Narrative Designer (PC/Console, UE5) (6 months contract)

Nekki is a game development studio with over 20 years of experience. We create games for mobile, PC, and consoles, focusing on product quality and player experience.
The Shadow Fight series and Vector have been downloaded over 1 billion times, and we continue to grow and support these franchises. At the same time, we’re building new titles: SPINE and Fight Me.

We care deeply about the stories we tell, so currently, we are looking for a Narrative Designer for a 6 months contract to write and implement dialogue on our new PC/Console project – SPINE.

SPINE is made with Unreal Engine 5 and centered around cinematic gun-fu shootouts. It’s a third-person beat’em’up with a full set of PC gaming features, including a deep storyline, a unique setting, cutscenes, intriguing enemies, memorable bosses, character progression, and, most importantly, breathtaking battles with a wide array of firearms.

Your job will be to turn a rough mission outline into a detailed story, then write all the necessary in-game texts for that story. You will then implement your texts in Unreal Engine 5 using a proprietary scripting tool, making sure they fit within the gameplay of the mission.

Responsibilities:

• Turn mission outlines into fleshed-out narrative experiences: arrange story beats, pick appropriate narrative delivery tools, find budget-conscious solutions to technical and creative problems
• Write dialogue, barks, lore notes and other texts
• Script and implement narrative content in Unreal Engine 5, work on dialogue timings and delivery, make sure story beats mesh seamlessly with gameplay beats
• Ensure character consistency in terms of their manner of speech, motivation and behavior
• Work in close collaboration with other narrative designers, level designers, level artists, game designers and sound designers

What we are looking for:

• Proficiency in English: C1 level or above
• Proven experience in gamedev (middle +)
• In-depth understanding of game writing with a focus on cinematic, movie-like dialogue
• Scripting skills with a focus on dialogue integration and narrative content implementation; ideally in Unreal Engine 5 or similar engines
• The ability to work in a team, process feedback, pitch and defend ideas and concepts
• • A portfolio that showcases your English writing skills and scripting skills. An ideal portfolio includes:
  • multiple texts written in English
  • a playable dialogue implemented in UE5 using any dialogue plug-in of your choice. An interactive dialogue made in Unity or with tools such as Articy, Inky, Twine, etc. also works
• Fluent communication in Russian is required

Would be a plus:

• Prior experience with Unreal Engine 5, especially the level sequencer

We offer:

• A great team with a friendly and informal work environment (we share colleagues' interests, play video games together, and organize internal game jams)

• Support of professional development, participation in specialized conferences and educational events

• Remote work from all over the world

• Working hours from 10 AM to 7 PM (GMT+3) with possibility of adjustment

Competitive salary (depending on professional qualifications)

If you don’t hear from us within 7-10 days, it means we won’t be moving forward with your application this time. We truly appreciate your interest in our company and the time you took to apply. Thank you!