Narrative News May 2024: Jobs, Internships, Free Resources, and More!
Plus: IATSE's Gameworker.org study.
Hi fellow narrative designers!
Over the past month, there have been more layoffs adding to the exorbitant losses we’ve experienced over the past two years in the game industry. Nothing about being in the games industry right now is easy, fun, or in any way smooth-sailing, so I won’t sugarcoat that. However, I know that for many of us (and for me) there is no other path. This is our passion.
Sadly, this passion is used and exploited by the industry. Our workforce is vulnerable, we have no bargaining power as individuals, and we have yet to form powerful collectives. But that’s not to say there’s no work being done to create those collectives—in fact, during GDC I got the chance to learn about IATSE’s Gameworkers.org (shout out narrative designer and activist Andrea Saravia Pérez for the info).
Gameworkers.org is hosting a study on rates and conditions as an important first step towards labor organization in our field. I highly recommend participating in the study and getting involved, whether you are employed or unemployed.
In the meantime, let’s get to the jobs, opportunities, and resources for this month!
Events
Meetups + Conferences
SF Bay Area Interactive Fiction Meetup Group meets on May 4th to play some more Spring Thing games.
LudoNarraCon runs from May 9th to May 13th and is a wonderful free, online exploration of narrative games.
Jams + Competitions
REALLY BAD IF Jam begins April 30th and goes until May 11th—the idea is a silly, low-stakes narrative game jam that is unranked. If you’re someone who worries about the pressures of game jams, this could be perfect for you!
Ribbon nominations are open until May 11th in the Spring Thing IF competition. You’ll be able to play the games for as long as you want, but you can only award them until that time!
Resources
Kelly Bender always has the most wonderful and informative posts for narrative designers on LinkedIn, I highly recommend following him! This latest on is on great dialogue UI screens.
Kyle Holmquist shares free narrative design learning resources he found online. One of them is a suite of courses offered by UBC—I took a UBC narrative design course in the past and found it extremely useful, so I’d certainly recommend looking into the ‘audit’ option!
Opportunities
Programs
The IGDA-F Virtual Exchange program has extended its deadline for applications to May 5th! This is an excellent free month-long mentorship and education that is open to applicants around the world. Check out application tips here.
Unreal Fellowship for Games is a three-week intensive for anyone who wants to learn how to make a game in Unreal—that includes you, writers! Don’t limit yourself and don’t let anyone else limit you, either.
Limit Break Mentorship program is open for applications—for both mentees and mentors, until May 2nd! UK only.
Jobs
Intern Content Game Designer at Wooga “We are looking for an Intern Content Game Designer who will join us to contribute to the creation of high-quality content for our game June’s Journey.”
Immersive Narrative Design Intern at Cosm LA-based. “Cosm is a global technology company that brings experiences to life in immersive environments.”
Narrative Design Intern at Paradox Interactive For Dutch or Belgian students only. “We're looking for a narrative design intern to join our Design team and assist on a variety of projects and tasks.”
Narrative Design Intern at DONTNOD Remote possible. “Bring your talent to the DON’T NOD Montreal team and work on the new narrative game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, led by key members of the team behind Life is Strange.”
Content Designer at Azra Games California-based. “We are dedicated to one genre, role-playing games, and led by veteran designer Mark Otero (Zero-to-one director of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes).”
Game Content Designer at Double Coconut Armenia-based. “This role is to manage the updating of content for the live operations of a major game franchise.”
Narrative Designer at Cloud Chamber Novato, California-based or Montreal-based. “Cloud Chamber is looking for an adventurously creative Narrative Designer to join our global development team.”
World and Narrative Manager at Eleventh Hour Games Dallas, Texas-based. “As the World and Narrative Manager for Eleventh Hour Games you will be key in defining and executing the game’s narrative strategy.”
Senior Narrative Writer at Liquid Swords Stockholm-based. “Create rich, believable characters and write punchy dialogue that is poised to spring life from an actor’s mouth.”
Senior Narrative Designer at Bigpoint Hamburg-based. “As Senior Narrative Designer your main job is to develop canon, stories, plots, and written content for different game projects.”
Senior Narrative Designer at Daybreak Games Remote available for Texas, California, NY, and Washington. “Dimensional Ink Studio in Austin is looking for an experienced Senior Narrative Designer that can join the Dimensional Ink team to lead the narrative of DCUO to bring our storytelling to the next level.”
Senior Game Writer at Trailmix Studio London-based. “As Senior Game Writer, you will deliver best-in-class storylines and dialogue for Love & Pies–and beyond.”
Senior Game Writer (Star Wars Jedi) at EA LA or Vancouver-based. “We're looking for a Senior Game Writer to join the narrative team on an unannounced Star Wars™ title - someone with a passion for world-class, ambitious, interactive storytelling in an established universe.”
Senior Writer at CD PROJEKT RED Boston-based. “For our new studio in Boston we are seeking a highly skilled and visionary Senior Writer.”
Narrative Director at Lightspeed Studios Irvine-based. “As a Narrative Director at LightSpeed Studios, your role will be to define and execute the narrative development of a new and exciting game IP.”
Narrative Lead at Ubisoft Stockholm-based. “We are searching for a creative and detail-oriented Narrative Lead to join our team.”
Thanks for reading! Pass on the good vibes and share this newsletter with other narrative designers.
About the Writer:
Rose Behar is a narrative designer at Scopely working on a new IP. Her previous work is featured in Longleaf Valley and Ashe Cove by Double Loop Games, among other projects. She puts out the free Narrative News roundup every month.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing!!!