How To Go From "Aspiring" to "Narrative Designer" - Bite-Size Talk - LudoNarraCon 2021

So you want to break into narrative design & writing for games. Awesome! Where do you start? Tune into this 15-minute blitz where we'll lay out the roadmap to get you making games, building a portfolio, and setting yourself up as a Narrative Designer to watch. We'll laser focus on actionable tips that you can get started on right away.
About Karrie Shirou:
Karrie Shirou has launched over 50 titles as a narrative designer, producer, and marketing and communications director. Her narrative credits include League of Legends, Per Aspera, Totemic, and several upcoming titles. She's also produced on League of Legends, Hello Neighbor, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, and many more.
/ karriebearr
About LudoNarraCon:
LudoNarraCon 2021 is the third edition of an annual digital festival held exclusively on Steam to celebrate narrative video games and the developers that make them. Conceived and organised by indie label Fellow Traveller, the event is available for free to everyone to attend and free for developers to exhibit at.
👀 Behind the scenes content and live Q&As from 44 exhibiting developers, all making story-rich game
🎮 34 narrative game demos to download and play, all featured in our demo section
💸 Get great discounts on more than 125 story-rich games in the LudoNarraCon sale
🎤 Watch over 17 hours of original panels, talks and fireside chats about narrative games and game development
💝 Support the event and help fund new initiatives by purchasing the Supporters Pack, featuring an exclusive game commissioned for the festival, a 34-track album and a wealth of wallpapers
Find out more at ludonarracon.com

[@MrKagemitsu]

Thanks for this! I've been working in games for about 8 years now, first as QA and now as a Freelance Translator and Editor, but I'd really like to move on to Narrative Design. It's... really daunting.

[@kburrrrr]

It's a tough job (and even tougher to break into)! But if you're already translating and editing, you're well on your way. :)

[@AXSALVO]

Thank you for this. This was very enlightening. I wasn't aware that the narrative designer position existed!

[@kburrrrr]

You're welcome! It's a position that's different depending on the studio/team, but lots of fun. :)

[@moonrocks4634]

This was super helpful and really inspiring and informative. I was completely confused on what sorts of things to include in a portfolio or how to even get started with experience so I’m really grateful for this video. Thank you!

[@kburrrrr]

I'm so happy you found this informative! It's all super complicated at first, so I really wanted to simplify things down to accessible, immediate steps.

[@scaleonkhan183]

This was cool, thank you!!

[@samdevito8028]

That was quite useful thank you.

[@Voltyism]

Thanks Karrie, very helpful and motivating !

[@kburrrrr]

You're welcome, thank you for the nice words ♥

[@caelusrex4219]

This was amazing and so insightful. Looking to change my career and needed some advice on where to start so this was perfect. Thankyou.

[@kburrrrr]

Best of luck!!! It's hard work but it's totally worth the fight⭐

[@andresn.8507]

Thank you for your content. Could you suggest a good online university course to start in this career? I find it really captivating!

[@canniloni]

6:59 "figure out where it could have done better even if it's your favorite game in the world and everything is perfect" me: **thinks about how The Last of Us Part 2 could possibly be improved** "...if you were hired on to The Last of Us 2 today... " i didn't know youtube videos had this new feature where they could read my thoughts, i'm impressed 🧐

[@bright-vision8766]

Lmao I had this exact experience. Thought of Tlou2 too! :D

[@johawley1860]

Would you recommend a bachelors degree and if so what one?

[@kburrrrr]

Overly complicated answer: it depends. A bachelors degree is not "necessary", but unfortunately it makes getting a job easier, as it's used as an early filtering method for hiring. The game industry's still new enough that most people didn't major in anything remotely related to their jobs. It still CAN be useful though, and the things you study can bubble up in unexpected ways. Less complicated answer? If you're aiming for Narrative Design or similar, majors related to writing/film/media are super relevant. Other useful areas of study: computer science, psychology.

[@jjandysandysjj]

awful

[@lleon79]

why?