NarrativeDesigner.com
The Origin of Narrative Design

GDC
2006

The conversation that started a profession. The job description that defined it. Twenty years later, the story of how a discipline was born.

The Conversation

San Jose, California. Spring 2006. The Game Developers Conference.

The games industry in 2006 was having an identity crisis about story. On one side: the belief that games were fundamentally about mechanics, and narrative was a luxury - nice to have, not essential. On the other: a growing recognition that the most memorable games were the ones where story and play were inseparable. But there was no vocabulary for the work that made this integration happen. No title. No discipline. No professional identity.

Stephen Erin Dinehart IV was completing his MFA at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, studying under transmedia scholar Marsha Kinder. His work at USC had been focused on the intersection of dramatic theory and interactive systems - the question of how classical storytelling principles could be adapted, not just applied, to participatory media.

At GDC that spring, in conversation with developers, designers, and writers who were all grappling with the same unnamed problem, the discussion began. The need for a dedicated story-systems role was clear. Initially, the working title was Narrative Director.

But over the weeks that followed, the title was refined. By May 2006, the team had settled on Narrative Designer - designer, not director. The distinction was deliberate: this was not a role about commanding a vision from above. It was about designing systems from within. The word “designer” placed the work where it belonged - in the architecture of the experience itself.

It was not a marketing invention. It was a recognition. The work already existed. It simply lacked a name.

The First Role

THQ / Relic Entertainment. Vancouver, BC. 2006.

Shortly after GDC, Dinehart joined THQ/Relic Entertainment as the first person in the games industry to hold the professional title of Narrative Designer. The studio was developing Company of Heroes, an RTS that would go on to become one of the most acclaimed strategy games ever made.

The role was new. There was no precedent, no existing job description, no established workflow. Everything had to be built from first principles:

  • How does a narrative designer integrate with a game design team?
  • What authority does the role have over mechanical decisions?
  • How do you document narrative systems (not just narrative content)?
  • What does the deliverable look like?
  • How do you measure success?

These questions - and their answers, worked out in practice over months of development - became the foundation of the discipline.

The Original Job Description

The first formal Narrative Designer job description in the games industry. Written by Stephen Dinehart. This is the document that defined the role.

From: Stephen Dinehart

RE: Proposed Job Description

Narrative Designer

Summary

This role will be a mixture of lore keeping, world building, dialogue writing, maintaining documentation, strategizing content design and roll-out to multiple mediums, implementing quests/gameplay, and scripting game logic.

The Narrative Designer will focus on ensuring that the key elements of the player experience associated with story and storytelling devices, script and speech are dynamic, exciting and compelling. Working collaboratively with other design oriented team members, the Narrative Designer will be the primary contact with internal/external writing resources for the duration of a production, and will be responsible in ensuring we get the most out of those resources.

The Narrative Designer will also be relied upon to collaborate with other designers to assist in the design and implementation of game world systems and mission/quest design, using game editors and scripting systems as part of the iterative process to maximize player immersion within the game play experience.

Position Responsibilities

  • Act as the champion of the story, script and speech for the product
  • Act as the central resource for all things narrative related, as well as write content and edit copy
  • Drive quest design and world design, from documentation to implementation
  • Working in conjunction with the Art team to create a shared vision of the game world
  • Designing and scripting game encounters, scripted events, and cinematics
  • Design and document interactive narrative systems to facilitate story and emotional delivery to player
  • Collaborate with other designers to assist in design and implementation of game world systems and mission/quest design, using game editors and scripting systems
  • Collaborate with design team and external talent to create and maintain game dialogue documentation, NPC character information, world back story, and cinematic direction
  • Assist when needed with actor voice direction
  • Collaborate with art team to develop fully fleshed-out characters and locales
  • Work with internal/external writing resources to help translate their material to become game relevant, as well as translate game concepts to external writers
  • Manage own schedule to accommodate the deliverables of each project and propose solutions for conflicts that arise
  • Edit, compile and develop outlines, narrative synopses, treatments and script content and be responsible for revision and approval submission
  • Assembles and edits prototype story components such as storyboard animatics, ripomatics, sound and music
  • Conduct research to obtain factual background information relevant to story/design goals
  • Work with the sound department on emotional tone of the sound design, including music selection
  • Articulate industry trends, innovative solutions and cutting edge styles that meet the goals of each project
  • Support/assist Producer and Design team in other duties, as required

