A narrative designer is a role in contemporary video game development, the focus of which is to design the narrative elements of a game, and to champion story within the development process, which differentiates it from the role of game writer. The Narrative designer was first defined by Stephen Dinehart in the 2006 Job Description he wrote for THQ. Narratology as a study has looked at the design of narrative as an artifact, narrative design, in writing since its inception, but the role of the narrative designer in interactive storytelling differs in that it is an active process to create story via a users navigation of a dataspace.
The first 'Narrative Designer' job position, was written by Stephen Dinehart for THQ Canada dba Relic Entertainment on the initiative of Tarrnie Williams, Executive Producer, in 2006 to "champion story" based on his work on Medal of Honor. The role that was eventually offered to and accepted by Dinehart.