About the game

Hopetown is a narrative-first RPG inspired by Disco Elysium, set in a decaying town haunted by both ghosts and memories. You play a washed-up ghost hunter unravelling disappearances, a crumbling world, and your own haunted past.

Blending surrealism, dialogue-driven gameplay, and psychological exploration, Hopetown is being built by key talent from some of the most celebrated narrative games of the past decade, including Martin Luiga (founder of the ZA/UM Cultural Movement), Lenval Brown (narrator of Disco Elysium), Piotr Sobolewski (former CEO of Knights of Unity), and Paweł Błaszczak (composer on The Witcher and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt).

We are currently moving into early production, building out the foundational systems, characters, and mechanics that will define the experience. With your help, we can transform Hopetown from a great CRPG into an unforgettable one, a living, breathing universe of stories, surprises, and challenges.

About Us

Longdue is a studio founded to create rich, emotional, story-first games that challenge players’ expectations. We’re a remote team of writers, artists, designers, and engineers, bringing together talent from across the industry to push the boundaries of narrative-driven RPGs.

We are still in the early stages of production, meaning new team members will have a real, tangible impact on the world we are building. We believe that extraordinary games can emerge from small, focused teams, teams that value creativity, openness, and care over convention.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Narrative Lead to help shape the emotional and thematic core of Hopetown — a surreal, narrative-first RPG about loss, memory, and the ghosts that linger.

You’ll lead a small but ambitious writing team in building a living world full of flawed characters, branching stories, and haunting discoveries. This is both a leadership and a hands-on writing role: you’ll be writing dialogue, developing narrative systems, and guiding the creative process as we move from early development into full production.

If you love weaving complex worlds and character-driven stories that challenge players to think and feel deeply, this is your chance to help craft something truly original.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

• Lead the narrative team: Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of writers as we define Hopetown’s tone, voice, and storytelling framework.
• Write and build: Create rich, character-driven dialogue and branching narrative moments that explore the game’s psychological depth.
• Shape the world: Co-develop the lore, setting, and overarching story architecture alongside the Narrative Director and design team.
• Define process and standards: Establish workflows for writing, reviewing, and implementing narrative content to maintain consistency and quality.
• Collaborate across disciplines: Partner with design, art, and tech to ensure narrative integrates seamlessly with gameplay and worldbuilding.
• Champion the story: Advocate for strong storytelling across the studio, ensuring every system, quest, and environment serves the emotional core of the game.

Requirements

MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS

• 1+ year of experience using Articy or Inkle for narrative design or implementation.
• 2+ years leading or managing a writing team of at least four people.
• 2+ years of experience in worldbuilding for narrative or game projects.
• 1+ year writing or editing branching dialogue for interactive fiction or RPGs.
• Proven experience writing emotionally resonant, character-driven stories.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, feedback-driven approach.

Nice to Have

• Experience shipping or contributing to a narrative-driven or RPG title.
• Strong familiarity with Disco Elysium-like, dialogue-heavy storytelling structures.
• A creative and adaptable mindset suited to an early-stage, highly collaborative studio environment.
• A love for narrative experimentation, psychology, and surreal or philosophical themes.

Benefits

Why Join Us

Creative Freedom: We foster an environment where your unique voice and vision can shape a groundbreaking RPG.

Thought-Provoking Project: Help create a game that challenges conventions, offers a deep philosophical experience, and invites players to explore not only a mysterious world but also the depths of the human psyche.

Flexible Working: We are a remote-first studio, offering you the freedom to work from wherever inspiration strikes.