Story Intern - Undergraduate

Insomniac Games
Burbank, CA
On-siteCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for undergraduate writing students who collaborate and contribute to AAA game storytelling processes, with a focus on character development and narrative documentation in Burbank, CA.

Best fit for

  • Undergraduate students with a focus on creative writing and a desire to work in collaborative game development environments
    — “collaborate with experienced writers and creative teams to help shape the stories and characters”
  • Candidates interested in gaining hands-on experience in cinematic and in-game dialogue creation
    — “Write cinematic dialogue and participate in mocap/p-cap sessions”

Things to consider

  • Must be available for the full 12-week internship period and meet specific graduation date criteria
    — “Must be available for the entire 12-week internship period”
  • No visa sponsorship available, so international candidates must be authorized to work in the US
    — “SIE will only consider applicants who are authorized to work for any employer in the United States”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your ability to create character arcs and one-sheets in your portfolio or resume
    — “Create character arcs and one-sheets to support casting, art reference”
  • Emphasize your experience with collaborative storytelling and script review in your application materials
    — “Review scripts, provide constructive feedback, and revise writing based on creative direction”
  • Showcase your skills in organizing and maintaining online documentation for narrative projects
    — “Maintain and organize online documentation to support the writing process”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • contribute to story development
  • create character arcs
  • write cinematic dialogue
  • review scripts
  • organize documentation
Typical background
degree in Writing, Game Designsix to twelve months of related experience

Skills & requirements

Required

Story DevelopmentCharacter DevelopmentDialogue WritingCollaborationCritical ThinkingWriting Skills

Preferred

Game DesignCreative WritingStorytellingVoice-over Sessions

Stack & domain

Story DevelopmentCharacter DevelopmentCinematic DialogueIn-game DialogueScript ReviewCreative DocumentationCollaborationCritical ThinkingWriting SkillsCreativitySelf-motivationResponsibilityTeamworkVideo Game ProductionWriting For Games

About the role

Original posting from Insomniac Games via Greenhouse

Job ID: R-125856

Role Summary: 

Join the writing team at Insomniac Games and gain hands-on experience developing stories, characters, and dialogue for AAA video game production. 

As a Writing Intern, you'll collaborate with experienced writers and creative teams to help shape the stories and characters that bring games to life. You'll contribute to story development, cinematic and in-game dialogue, and creative documentation while learning the Insomniac process for writing for games. 

Throughout the internship, you'll receive mentorship from senior team members, strengthen your storytelling and writing skills, and gain practical experience in a collaborative game development environment. You'll also have the opportunity to contribute to a AAA game production and earn a game credit for your resume. 

What You’ll Be Doing: 

Collaborate with the writing team to develop and outline stories through "Breaking story" sessions. 

Create character arcs and one-sheets to support casting, art reference, and character development. 

Write cinematic dialogue and participate in mocap/p-cap sessions to learn how storytelling translates into game production. 

Develop in-game dialogue and attend voice-over sessions to understand how written content is brought to life. 

Review scripts, provide constructive feedback, and revise writing based on creative direction and team input. 

Create documents and presentations to communicate story ideas, character development, and narrative direction to other teams. 

Maintain and organize online documentation to support the writing process and collaboration across departments. 

Gain hands-on experience with the Insomniac process for writing for games while developing your creative writing, storytelling, and collaboration skills. 

What We’re Looking For: 

Currently pursuing a degree in Writing, Game Design, or equivalent. 

Six to twelve months of related experience and/or training is beneficial but not required for currently enrolled students. 

Strong critical thinking and writing skills, with the ability to develop, evaluate, and refine creative ideas. 

A creative, self-motivated, and responsible approach to learning and completing assigned work. 

Passion for writing video games, with an interest in storytelling, character development, and collaborative game production. 

Eligibility:

Students with expected graduation between May 2026 and December 2029 from an accredited university. Undergraduate  

Able to work during one of the following periods: May 17th - August 6th or June 14th - September 3rd. Relocation assistance is available for eligible candidates. 

Must be available for the entire 12-week internship period. 

At this time, SIE will only consider applicants who are authorized to work for any employer in the United States and who will not require work visa sponsorship from SIE now or in the future to maintain their authorization to work in the United States. 

Our intern positions offer a fixed hourly pay rate. Please note that the pay rate is exclusive to the internship period and may not reflect what pay may look like following the completion of an internship. 

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location. 

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. 

Intern Pay Range$36.50—$36.50 USDPlease note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Source: Insomniac Games careers (Greenhouse)

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