Knowledge, Skills & Ability Requirements

  • Superior writing ability
  • The confidence and passion to present and champion your designs, and the humility and wisdom to know when they need to change
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to thrive in a team environment
  • Understand techniques to elicit player emotion
  • Familiarity with concept art creation and storyboarding
  • Knowledge of cinematic creation tools
  • Experience working with art team on cinematic development
  • Strong understanding of fostering a community and fan base for our games
  • Proven ability to provide content across a full array of interactive media platforms including PC and mobile
  • Understanding of the theory of, and experience in, game design including the use of sound, animation, graphics and special effects software to maximize game play experience
  • Comprehensive production experience in the development of interactive entertainment

Education / Work Experience

  • 5+ years of professional game development experience preferred
  • Minimum of two AAA titles shipped as a Narrative Designer
  • Preferably shipped at least two titles
  • A terminal degree in interactive media, either a MFA or PhD
  • Previous cinematics and script writing for games on a formalized basis an asset
  • An avid game player with a deep interest in creatively advancing the story medium

Commentary: What This Document Reveals

Reading this twenty years later, several things stand out. First: the breadth. This is not a writing role. It spans lore, world building, quest design, scripting, cinematics, voice direction, sound design, community strategy, and cross-media content rollout. The original vision for narrative design was always integration across the entire production, not a content silo.

Second: the emphasis on collaboration. The word “collaborate” appears five times. “Work with” appears four more. This was never conceived as a solo role. It was conceived as a bridge - the person who connects art, design, engineering, audio, and writing into a coherent narrative whole.

Third: the requirement for both creative and technical fluency. “Scripting game logic.” “Using game editors and scripting systems.” “Understanding of the theory of game design including the use of sound, animation, graphics and special effects software.” The narrative designer was never meant to be someone who only writes. They were meant to build.

What the document could not have anticipated: the scale of the discipline’s expansion into themed entertainment, VR, AI, conversational design, and interactive media beyond games. The original description was written for game development. The discipline outgrew its origin - but the core principles held.

What Changed Since

Team Size In 2006, a single narrative designer per project was ambitious. In 2026, AAA teams may have 5–15 narrative designers with a full reporting hierarchy: Narrative Director, Lead, Senior, Mid, Junior. Tools The first narrative designers used Word documents and custom spreadsheets. Today: Articy:Draft, Ink, Yarn Spinner, proprietary engines, and AI-assisted authoring tools. Scope The role expanded beyond games into themed entertainment (theme parks, immersive theater), interactive media (Netflix interactive, VR narratives), conversational AI, and educational technology. Recognition In 2006, narrative design was a new and contested idea. In 2026, it is a standard industry role with university programs, professional conferences, and established career paths.

The Spread

How the title went from one person at one studio to a global profession.

2006–08

First Adopters

The term appeared in internal documents and job postings at a handful of forward-thinking studios. Early adopters recognized the need for dedicated narrative integration roles - the same unnamed work they had been distributing across writers, designers, and producers.

2009–12

Industry Recognition

Major studios began creating formal Narrative Designer positions. The Gamasutra publication of “Dramatic Play” provided theoretical legitimacy. GDC began dedicating sessions to narrative design as a distinct practice. The discipline had a name, a theory, and a growing community.

2013–18

Standardization

Narrative Designer became a standard role at Ubisoft, Naughty Dog, BioWare, Riot Games, Bungie, and hundreds of studios worldwide. Job descriptions stabilized. Career paths formed. The IGDA created a Game Writing SIG that included narrative design. Universities began teaching it.

2019–24

Expansion Beyond Games

Themed entertainment, VR/AR, interactive film, conversational AI, educational technology, transmedia production. The discipline outgrew its origin medium. Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative, Netflix, and dozens of non-game companies adopted the role.

2025–26

AI & The Next Frontier

Generative AI and procedural storytelling create new demands for narrative design: designing the systems and constraints within which AI generates contextually appropriate narrative. The narrative designer’s role evolves from authoring every line to architecting the possibility space for machine-generated story.

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What Is Narrative Design? The Theory The Work