Narrative Design & Writing
Stories that build
your games
I write dialogue and design quests with the belief that they're there to be implemented, performed, and iterated on, not to stay enshrined as The Sacred Texts. I want to create stories and characters that become personal to the player and linger long after the screen has gone dark.
Get in touch →About Me
I speak both Creative and Producer
I'm Aleksandra, a narrative designer and writer with 3.5 years of commercial experience in games. I specialize in quest design, dialogue, and gameplay-integrated storytelling, with hands-on in-engine experience in UE5 and Unity.
As it often happens for narrative designers, it all started with tabletop RPGs. I've always loved video games, and I've always loved writing, but it wasn't until I played my first D&D session that I realized the intersection of the two could be this much fun, and that my professional work could affect people as deeply as these late-night dice-rolling experiences affected me.
I've worked on a wide variety of commercial projects, including simulators, survival games, and visual novels. I understand the unique challenges they bring, and I know there is a way to adapt to each of them. My skill set isn't limited to writing dialogue or designing NPCs. I focus on the collaborative aspect of game-making and place people first: the players and my teammates both. Group effort is where it's at, so I learned to speak both creative and producer.
If you're looking for someone who will brainstorm quest flows until the quest doesn't feel like just a quest anymore, or if you need someone to make sure the lore isn't too dense and keeps pulling the player in -- I am your person.
Send me an email →Project 01
Honeycomb:
The World Beyond
Honeycomb: The World Beyond is an open-world survival game currently in development. I designed quests that introduce the player to core mechanics while remaining fully embedded in the narrative logic — not just onboarding tools, but stories that happen to teach. I tested and iterated on these quests myself to ensure the gameplay integration held up in practice.
I also directed two voice actresses asynchronously, writing recording scripts and detailed direction notes.
For the story trailer, I created the initial outline, reviewed the storyboard to make sure the vision remained coherent, wrote all VO dialogue and recording instructions. I also briefed animators on emotional cues and scene-specific requirements and provided feedback in the animation process.
Interactive Fiction
Through
the Woods
Play through a short branching dialogue of my making! This brief branching snippet puts you in the shoes of a regular soldier tasked with escorting a prisoner of war who might not be what she seems.
Figure out what makes her tick and decide her future.
Original Writing
Viridium:
Prologue
Outside of games, I'm working on Viridium, a Gothic Space Opera and Sci-Fi Horror novel — a project that helps me stretch my wordbuiding legs and lets me explore long-form narrative structure, unreliable narration, and the kind of slow-burn character work that doesn't always fit inside a quest.
Read the full sample →Then the web appeared before her. Silvery threads connecting everything, some stronger than others, stretching in directions she could not perceive.
One thread bound the creature to something beyond. It pulsed, cold and wrong.
She knew what she had to do.
A thrill ran through her like a child discovering a secret toy. The thread snapped at her will-
-and the pain came rushing back.
Project 02
Hairdresser
Simulator
In Hairdresser Simulator, the player meets 27 unique NPCs, each of whom returns to the salon three times over the course of their personal arc. I designed every one of these characters with a focus on emotional nuance and storytelling through small, intimate moments.
With each visit, players uncover an event or shift in the NPC's life that brought them back — whether for comfort, reinvention, or a bit of peace. These glimpses into the characters' lives allow players to gradually piece together who they are, creating the quiet, satisfying fantasy of a hairdresser who becomes a trusted confidante.
Project 03
House Flipper
Remastered Collection
House Flipper Remastered Collection presented a unique challenge as a popular game with a large following with fond memories of the original gameplay. I reimagined the email-based quests as fully voiced cutscenes, preserving the charm and personality of the original text while expanding it into dynamic stories worth following.
This involved creating briefs for our art team and voice actors, ensuring that character, tone, and pacing translated seamlessly from page to performance.
Quest Design Sample
Original Quest:
Sapsorrow
A branching quest design sample demonstrating character-driven investigation, meaningful player choice, and multi-path resolution with lasting consequences.
Sapsorrow
Quest Design Document — Sample
Objective
Investigate the aberrations that plague the village of Mournstead.
