Senior Narrative Designer

Description

Location: San Francisco
Position: Exact title and compensation are dependent on experience level

ABOUT US

I know what you're thinking,

"Another game developer?  Yay… more F2P clones that monetize the worst aspects of human nature.  We need another one of those like San Francisco needs another car hailing app"

Actually, we invest into storytellers who create amazing games. We are 10 folks total and we’re crafting 5 franchises already. While each feels pretty different, ranging from Sherlock Holmes recreated as a middle school nerd to tall tales of an "Indiana Jones of the Sea”, what they have in common is none of them end in -Ville, -Clans, -Crush, -War, or -Casino.

The question you have to ask yourself is: do you want to work on sweet, sweet tech that enables stories worth telling? Or do you want to slave away on yet another farming simulator, online slot machine, or PvP clone?

ABOUT YOU

Tired of being dropped in after the game is done and told to string together some semblance of a premise? Or having to craft battles and boss fights into EVERY story you write?  Most free-to-play gaming studios treat stories and writers as afterthoughts; bolted on late in the development process.  Still others have no use for writers because the latest Clash of Clones game really doesn't need one. Get ready to have an opinion as our writers get an equal seat at the table and have tremendous influence over game design and product development.  It’s a tough job; structuring non-linear stories that branch, converge and adapt over time.  But when we succeed, we will have created characters and worlds that players felt they had a hand in creating. These stories will live on in their minds, other media channels and last far beyond our lifetimes. We love the fact that Vince Gilligan rewrote the Season Finale of Breaking Bad to keep Aaron Paul’s character alive after hearing the fan reaction in the first few episodes. If you don’t care what your fans think and purely want to create a piece of art that will appeal to an audience of one (yourself), this won’t be the place for you.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create interactive stories through episodic storylines, gameplay-driven narratives, cinematics and character dialog. Weaving gameplay into storytelling is a HUGE part of what you'll be doing day to day
• You'll be dreaming up ideas as well as scripting them into the game
• Rapidly storyboard ideas in close collaboration with artists and not be afraid to adjust and start over
• Be aware and sensitive to what resources are available and work within those constraints
• You will own ALL text that touches players

YOUR SKILLS

• You must play video games and understand interactive storytelling
• College degree in screenwriting, creative writing, or similar
• 5+ years of professional writing experience, at least ONE in interactive
• Ability to elicit player emotion and express complex topics in concise language
• Ability to write punchy and engrossing dialog in different voices
• Bonus points for comic book or episodic television experience and ability to write for the camera
• You MUST have shipped at least 1 game

APPLICATION DETAILS

• Position is located in SOMA district of SF (close to Bart, Muni and Caltrain)
• Top of the market salary, equity and full healthcare/dental/vision benefits
• Please apply with resume, cover letter, and tell us about a story you could tell without using combat game mechanics in a freemium business model. For the record we're not opposed to combat, just want to hear ideas outside the obvious spaces.