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

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist.

For any additional questions or concerns, please email us directly at hr@mentorapromise.org

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

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with our organization. At this time, our volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals who are based in the United States. This limitation is due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements associated with our work. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these constraints.