Game Designer / Story Developer (Volunteer – PromisePlay Educational Game App)

Game Designer / Story Developer (Volunteer – PromisePlay Educational Game App)

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromisePlay – MAP Educational Game Initiative

Location: Remote

Type: Volunteer (Unpaid)

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability in New York City. Through mentorship, academic enrichment, social-emotional learning (SEL), literacy development, and creative expression, MAP creates safe, consistent, and empowering spaces where young people can thrive.

PromisePlay, MAP’s educational game initiative, combines storytelling, technology, and social-emotional learning to build trauma-informed, culturally responsive game-based experiences for children navigating unstable housing. Each project aims to transform play into a tool for emotional healing, creative learning, and belonging.

About the Role

We are seeking a Game Designer / Story Developer to lead the creative vision, gameplay design, and narrative development for PromisePlay’s educational game app. The app provides social-emotional learning lessons through story-driven gameplay designed for children experiencing homelessness and housing instability.

You will collaborate with educators, instructional designers, and youth partners to craft a meaningful, engaging, and accessible player experience that connects learning goals with immersive storytelling.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead creative development of the game’s narrative arc, characters, worldbuilding, and dialogue in collaboration with the Instructional Designer and project team.
• Design gameplay systems, mechanics, and challenges that align with educational and SEL objectives.
• Collaborate with the Instructional Designer and Youth Engagement Lead to incorporate player feedback and youth perspectives into the storyline and mechanics.
• Prototype, test, and refine gameplay elements alongside developers, artists, and testers.
• Create and maintain design documentation, including story outlines, gameplay flowcharts, and narrative maps.
• Ensure that learning outcomes are naturally embedded into story progression and game mechanics.
• Participate in playtesting sessions, observe user interactions, and iterate on design elements to improve engagement, accessibility, and comprehension.
• Check and respond to emails daily, ensuring all responses are completed within 48 hours.
• Take responsibility for performance improvement by integrating user feedback and refining gameplay flow through iterative design cycles.

Qualifications

• Degree in Game Design, Interactive Media, Creative Writing, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Experience in narrative or game design, ideally with educational, serious, or mission-driven games.
• Demonstrated ability to design engaging, story-rich experiences that support learning or behavioral goals.
• Familiarity with tools such as Unity, Unreal, Twine, or other game development and interactive storytelling platforms.
• Strong writing, collaboration, and communication skills.
• Creative, inclusive, and iterative approach to design — open to feedback from youth users, educators, and technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing games or interactive media for K–12 learners.
• Knowledge of branching narratives, player choice systems, or adaptive learning mechanics.
• Experience with visual storytelling, storyboarding, or dialogue scripting frameworks.

Commitment

• Volunteer role requiring approximately 5 hours per week.
• Minimum 6-month commitment preferred.
• Fully remote position with weekly virtual team meetings.

What You’ll Gain

• The opportunity to create meaningful instructional and narrative content that supports mentorship, play, and learning outcomes.
• Hands-on experience designing game-based learning experiences within a nonprofit context.
• Collaboration with organizational leaders, educators, and cross-functional creative teams.
• Professional development, networking, and creative leadership opportunities.
• Letters of recommendation and professional references upon completion.

Application Process

Please send your resume, LinkedIn profile, and a brief statement of interest (including portfolio or sample work, if available) to hr@mentorapromise.org with the subject line Game Designer / Story Developer (PromisePlay).

You may also apply directly here: https://forms.gle/ptgy2zBZXJB1q7GV8

Design stories that teach, heal, and inspire — help PromisePlay turn learning into adventure and imagination into a pathway toward hope.