, or specialized game narrative certificates.
Coursework or portfolio demonstrating dialogue writing, screenwriting, interactive storytelling, or transmedia writing.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Creative Writing
English Literature
Screenwriting / Playwriting
Game Design / Interactive Media
Linguistics / Comparative Literature

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–7 years of professional game writing or narrative design experience (mid-level to senior).

Preferred: 5+ years for Senior Writer or Lead Writer roles, with demonstrable shipped titles and a portfolio of branching narratives, VO scripts, and implemented dialogue. Experience on live services, AAA titles, or narrative-driven indie games is highly desirable.