Narrative Designer (customized twine)

Project: Immigration-themed narrative game (focusing on U.S. study, work, and visa uncertainty) Format: Branching narrative / Twine-based / Systems-driven Location: Remote (Contract-based) Language: English and/or Chinese (Bilingual preferred) Duration: Up to 6 months, part-time. Probation: First 2 weeks serve as a paid probation period to ensure fit. Compensation: Paid part-time contract roles). We are seeking a Narrative Designer to build a reactive, systems-driven experience focused on the international student and immigrant journey in the United States. This is not a role for linear storytelling or lore-building. You will design short, high-impact narrative outcomes that respond dynamically to player choices, hidden variables, and complex game states. You will translate real-world bureaucratic "nodes"—such as the H1B lottery, CPT/OPT hurdles, and visa renewals—into playable structures. Responsibilities Design Branching Outcomes: Write concise narrative nodes for Twine or custom engines that reflect the direct and indirect consequences of player decisions. Systemic Reactivity: Map narrative text to mechanical triggers. Ensure the prose shifts based on variables. Translate Reality into Systems: Convert real-world immigration stressors (e.g., administrative processing, job layoffs, "Gap" periods) into interactive narrative structures. Maintain Tone: Deliver text that is concise, observational, and possesses a dry, restrained humor—avoiding all forms of moralizing or exposition. Proactive Collaboration: Maintain proactive communication with the Narrative Lead, developers and other team members to ensure narrative logic aligns with technical constraints. What This Role Is Not Not a Fiction Writer/Novelist position: No long-form prose or world-building backstories. Not a "Writer-only" role: You will script your own nodes using logic; you are not just handing over a Word document. Qualifications Systems-Based Experience: Demonstrated work in interactive narrative (Twine, Ink, or narrative design for released games/TRPGs). Technical Comfort: Deeply comfortable with modified/customized Twine or proprietary narrative engines. You should be fluent in using variables, macros, and logic gates within your writing process. Contextual Familiarity: Personal or researched knowledge of the U.S. immigration/visa context (H1B, OPT, USCIS procedures, etc.). Prose Economy: Ability to write punchy, 1–3 line outcomes that carry significant emotional or mechanical weight. Preferred Qualifications Bilingual: Fluent in English and Chinese. TRPG Background: Experience with D&D, GURPS, or other rules-based storytelling systems. Inspiration: Familiarity with Reigns, Life Restart Simulator Journalistic Background: Experience in journalism work, with an ability to distill complex real-world interviews into clear, objective, and impactful narrative beats. Please submit the following to [email protected] • Introduction & CV. • Portfolio Sample: A link or file (Twine, script, or screenshot) demonstrating how you handle at least 3 variables affecting a single narrative event. • Expected rate and starting date Apply tot his job