A passion for fantasy fiction and creative writing has led to a fascinating career in computer game production for alumna Sophie Walker.
As a Narrative Designer for Guildford-based games studio Glowmade, Sophie, 26, is responsible for developing multi-layered computer game storylines, devising characters and briefing the studio’s artists on the many visual aspects of the game. But that’s just the start…she also plans how the characters interact with each other and the many different directions the game can take depending on the player’s choices.
Said Sophie: “Everything is interactive so that players can ‘talk’ to a character and build their relationship with them. There are lots of different directions the game can go in so that everyone playing it gets a different experience.”
Glowmade is made up of a diverse, experienced development team whose credits include a host of well-known games and their next big production – the fantasy combat game Sophie’s been working on – launches soon in association with Amazon Games. Sophie is sworn to secrecy until the launch, but reports that it’s the studio’s biggest yet and will ship on all the popular platforms like PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
Sophie’s route into computer games was far from conventional. She actually qualified as a lawyer first but after two years as a paralegal, missed being creative and changed careers: “My favourite books growing up were Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games and the Harry Potter series and I’ve always loved creative writing. It took courage to move away from law but once I did a Professional Certificate in Writing for Video Games and started to create my own material, there was no looking back. I was lucky enough to get a job with Glowmade as a Junior Narrative Designer in January 2024 and I love it!”
She’s keen to dispel the notion that you need technical skills to do her job: “All you need is an imagination! Any English or journalism degree would prepare you for this role which is a mix between writing plays and novels. The industry needs more women too, so Notre Dame students should definitely consider it as a career.”
Sophie is happy to chat to Notre Dame students about her role, so if you’d like to contact her, just email alumnae@notredame.co.uk and I will put you in touch.
