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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

@rebeccamwrites.bsky.social

2.7K followers 1.6K following 940 posts

🖊 Senior Writer / Narrative Designer - Looking for work 🌟 Portfolio: https://gameswriting.coffee 🌎 https://rebeccam.carrd.co 🌟 Previously: Dirty Bomb / Gears Tactics / Yooka-Replaylee #narrativedesign #gamewriting #gamedev

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · Aug 26

Giving this a little boost to make it clear I am also looking for freelance work. I've already spoken to some great peeps!

Happy to work with indies any size! Need help with some theming? Can't face writing any more barks? Need a little a bit of lore?

I write and narrative design, what a bargain.

Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · May 27

Unfortunately, my role as Senior Narrative Designer at Playtonic has been made redundant. I'm now open to Senior/principal writing & Narrative Design roles UK - Remote/Hybrid.

You can find my portfolio at www.gameswriting.coffee #gamedevjobs #gamedev #indiedev

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 38m

My ratesss, are very reasssonable.

Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 38m

If you're worried about the structure of your game. Give me a shout and I can help.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 38m

Structure is something narrative folks talk about with each other and not something that gets called out in Reviews that often. So yeah. I'll take that. 😎

From: www.useapotion.com/2025/10/yook...

Extract from game review for Yooka-Replayee:
Yooka-Replaylee follows the same premise as before, with the chameleon-and-bat duo embarking on a quest to recover scattered Pagies from The One Book before the greedy Capital B exploits its reality-warping power. The setup remains light-hearted and self-aware, blending playful humour with the classic collectathon gameplay formula. What’s changed is how much better it all flows, with Playtonic Games reworking the opening and narrative framework, adding a clearer sense of purpose and a stronger introduction to the world around you. The writing still leans on cheerful banter and tongue-in-cheek jokes, all whilst providing enough charm and cohesion to make the adventure feel more polished and complete than before.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2h

OK I'm finding a way to get to get to this.

Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 15h

Today, The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin opens at AA Gallery in London! Curated by Sarah Shin and Harriet Jennings, the exhibition presents a selection of Ursula's maps, including some that have never been exhibited before.

A photo of the entrance to The Word for World exhibition, with two banners hanging vertically down outside the doorway to a brick building with white-paned windows. A row of bicycles are parked in front. The banners are purple and white and say the name of the exhibition and Ursula K. Le Guin's name.

A cord-wrapped rock rests on a vivid blue background next to a map of and program for The Word for World exhibition.

A stack of copies of The Word for World book, which shows the title in vivid blue against a black cloth cover.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 14h

Sometimes people post things, and they are not for you, and you can keep scrolling.

Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 23h

Sometimes a narrative designer is like a little Jiminy Cricket. "Are you sure you want to do that?" you say as the little wooden boy gets into highjinks.

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Labyr Interactive ➡️ BCNgamefest @labyrinteractive.bsky.social · 1d

Hey! It’s #PointNClickFriday and I’m your host!
👁️Comment to show us your awesome P&C Adventure game.
👉 RT this, and any games you like!
We are working on The White Cat’s Dark Affair, a #Cyberpunk #Hitman #Thriller
Do you like what you see? Add them to your wishlist!
👇👀

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Madeleine Fjäll @madeleinefjall.bsky.social · 1d

FINISHED MY SCARF

As usual my phone struggles to show the correct colours so :^)
It is more like the first photo irl, but I kinda want it to be more like the second one 😔 maybe I can dye it

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 1d

- The Narrative Structure of the Artful Escape
gameswriting.coffee/the-narrativ...

The Narrative Structure of The Artful Escape - Rebecca McCarthy

After having just completed the Artful Escape. I was struck by how well it's structured. The story is linear. Mixing exploration sections, with musical

gameswriting.coffee

Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 1d

Stuff I've written about before:
- Integrating with a team mid-production.
gameswriting.coffee/actions-ever...
- Game and Narrative Design books and videos.
gameswriting.coffee/levelling-up...
- User Stories
gameswriting.coffee/user-stories...
- Tetris
gameswriting.coffee/battling-blo...

