What does a Narrative Writer do?
Learn about the role and responsibilities
A game studio Narrative Writer creates the story, characters, and dialogue, and helps shape how players discover them through gameplay, choices, and the world itself.
Possible Specialisms Include
- Dialogue and Scriptwriting: Writes character dialogue, barks, and cinematic scene scripts.
- Worldbuilding and Lore: Builds the game’s history, rules, and “universe bible” for consistency.
- Interactive and Branching Narrative: Designs choice-driven story paths and different outcomes.
- Character Development: Creates character profiles, motivations, and distinct voices.
- Gameplay Text and UI Writing: Writes tutorials, mission logs, item descriptions, and interface text.
- Narrative Design: Shapes how story is experienced through gameplay, levels, and the world itself, and works with design and programming to implement it smoothly.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop the game's story arc, main plotlines, and key story beats
- Create characters with clear personalities, goals, and backstories
- Write in-game dialogue and text like cutscenes, quests, tutorials, and item descriptions
- Build the world's history, rules, and lore to make the setting feel real and consistent
- Collaborate with design and development to keep the story aligned with gameplay and creative goals
Did You Know?
Game writers often write way more than dialogue, including UI text, item descriptions, audio logs, and quick NPC “barks.”