Advanced Designer, Narrative

Warner Bros. Discovery•Salt Lake City, UT

About The Position

Join the team behind 2023's smash hit Hogwarts Legacy! Avalanche Software, a division of WB Games Inc., is seeking an Advanced Narrative Designer to join the team that created Hogwarts Legacy. We are looking for a visionary storyteller whose passion is providing stories that the player can affect through their choices. The ideal applicant has a deep understanding of the Wizarding World and is excited to tell new wizarding stories through player agency. Applicants should be creative, self-motivated problem solvers who enjoy collaborating with writers and other designers to create immersive narrative experiences. This position involves direct collaboration with design and narrative leadership, writers, artists, IP owners, producers, and peers across every discipline.

Requirements

Previous experience in interactive storytelling, narrative design, and game writing, RPG experience preferred.
A strong record of quality in writing and/or narrative focused game design.
Experience working within an established franchise, authoring exciting new experiences that still feel authentic and tonally consistent.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills including documentation of narrative plans.
Contributed to shipped titles and participated in a full dev cycle from concept through release.
Familiarity with standard game-development processes and workflows.
Possess a deep literacy in games, film, television, and literature with a love of the fantasy genre.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of the Wizarding World franchise is a definite plus.
Experience with Unreal Engine 5, Blueprint, and dialogue authoring tools such as Articy considered a plus.

Responsibilities

Craft compelling missions and rich stories that build a satisfying player experience.
Collaborate with directors and IP owners to ensure authentic stories that tickle fans, ignite the imagination, and connect with players on an emotional level.
Champion the narrative goals of the project on a day to day basis
Promote and drive narrative, thematic, and mechanical coherence across story and gameplay.
Visualize, track, manage, and communicate the branching structure of narrative choice content in the game.
Resolve issues, mediate, provide feedback, and iterate on mission designs based on direction from the development team and franchise representatives.
Provide narrative support for design elements, such as story beat creation, game mechanics delivery, character profiles, character motivations, narrative feature design, player choices, and the player emotional journey as delivered through narrative during game development.
Evaluate missions and provide feedback to mission implementors and artists for how to maximize storytelling and narrative immersion through game mechanics, player choices, dialog options, and environmental storytelling.
Own and drive production on large or complex narrative features or content arcs from initial design through polish and ship.
Translate creative direction, team feedback, and cross-discipline conversations into clear mission specs, narrative documentation, and implementation plans.
Work with discipline leads and stakeholders across the studio to gather input, vet proposals, and align narrative content with the broader needs of the project.
Work with production to prioritize narrative content and keep milestones on track.
Provide clear guidance and feedback to other narrative designers on mission design, documentation, and franchise alignment.