Game Designer​/Story Developer; Volunteer – PromisePlay Educational Game App

Game Designer / Story Developer (Volunteer – Promise Play Educational Game App)

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: Promise Play – 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‑em learning (SEL), literacy development, and creative expression, MAP creates safe, consistent, and empowering spaces where young people can thrive.

Promise Play: 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.

We are seeking a Game Designer / Story Developer to lead the creative vision, gameplay design, and narrative development for Promise Play’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.

• Lead creative development of the game’s narrative arc, characters, world building, 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 play testing 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

Please send your resume, Linked In profile, and a brief statement of interest (including portfolio or sample work, if available) to hr with the subject line Game Designer / Story Developer (Promise Play). You may also apply directly here (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

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