Dedicated to Narrative Design Excellence
We established StoryQuest to provide focused education in game narrative design, supporting both aspiring writers transitioning to interactive entertainment and developers seeking to strengthen their storytelling capabilities.
Return HomeOur Foundation and Purpose
StoryQuest emerged from conversations among narrative designers who recognized a gap in professional education for interactive storytelling. While traditional creative writing programs provided strong fundamentals, they often lacked the specific frameworks needed for branching narratives, player agency, and environmental storytelling that define game narrative design.
We opened our Setagaya facility in Tokyo with the objective of creating a focused learning environment where students could develop practical narrative design skills. Our location in one of Tokyo's creative districts allows us to maintain connections with the local game development community while providing a dedicated space for intensive coursework.
The curriculum developed through collaboration with working narrative designers across multiple studios. We gathered input on the competencies that hiring managers valued most, the documentation standards used in production pipelines, and the technical literacy required to communicate effectively with development teams. This research informed our course structure and project requirements.
Our approach emphasizes portfolio development through projects that mirror actual production challenges. Students write dialogue trees with multiple branches, create quest design documents with clear objectives and progression, develop world bibles with consistent lore systems, and script interactive sequences with appropriate pacing. These completed projects serve as work samples when pursuing industry opportunities.
We maintain modest class sizes to allow for individualized feedback on student projects. Instructors review written work, discuss revision approaches, and provide guidance on professional documentation standards. This mentorship component reflects the collaborative nature of game development, where narrative designers regularly incorporate feedback from directors, leads, and cross-functional team members.
Since establishing operations, we have refined our curriculum based on graduate outcomes and industry feedback. Former students now work in various narrative design roles, from dialogue implementation to narrative direction, across studios of different scales. Their experiences inform our ongoing curriculum development and help us maintain relevance to current industry practices.
Our Educational Methodology
Structured Skill Development
Our courses follow a progression from foundational concepts to advanced techniques. Students begin with core narrative principles such as character motivation, conflict structure, and thematic coherence. We then introduce game-specific considerations including player agency, choice consequence systems, and environmental storytelling methods.
Each module includes both theoretical instruction and practical application. Lectures cover established narrative design frameworks, case studies from published games, and analysis of effective storytelling techniques. Workshop sessions allow students to apply these concepts through writing exercises and project development work.
Project-Based Learning
Portfolio development occurs through sequential projects that increase in complexity. Early assignments focus on specific skills such as writing character backstories or designing individual quests. Later projects require integrating multiple competencies, such as developing a complete branching narrative with multiple characters, subplots, and resolution paths.
Projects follow industry-standard documentation formats. Students create design documents that specify narrative objectives, character arcs, dialogue structures, and implementation requirements. This documentation practice prepares students for professional workflows where clear communication with programmers, designers, and artists is necessary.
Iterative Feedback Process
Student work undergoes multiple review cycles. Instructors provide detailed feedback on narrative structure, character development, dialogue authenticity, and technical implementation considerations. Students revise their work based on this feedback, developing the ability to iterate on creative material while maintaining core design intentions.
This revision process mirrors production realities where narrative content undergoes multiple iterations based on feedback from various stakeholders. Students learn to evaluate critique objectively, distinguish between subjective preferences and structural issues, and make informed decisions about incorporating feedback.
Technical Integration
Courses include instruction in narrative tools commonly used in game development. Students learn dialogue scripting languages, branching narrative editors, and version control systems. While we do not expect students to become programmers, familiarity with these tools enables more effective collaboration with technical team members.
We also cover localization considerations, voice acting direction basics, and narrative content management practices. These topics reflect the broader responsibilities that narrative designers often assume beyond pure writing, particularly in smaller studios or independent projects.
Industry Context
Course content addresses practical industry considerations including production constraints, cross-functional collaboration, and studio workflow variations. Guest speakers from local studios share experiences about narrative design roles, career progression paths, and the realities of production schedules.
We emphasize that narrative design exists within the larger context of game development. Students learn to balance creative vision with technical feasibility, understand how narrative systems interact with gameplay mechanics, and recognize when story should support player experience rather than dominate it.
Our Instruction Team
Experienced narrative designers with documented contributions to published game titles across multiple genres and platforms.
Kenji Yamashiro
Lead Narrative Instructor
Former narrative designer with credits on multiple RPG titles. Specializes in branching dialogue systems and character arc development. Over ten years of experience in AAA and independent game production.
Hiroko Tanizaki
Interactive Fiction Instructor
Specialized in visual novel and text-based game narrative design. Published multiple interactive fiction works and contributed to commercial visual novel projects. Expert in choice architecture and player agency.
Takeshi Fujimori
World Building Instructor
Extensive background in open-world game development and transmedia storytelling. Created lore systems and world bibles for fantasy and science fiction game properties. Focuses on environmental narrative techniques.
Our Professional Values
Professional Integrity
We maintain honest communication about industry realities, including competitive job markets and the variable nature of game development careers. Course completion provides skills and portfolio pieces, not employment guarantees. We support students in developing competencies while encouraging realistic career planning.
Continuous Improvement
We regularly update curriculum based on industry developments, graduate feedback, and emerging narrative design practices. Our instructors remain active in professional development and maintain awareness of evolving tools, techniques, and production methodologies within the game development field.
Student-Centered Approach
We recognize that students enter our programs with varied backgrounds and objectives. Some pursue narrative design as primary career path while others seek to complement existing game development skills. Our instruction adapts to support different learning styles and professional goals within our structured curriculum.
Practical Focus
Our curriculum prioritizes applicable skills over theoretical abstraction. Students spend substantial time writing, revising, and documenting narrative content. Projects emphasize competencies that translate directly to professional practice rather than academic exercises disconnected from industry requirements.
Our Expertise Areas
- Branching narrative architecture and player choice systems
- Character development and arc structuring for interactive media
- Dialogue writing techniques for multiple character voices
- Quest and mission design with clear objectives
- Environmental storytelling and world building techniques
- Narrative documentation and design specification writing
- Interactive fiction tools including Twine and Ink scripting
- Lore development and transmedia storytelling approaches
Learn More About Our Programs
Explore our course offerings and discuss your educational objectives with our team. We provide information about curriculum content, scheduling options, and enrollment procedures.