Narrative Designer

Smile-Break · Design

Remote · Full-Time · Mid-Level

Salary: $85,000 - $125,000 USD

Job Summary

We are looking for a Narrative Designer to join our fully remote game development team for an unannounced project within a high-profile IP.

We are in development on an ambitious, unannounced, cross-platform Strategy/MMO title, creating a team of talented and passionate game makers to join us on this exciting journey. This could be your opportunity to make a lasting impact on one of our next big releases.

Key Responsibilities

As a storytelling specialist, you will be creating with the narrative team an epic serialized journey that immerses the player in the world of a globally recognized IP and offers agency to customize the story in a meaningful way through branching narrative design. As a teammate, you will bring to our writers’ room your professional integrity, inventive ideas, and IP knowledge. As an individual, you will autonomously deliver best-in-class narratives across outlines, scripts, and features.

• Demonstrate experience with crafting and implementing system-driven, player-owned, branching narratives
• Proactively contribute in the writers’ room to story development
• Design story outlines that align with IP requirements, product goals, and art, animation, and production scope
• Write emotionally rich scripts featuring authentic dialogue for an expansive cast of IP and original characters
• Collaborate within and across departments, proactively communicating and applying feedback efficiently and effectively
• Contribute to the development of narrative features and events
• Assist in the training of more junior designers as the team grows

Requirements

• Experience in serialized storytelling for multi-year game and/or TV projects
• Strong RPG storytelling, writing, and branching narrative design skills
• IP knowledge and enthusiasm for working within the boundaries of an IP
• Understanding of F2P game development pipelines and monetization strategies
• Implementation experience to convert scripts to in-game conversations as well as block, light, and direct dialogue scenes
• Organizational agility, task management, and communication skills
• Ability to interface with departments across game design, including Level Design, Engineering, Art, Animation, Audio, and Production.
• High degree of professional integrity and discretion

Qualified candidates will be asked to sign an NDA and complete a project-specific narrative assessment.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• A passion and predilection for team writing
• Avid player of games, especially Narrative RPG and 4X Strategy
• Familiarity with industry-standard development tools such as Unity, Jira, Confluence, Miro, and Git.
• Directing experience - character blocking, camera positions and editing abilities.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $85,000 - $125,000 USD

• Unlimited PTO (used responsibly and subject to business needs)
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Fully remote work

Smile Break is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the country in which they reside. Visa sponsorship is not currently available for this position.

About Smile-Break

At Smile Break, we care deeply about what we do and want to inspire play every day - whether in our work environments alongside our talented colleagues or through our deep connections with our communities of players. We are a global team of game lovers who are developing, publishing and innovating the mobile games industry, connecting millions of people around the world daily.

We are in the middle of development of an ambitious, unannounced Strategy/MMO/Mobile title, creating a team of talented and passionate game makers to join us on this exciting journey!