Senior Narrative Designer - World Building Specialist

Placements24; Randburg; On-site; ZAR 540,000 - 780,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Comprehensive benefits package

Professional development

Opportunities for advancement

Creative studio environment

Job summary

Placements24 in Randburg is seeking a Senior Narrative Designer specializing in world-building to shape immersive game universes. You will craft lore, histories, cultures, factions, and backstories, ensuring they integrate with gameplay, art, and design.

The role demands masterful storytelling, strong writing, and the ability to translate complex lore into engaging player experiences. Collaboration with level designers, writers, and media teams is essential to keep narratives cohesive across

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Narrative Designer or Writer in the video game industry.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Deep understanding of narrative structure, character development, and thematic consistency.
• Experience creating comprehensive lore documents and style guides.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain core lore, history, cultures, and overarching narrative framework for game projects.
• Create detailed world-building documents including backstories, factions, and environmental narratives.
• Collaborate with level designers, artists, and gameplay designers to integrate narrative and environment.
• Write dialogue, item descriptions, journal entries, and other in-game text.
• Ensure narrative consistency and coherence across all aspects of the game.
• Contribute to story conception, plot development, and character arcs.
• Provide narrative direction for cinematics, quests, and interactive sequences.
• Work with voice actors and media teams to maintain narrative integrity.
• Research historical and mythological contexts to inform world creation.
• Mentor junior narrative designers and contribute to best practices.

Skills

World-building

Narrative design

Storytelling

Writing

Portfolio

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in English, Creative Writing, History

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a studio celebrated for its rich, lore-driven games, is seeking a Senior Narrative Designer with a specialization in world-building to join their team in Randburg . This role is integral to crafting compelling and immersive game worlds, ensuring that narrative elements are deeply integrated into gameplay, lore, and environmental design. You will be responsible for developing the foundational elements of our game's universe, including history, cultures, factions, and backstories, and ensuring consistency across all narrative outputs. The ideal candidate is a masterful storyteller with exceptional writing skills, a deep understanding of narrative structure, and the ability to translate complex lore into engaging player experiences. This is a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to the narrative heart of our ambitious projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the core lore, history, cultures, and overarching narrative framework for game projects.
• Create detailed world-building documents, including character backstories, faction profiles, and environmental narratives.
• Collaborate closely with level designers, artists, and gameplay designers to ensure narrative and environmental elements are seamlessly integrated.
• Write compelling dialogue, item descriptions, journal entries, and other in-game text.
• Ensure narrative consistency and coherence across all aspects of the game.
• Contribute to story conception, plot development, and character arcs.
• Provide narrative direction for cinematics, quests, and other interactive sequences.
• Work with voice actors and other media teams to ensure narrative integrity.
• Research historical and mythological contexts to inform world creation.
• Mentor junior narrative designers and contribute to establishing best practices for narrative development.

Requirements

• Proven experience as a Narrative Designer or Writer in the video game industry, with a portfolio showcasing strong world-building and narrative work.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Deep understanding of narrative structure, character development, and thematic consistency.
• Experience creating comprehensive lore documents and style guides.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Familiarity with game development tools and pipelines.
• A passion for creating rich, believable, and engaging game worlds.
• Bachelor's degree in English, Creative Writing, History, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience with scripting languages for narrative implementation is a plus.

Benefits

Join a critically acclaimed studio in Randburg , known for its innovative storytelling and engaging gameplay. Our client offers a competitive salary, a comprehensive benefits package, and opportunities for professional development and advancement. You will work on exciting, narrative-driven projects with a talented and passionate team, contributing to memorable player experiences. We offer a stimulating work environment that values creativity and collaboration.