Key Characters & Locations
Mournstead
Location
A small village with a big problem; an isolated frontier settlement facing dying crops and mysterious attacks on nearby roads. Despite the hardships, the inhabitants seem cheerful and accommodating.
The Tree of Life
Key Object
A gnarled ancient tree sitting on a hill nearby Mournstead that has been the object of worship for decades. Each autumn equinox it produces red healing apples, rumored to restore missing limbs.
Aria
Potential Companion
Local midwife and druidess: a blend of naive indigo child and harried social worker, too curious for her own good. Blinded by her connection to local nature, she is unwilling to directly address concerns regarding The Tree.
Tyrell
Sheriff
Young, stern, suspicious of superstition in a way that doesn't make him any friends. Wants to make Mournstead a better place, but hasn't yet earned his stripes, partially due to his thorny demeanor.
Quest Steps
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01
Defend yourself! The PC is ambushed by sentient vine-like creatures, unlike anything they've ever encountered before.
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02
Speak with the locals about the aberrations. The locals will direct the PC to Tyrell or Aria depending on their personal views. They are sympathetic but reluctant to divulge more information — it seems they are aware of the problem.
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03
Speak with Tyrell or Aria. Both offer the PC means to heal their injuries. Tyrell will hire the PC to investigate the tree and promise a monetary incentive as well as potential access to his weapon stash, while Aria will show them her clinic and the miracles the Tree has performed in Mournstead. She will also offer side-quests that deepen the PC's involvement with the population. A PC following Tyrell's quest can still help Aria out, even if the NPCs are at odds.
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04
Investigate the Tree. The PC can examine the Tree using their skills (Nature, Investigation, History, or Religion), or scour the local library for information. If they succeed on either, they will learn that the Tree most likely draws its powers from the travelers murdered by its minions — with additional lore provided depending on the roll, information source, and abilities. When interacting with the Tree, the PC also has the option to simply grab a fruit of life or a branch for themselves, either for monetary gain or crafting.
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05
Pick a course of action. Depending on the breadth of knowledge they uncover and a Persuasion roll, the PC might persuade Aria that the Tree does more harm than good and get her help in communing with its spirit to end the trouble — or lie to Tyrell about the results of their investigation, ending it prematurely and preserving the status quo. If they do not succeed in convincing Aria to help, the final battle against the Tree will be more challenging.
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06
Face the Tree Spirit. The spirit will attack if summoned by the PC or Aria — either via a ritual learned at the library or from Aria, or by crudely provoking it. Provocation makes the battle tougher, as the Tree Spirit will use its vine-like minions. If the PC summons or provokes the Spirit themselves, they must also engage in a mental battle, fighting a Fear spell before they can attack the Tree.
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07
Make your final choice. If Aria is present at the summoning, she gets injured and becomes dependent on the Tree for survival — she can be convinced to sacrifice herself for the good of the town, or invited to join the party to search for another solution, at the cost of Tyrell's favor. Alternatively, the PC can destroy the Tree, killing Aria, but gaining a friendly town on its way to prosperity: lower trade prices and mercenaries for hire. If Aria is absent during the battle, the Tree can be destroyed, but she will never forgive the PC for desecrating a holy site and will seek to recreate it.
Consequences
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·
If the PC doesn't defeat the Tree Spirit, Mournstead will soon fall prey to the Tree, becoming a town full of mindless thralls.
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·
If the PC takes a branch or fruit and doesn't confront the Spirit, they gain a permanent tie to the Tree: a cursed weapon (from the branch) or a cursed stat upgrade (from the fruit). This may lead to future quests.
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·
If the PC lies to Tyrell to preserve the status quo, Tyrell learns the truth early enough to flee with a few close allies — and puts a bounty on the PC's head.
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If Aria dies, Mournstead goes without a healer, putting other NPCs at risk and affecting the inhabitants' attitude toward the PC.
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If Aria is recruited, the PC has a chance to use her druid connections to find another healer for Mournstead, avoiding the above.
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If Aria is absent for the final battle, she will lose any trust she had in the PC and seek to create another Tree of Life.
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·
If the PC cooperates with Tyrell, they are granted additional privileges as an ally of the local sheriff, including access to weapon options that are otherwise inaccessible.
Quest flowchart
Consequences flowchart