Narrative Design & Writing

With over 10 years’ experience writing professionally I know a great story. While working as a PR & Marketing Coordinator at Outpost VFX I supported the launch of shows like Star Trek: Picard and House of the Dragon, writing press releases, articles, interviews and social media. I have industry experience as a games journalist, starting my career as a Sub Editor for 360 Magazine and Retro Gamer, and freelanced for titles including Nintendo Insider and GamesRadar. Since 2024, I've been studying a Master's Degree in Indie Game Development specialising in narrative design and game writing.

About Me

Skills & Experience

Game engines

Several years using Unity with basic C#. Familiarity with Unreal, Godot and GameMaker.

Narrative tools

In engine experience using integrated narrative tools including Ink, Yarn Spinner and Articy Draft.

Documentation

Fundamentals in writing narrative documentation such as dialogue systems, bios, and cinematics.

Communication

Excellent communicator who thrives in creative teams. Experienced at collaborating with external departments.

Projects

What I've worked on

The Grift

A historical point and click adventure where you play as a conman. Created independently for university.

Tools: Unity, PowerQuest, GitHub.

Work: Cinematics, dialogue systems and character and location bios.

Into Games Sprint

A cyberpunk noir detective game based on memory investigation. Made for the Into Games Narrative Sprint.

Tools: Google Docs, Google Sheets.

Work: Character and location bios, dialogue system and cinematics.

Nobody's Hero

A superhero themed roguelike deck-builder. Created in collaboration with a team of developers for university.

Tools: Ink, Unreal Engine, Perforce.

Work: Branching dialogue, character bios and game design document.

Project Methuselah

A playable prototype created in Unity using the narrative documentation from the Into Games Sprint.

Tools: Articy: Draft, Dialogue System.

Work: Character and location bios, cinematic scripts, 3D art, game design.

2025-Present

Narrative Assistant (internship)
Serious Point Games

Supporting the Narrative team on the upcoming game, The Ski Lodge Murder. Producing a range of narrative documentation and contributing ideas in departmental design meetings. Collaborating with multiple departments in a studio of 50 volunteers.

2023-Present

Voluntary QA Tester
Go Testify

Playtesting a variety of games and providing detailed written and verbal feedback on game performance, issues and inconsistencies that affect quality and functionality. Communicating complex information in a clear and concise manner.

2011-2023

PR, Marketing and Journalism

Various

Over 10 years' experience in PR, Marketing and Journalism, specialising in researching, ideating and writing editiorial content. Learn more on the PR & Marketing page.

Education & Qualifications

2025

Advanced Narrative Design
Into Games Certificate

Learned narrative design and scriptwriting techniques from seasoned narrative designer Kim MacAskill. In this three week course I learned how to create industry standard character and location bios, dialogue triggers and systems, cinematics, and more.

2024-2026

MA Indie Game Development
Falmouth University

Developed game prototypes independently, and in a team, using both Unity and Unreal Engine. Created projects using Ink, Yarn Spinner and Twine, and learned more about narrative design documentation. Received a distinction in my first year.

2009-2011

FdA Journalism
University of the Arts London

Studying journalism taught me the fundamentals of good storytelling and how to work under pressure to strict print deadlines. While at UAL, I had a regular column in my student newspaper, writing games reviews and features.

Simon Burr