According to a recent job listing posted on LinkedIn, 343 Industries is looking for a Narrative Director to help shape the future of the Halo series. Spotted on Reddit, the job listing states that that the Narrative Director will create “engaging, compelling narrative content combined with thrilling gameplay experiences in Halo’s epic environments and universe.”
“The Narrative Director is responsible for developing and overseeing all Narrative content including primary path, cinematic/mission dialogue and much of the fiction related to the game. A Narrative Director is expected to span disciplines, not only crafting story to fit a wide variety of game scenarios and writing the bulk of the game, but also working closely with multiple departments ensuring the success of the overall narrative vision. The ideal candidate will have previous experience as a successful game writer, outstanding communication skills, a thorough understanding of story and gameplay, experience in a writer’s room setting, the ability to work within established narrative and game play goals and an absolute passion to tell great stories in various mediums.”
343 Industries is looking for someone with at least 5 years of game industry experience and who has shipped multiple AAA titles. Applicants should also exhibit a passion for character-driven narratives and have a “love for sci-fi, adventure, and heroic storytelling.” In addition, applicants will be tasked with working on a team and must show open-mindedness and excellent communication and leadership skills.
Studio Head Bonnie Ross recently mentioned at the 2017 D.I.C.E. Summit that going forward she wanted the series to tell a more simple story as she believed that they sometimes tell a bit too much story in their games. She later clarified on Twitter that that meant there should be a balance between the extended lore in the universe and the story told in the game.
Halo 5 received criticism for its story upon release as some thought it was convoluted and not in line with what was advertised. This Narrative Director will likely be tasked with ensuring a cohesive narrative and finding the right balance to please all players.
Source: LinkedIn
Jennifer is a games journalist, former games journalist and PR Manager at Gearbox. They contributed 234 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: went on to write for Windows Central and later managed PR for Gearbox Software.