Technical Narrative Designer – Gears Of War – The Coalition

The Coalition is a Microsoft first-party development studio located in Vancouver, Canada. We are the official home of the Gears of War franchise, and our objective is to forge the future of the IP and push the limits of Microsoft’s entertainment platforms and devices. Our team is comprised of deep creative and technical talent from across our industry and beyond, working cohesively to delight our fan base and pass expectations of what is possible. As a studio, we lead from our values and work together to promote respect and inclusion, a growth mindset, grit, all while putting our team first! Join us and let’s go far together!
We are looking for a Technical Narrative Designer who can help us ideate, prototype, implement, and polish innovative story-based experiences. The Technical Narrative Designer is a key contributor to the execution of a game story and development of narrative systems in campaign and multiplayer modes. Reporting to the Lead Narrative Designer, the Technical Narrative Designer will collaborate closely with other designers, developers, and artists across the studio to help ensure seamless integration of story and gameplay.
Responsibilities

• Work closely with campaign, art, and level design teams to drive environmental storytelling and narrative goals throughout the game.
• Provide feedback and guidance on how to best manage and integrate narrative content (speech, text) in the systems.
• Write and keep up to date documentation for tools and gameplay systems.
• Design, document, and implement interactive narrative systems to achieve the projects’ storytelling goals in Campaign and Multiplayer modes.
• Implement narrative content in engine according to project standards, including Live Ops.
• Collaborate with game designers, animators, and engineers to execute on narrative goals through gameplay systems and dialogue/cinematics tools.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:

• OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Art, Game Design, or related field AND 4+ years related work experience (e.g., game development and design, systems design, content production)
• OR equivalent experience
• Associate's Degree in Art, Game Design, or related field AND 4+ years relevant internship/work experience (e.g., game development and design, systems design, content production)
• O OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Art, Game Design, or related field AND 3+ years related work experience (e.g., game development and design, systems design, content production)

Preferred Qualifications

• Have shipped at least one title in a technical design role (such as narrative, mission design, gameplay design).
• You are comfortable with rapid prototyping to test the feasibility of new gameplay features and tools.
• Have conscientious knowledge of industry trends in interactive storytelling, with a genuine interest in creatively advancing the medium.
• Have proficient experience with a major game engine and a firm knowledge of visual scripting. Unreal/Blueprint experience is a plus.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.