February 29, 2024

This week's question is from Mazen Sukkar.

Mazen asks: "There's a new title, you're the first ND on-scene. Whatcha doing? How do you begin?"

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I’m going to be pedantic here about the word “new.” “New” I’m going to define as it’s a new title in what the studio hopes will be a new IP that will make everyone houses made of money.

For this exercise, let’s call this title “The Ballad of Sandwich Pants.” It’s an RPG set in a Raygun Gothic vision of space travel, because why not?

Okay, there are two major approaches to this. First, if you are present at the creation and, second, if the train is already in motion.

Version 1: Present at the creation

This is rare, but it happens. You are already at the studio as a narrative designer and the studio is creating a new IP and you are asked to be in The Room (no not the Tommy Wiseau one). The Room will be filled with the stakeholders as they formalize the concept and the core pillars. Odds are, your boss (a narrative lead or the narrative director) will be in the room with you. If you are a narrative designer and not the lead, you’ll likely be taking notes (for your own reference and perhaps for the lead or director to review later). There’s a non-zero chance you might be asked to give an opinion. I’d use this time to ask clarifying questions about narrative elements discussed. It’ll show you are paying attention and that are already thinking about narrative issues down the line. But mostly, you will be there to listen.

After the meeting ends, you and your narrative boss will return to your desks to hash out what was discussed and figure out how to realize the narrative pillar of TBoSP. Your boss should have next steps in mind, but your first thing will likely be to writing up the notes you took and putting them on something easily accessible, like Confluence or a Google doc (ideally behind a studio firewall; please don’t post secret studio info on your private yet very public G Drive).

Your narrative boss will likely ask you for your thoughts on the meeting and what was covered. Answer honestly. If you are unclear about something, say it. If you see a pain point (not a problem, not something that sucks), bring that up as diplomatically as possible. And if something happily lights your writer brain, then do bring that up. Being present at the creation means nothing is set in stone. No money has been burned on VO, art assets, design levels, or even one line of code. Of course, again, be diplomatic and understand you are working in the Creative Director's playground. For all your excitement and ideas, it's not your game.

Side note: When a new title or a new IP in development, there are going to be ups and downs. Ideas might be rejected early on. Themes will be ditched or revised. Characters your team workshopped might get zapped or merged into another character for reasons. Your lead will be busy in meetings during this time because so much is in flux. Do what you can to keep the narrative dynamo going with the stuff at hand (Please don't invent new narrative elements unless your boss asks you to or your boss is vexed with something, and then read the room if they are looking for your input. It's tricky, I know, but a lot of game dev is interpersonal skills. Just be aware your lead will be dealing with a lot at this time).

It will likely be too early to start building anything in your tools, so stick to developing lore and world docs. This is the time when you are getting submerged into the world of TBoSP. If you haven’t, get a notebook to carry with you to sketch out ideas or jot down lore bits when you get the inspiration. Keep this at work. You don't want this lost on the bus and in the hands of someone at Kotaku.

The most important thing for you as the first narrative designer is to document everything you can. If this is a kick-off of a new title, everything is relevant. Write it down. If something doesn’t work, you'll sort that out in time. A lot of information will be coming thick and fast, and what you do today will help future writers and narrative designers get oriented fast.

Hey, who's awesome? You're awesome. Now, start documenting.

Version 2: The train is already in motion

It’s not uncommon for a studio to be chugging along on production and then hire a narrative designer to come in and help flesh out the story and work with the other disciplines to tell the story better. You might get some early narrative ideas written by the team or a contracted writer who came in a year or so ago. There should, thankfully, be documentation because some saintly staffer put together design docs to get your head around what the game is and what the narrative challenges will be. That part will be done for you, so don’t worry about it. However, once you are working on TBoSP it might fall to you to be the person in charge of the narrative docs.

Let’s back up a second: You will likely know a lot of what the studio needs in a narrative designer from your interview loop. They will tell you in general terms, so it’s up to you to ask as many insightful questions about where the project is in development AND what they are seeking from a narrative designer. In your interview loop, it would serve you well to ask everyone “How would we work together?” and “What can I do in this role to help you tell the story?” and simply “How do you see a narrative designer succeeding in this role?” The answers you get will help define what your job will entail and what your colleagues are expecting out of you.

When you get the ND job (this extends to writers, too), your onboarding will have you meeting and talking to everyone in the first week or two. You’ll be doing a lot of reading of their documents. A lot. I'm not joking on this one. This is a golden opportunity to ask a lot of questions. No matter what, you'll be cramming all this in you brain because everyone is already hard at work and you'll need to catch up. It's vital to meet with your lead in your first 90 days to see if you are meeting expectations.

In summary, take notes, ask questions, drink caffeine, know what the stakeholders want and what your tech can get away with, don't be a jerk, follow your lead's instructions, listen to Bowie, and write with heart, skill, and speed.

But you got this, so hit it.