Game Writer vs. Narrative Designer: or, Learning Through Embarrassment

When I decided to begin this little venture, I knew mistakes and missteps would be part of the process. What I didn't expect is that I would step in it quite so quickly.

As context, last week I wrote my first post then shared it across social media and sat back waiting for the accolades to come rolling in. Likes, follows, attaboys, job offers, a seething, roaring, shouting mass of fans. Reality was quick to reset my expectations and remind me I have less than 75 followers. As of this writing, my post has received exactly two comments: One of them was a stranger wishing me luck, and the other was from none other than seasoned Narrative Designer, Evan Skolnick.

For the uninitiated, Evan Skolnick is an author, editor, and industry veteran with over twenty years in the games space. He's worked on over fifty titles, including Mafia 3, Star Wars Battlefront, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2.

Through the machinations of a complex and inscrutable universe, my fledgling post garnered his attention... and I managed to biff it. In my post last week, I wrote: "Hi. I'm Paul, and I want to become a Narrative Designer, otherwise known as a video game writer."

Two sentences into my grand manifesto about going all in with a brand new career and I made an error. I'll let Evan explain:

Best of luck! My first bit of advice would be to research the difference between game writer and narrative designer. They are related, often overlapping roles, and the definitions vary from company to company. But most people who work in game narrative don't use the terms interchangeably.

— Evan Skolnick (@evanskolnick.bsky.social) January 1, 2025 at 7:43 PM

Nothing like announcing you're going on an arduous journey and an admired expert in your chosen field kindly points out you might not actually know where you're trying to go. I cringed so hard my skeleton fled my body and went to go mix a stiff drink. Once it returned, I opened my computer and took Evan's advice.

Surprising no one, he's absolutely right: Video Game Writers and Narrative Designers are two different things. In most of my reading the authors have said variations of the same thing– The roles are related, there are common jobs between both, and different companies call each role different things. The trouble is, I took this to mean there was no difference, but that's not the case.

Writers write. Full stop. All the text in a game—menus, dialogue, item descriptions, character arcs, and plot points—had to be written by someone. They may also create materials the player never sees: story bibles, character bios, and plot documents. While they might dabble in other tasks, crafting words for the digital world is the core of the job.

Narrative Designers, meanwhile, focus on how players engage with the story. They work closely with the Lead Writer and branch out to multiple departments throughout the studio to ensure everyone is on the same page. Throughout development they keep the Lead Writer apprised as technical or financial limitations are brought to light so the writing team can pivot and make sure the story remains coherent.

ND's might also look for additional means of telling the story throughout the game. Do the environments support the narrative? Are there opportunities to enhance storytelling in the UI? If cuts have been made, could the story be told through audio logs or visual journal entries? Does each scene or level elicit the intended player experience?

The most succinct summation I've come across is that writers are concerned with characters, Narrative Designers are concerned with players. Often, both roles are thinking about characters and players, but how much and with what degree of agency varies from studio to studio.

So there you have it: One post in, and I’ve already embarrassed myself. But hey, if every misstep teaches me something, maybe I’m off to a pretty great start after all.