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 1d

I'm thinking about writing some more narrative design blogs. Are there any game writing or narrative design topics folks would be interested in reading about?
gameswriting.coffee/blog

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Dan Marshall @danthat.bsky.social · 1d

WAIT WHAT'S THIS?

💿There is a demo live for EARTH MUST DIE!

🕹️This gives you (most of) the tutorial section for the game! Have fun, and if you haven't wishlisted the full game yet DO THAT NOW PLEASE it really really helps us out.

Enjoy!

store.steampowered.com/app/4057540/...

Earth Must Die Demo on Steam

These moronic Terranoids think they can just roll in here and take over my beautiful Tyrythian kingdom? The kingdom that I built from the ground up with my bare hands, and only sort of inherited from ...

store.steampowered.com

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks Max!

Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you so much. Yes, a lot of feelings but I'm happy this one got released and didn't end up in the NDA void.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

I don't know what's next for me. The industry is still shifting even as I apply for work. I know there's so much more I want to do - so I'm doing my best to find a way to keep doing it.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

I also want to thank the Yooka-Laylee fans. It's quite clear to me that you are some of the nicest people in games. It's lovely to see how much you support each other and care about the characters and the world. Most importantly, your support for us as people when things got tough.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

New cut scenes, Quack's desk ( and my insistence that certain items be added in that area), the cosmetics, and the Icymetric Quiz, putting ties on bees, were all big highlights for me - places where I really was able to build on things thanks to my coworkers volunteering to take on extra work.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Game dev is a team effort. A good game narrative runs through every part of the game. My favourite parts of the game are the parts where my colleagues went above and beyond in the delivery. There was already really funny dialogue in the game. What I hoped to add was work that helped it shine.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

It's really important you speak up about this, especially for game series you love. When so much of narrative can seem abstract, it's tangible evidence that story is important can really help us.

That isn't just praise; it's articulate, well-thought-out feedback that this matters to you.

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Yooka-Replaylee is out today. I was a backer of the original Kickstarter, and couldn't have anticipated that I'd get to write for the series at all - even if my time with it was brief.

It's been really heartening to see how many folks care about the world and story.

Screenshot Laylee writes in the One Book " Let's see we'd like upgraded moves, a few new ones....and better combos!"

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Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design @rebeccamwrites.bsky.social · 2d

It's always complicated working on a project like Replaylee. Because of the nature of structural changes in the game there was very much narrative kintsugi process going on.

Extract from Texhraport review:
In the words of the salesman Trowsers, "thank goodnessss," because while the devs can truly let their writing take centerstage, the execution in how the narrative beats, jokes, and puns were delivered was outstanding, as one can feel the writing team has more confidence and pride in their wor

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Liz England @lizardengland.bsky.social · 2d

Today I showed the designers that you can name cells in spreadsheets and use the names in formulas (i.e. "=PLAYER_LEVEL" instead of "=C12"). You can then use the Name Manager to track or rename them. I thought this was common knowledge, but I guess not, so sharing that tidbit here.

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Steve Burke @steveburkemusic.bsky.social · 2d

Get in to the mood for playing Yooka-Replaylee out tomorrow (9th October). Early drafts and unused tunes written for the Rextro Arcade minigames, found deep in the subfolder lair of my musical ideas backup folder! Swing on over to @playtonicgames.com
youtu.be/OMsAW-WT1Wg

Yooka Replaylee / Yooka Laylee (Playtonic Games) Rextro Arcade Early Sketches and Unused Tracks

YouTube video by SteveBurkeMusic

youtu.be

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Anna Megill @annamegill.com · 2d

The OTHER project at CDPR's Boston studio is hiring a Lead Writer. (FT, onsite preferred) Come work with a very chill and creative team on Project Sirius ✨️

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/CDPROJEKTRED...

Lead Writer

Company Description: To create revolutionary, story-driven RPGs which go straight to the hearts of gamers — this is our mission. Want to dive deeper into our company’s culture? Explore our social medi...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

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Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy - Writing & Narrative Design

Stein Makes Games ➡️ #GodotFest @steinmakesgames.bsky.social · 2d

Oslo-based RedThreadGames is hiring a systems designer experienced with Unreal Engine.
www.redthreadgames.com/systems-desi...

Senior systems designer — Red Thread Games

www.redthreadgames.com

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