The Ultimate Guide to Acing Your Narrative Designer Interview

As a narrative designer, your job is to craft captivating stories and experiences that engage audiences across games, film, and other interactive media You are the master storyteller who brings games and virtual worlds to life.

But before you can land your dream role as a narrative designer, you have to ace the interview. And that means being ready to answer some tough questions that will put your narrative design skills to the test.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore some of the most common and critical narrative designer interview questions you’re likely to encounter, along with tips on how to craft winning answers

Why Do You Want This Role?

This question gets right to the heart of your motivation and passion for narrative design. Interviewers want to know what draws you to this career path and if you have the dedication required for the job.

Tips for a stellar answer:

• Share when you first realized your love for storytelling and what specifically excites you about narrative design.
• Discuss the types of stories and games that have influenced or inspired you.
• Talk about your commitment to honing your craft through learning and practice.
• Convey your enthusiasm and vision for bringing memorable stories to life.

Here’s an example:

“I’ve been passionate about storytelling and worldbuilding ever since I was a child. The immersive worlds and characters I discovered in books, movies, and games heavily influenced me. I love how narrative designers use gameplay mechanics, environments, dialogue, and other tools to engage audiences and transport them into an experience. The thought of crafting narratives that inspire emotions and ideas for players deeply excites me. That’s why I committed myself to developing the skills needed for this role, from creative writing to game design principles. I can’t wait to work collaboratively with other developers to push narrative design to new heights.”

How Do You Come Up With Story Ideas?

Narrative designers need a fount of creativity to dream up compelling narratives. This question tests your ideation process and imagination.

Ways to stand out:

• Discuss specific sources of inspiration and how you expand on them. Books, films, observations of life, etc.
• Share creative exercises or activities you do to spark new story concepts. Brainstorming, free-writing, etc.
• Talk about keeping an open mind and seeking out new perspectives to avoid creative ruts.
• Share any systematic approaches you take, like creating detailed outlines or character profiles early on.

Example response:

“I gather inspiration from various sources – books I’m reading, films, ecosystems and human behaviors I observe. I’ll take notes on interesting concepts I want to explore further. To generate fresh ideas, I like to free-write without limitations and see where my mind takes me. I’m a big believer in seeking out perspectives outside my own too, through research and talking to others with different backgrounds. This sparks ideas I’d never come up with in a vacuum. Once I have some initial concepts, I map out story beats, characters profiles and settings to methodically develop the most promising ideas.”

How Do You Handle Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block afflicts all creatives from time to time. Interviewers ask this to assess how you deal with creative obstacles and problem-solve.

Strategies for a compelling response:

• Share tactics you use to overcome writer’s block when it strikes. Taking a break, trying free-writing exercises, seeking feedback, etc.
• Discuss how you work to avoid writer’s block through planning, maintaining momentum, and pushing past internal critics.
• Convey that you don’t force creativity but recognize when to step away and approach a narrative again later with fresh eyes.
• Share how you turn to mentors, collaborate with others, or research when truly stuck.

Example answer:

“When writer’s block strikes, I’ve learned it’s rarely constructive to force it. Instead, I take a break and do something that makes my mind work in a different way, like working out or listening to music. Getting distance often allows me to return with new insights. I also use free-writing character backstories or describing settings I imagine as ways to boost my creativity. If I’m still stuck, I’ll seek outside perspectives from mentors or team members. Their feedback helps shake up my thinking. For me, the key is not making being creative seem like such a huge job. Maintaining momentum in small daily writing goals helps me avoid major blockages. “.

How Do You Ensure Consistent Characterization?

Since characters are the heart of any narrative, interviewers want to know how you craft figures who feel real, relatable and behave logically within the established story. This reveals your understanding of character development.

Tips for an impressive response:

• Discuss how you create detailed character profiles and backstories to establish their core traits and motivations.
• Talk about maintaining organized documentation so you understand character arcs and can track their growth.
• Share your collaboration process and seeking feedback from others to check characterization.
• Note how you analyze character behavior and choices to ensure alignment with their established personality and goals.

Example answer:

“Consistent characterization starts with documenting each character’s background, personality traits, goals, and quirks that make them unique. I revisit these profiles often, especially when writing pivotal scenes, to ensure characters behave according to their established motivations. I also collaborate with other team members frequently and solicit their feedback on whether characters ring true in new narratives. Having outsider perspectives helps me analyze choices through the lens of a character’s core identity. And I continuously ask myself as I write – would this character really act or speak this way given what I know about them? Keeping their voice and psychological consistency is crucial.”

How Do You Balance Story and Gameplay?

Narrative designers must seamlessly blend narrative with gameplay mechanics. Interviewers ask this to assess your understanding of game design and ability to enhance, not hinder, the player experience.

Elements of a strong response:

• Discuss collaborating closely with game designers and programmers early on to align narrative goals with mechanics.
• Talk about using gameplay tools like branching dialogue and choices as part of the narrative progression itself.
• Note weaving environmental storytelling into levels and locations to immerse players organically.
• Share your experience experimenting with different integration approaches and willingness to alter narratives to best fit the game.

Example answer:

“When crafting narratives for games, I always start by meeting with designers and programmers to understand the core mechanics and systems at play. This allows me to shape the narrative experience specifically for the game versus generic stories shoehorned in. For example, if players make major choices via dialogue trees, I’ll ensure the branching story aligns with those key decisions points. Or if the game encourages exploration, I’ll use a lot of environmental details to convey backstory and lore for engaged players without forced exposition. Ultimately my goal is complementing the intended gameplay. I’m comfortable iteratively adapting narratives until they feel like a natural extension of the mechanics.”

How Do You Write Dialogue That Sounds Natural?

Believable dialogue is crucial for immersive storytelling. Interviewers ask this to probe your ability to write conversational dialogue that fits different characters and contexts.

Elements of an effective response:

• Discuss listening skills and observing actual conversations to capture organic speech patterns.
• Note using dialects, idioms, and slang strategically to evoke a character’s background through their speech style.
• Share writing dialogue aloud or having others read scripts to improve flow.
• Talk about collaborating with actors and paying attention to improvised lines that feel more natural.

Example answer:

“The key to making dialogue feel natural is listening – both to real people around me and actors reading scripts aloud. I pay close attention to speech patterns and personalized vocabulary during everyday conversations. Those observations allow me to recreate the rhythms of natural dialogue in my writing. I also strategically use slang or dialects to convey backstory and personality through how characters speak. Writing dialogue aloud helps me polish lines and ensure they flow conversationally. And I love collaborating with talented actors who improvise lines that capture a more raw, authentic voice. Their contributions make characters that much more human and relatable.”

How Do You Manage the Complexity of Branching Narratives?

Many games feature branching storylines shaped by player choices, creating exponential complexity. This asks whether you have the technical design skills to handle multi-path narratives cohesively.

The components of a strong answer:

• Discuss using workflow tools like narrative maps, diagrams, spreadsheets to visually organize branching possibilities.
• Talk about establishing consistent character motivations and personalities across narrative branches.
• Note protecting critical story beats so key events transpire regardless of player choices.
• Share your process for identifying and eliminating branches that undermine narrative integrity.

Example response:

“Branching narratives exponentially increase complexity, but good planning and organization helps me manage successfully. I use tools like spreadsheets to map all narrative branches and story variations from the earliest stages. This allows me to analyze decision points and event ordering at a glance. I also ensure characters retain consistent motivations across all alternate paths – they can make different choices but who they are remains intact. Certain story beats are fixed to preserve narrative integrity. Lastly, throughout development I prune branches that undermine core themes or