Over 17 weeks and 34 live sessions, participants build and repeatedly refine a substantial game writing project before turning it into a portfolio case study designed to demonstrate their skills to potential employers.
Knowing how to write a good story is one thing.
Knowing how to write for a game, work within the realities of development, respond to feedback and then demonstrate those skills to a potential employer is something else entirely.
That's the gap the Game Writing Bootcamp: Craft an Industry-Quality Game Writing Project, and Effectively Portfolio It is aiming to bridge.
Run by Game Design Skills, the programme isn't simply a collection of lectures about writing. Over 17 weeks and 34 live sessions, participants will develop a complete narrative-focused project, repeatedly refine it with feedback, and eventually transform that work into a polished portfolio piece designed to demonstrate their abilities to studios.
One of the biggest differences between this and a more traditional writing course is the emphasis on producing something tangible.
Participants work through eight major project deliverables and 16 iterations, covering many of the skills that can form part of professional game writing and narrative design.
The idea is to gradually build these individual elements into one deeper narrative project rather than completing a series of disconnected exercises.
Importantly, you don't need to use a game engine to participate.
Game development is iterative, and the bootcamp is structured around that reality.
Participants aren't simply given a task and expected to move immediately onto the next subject.
After creating each major layer of the project, there are dedicated opportunities for instructor and peer feedback before participants return to their work and improve it.
By the end, that means the project has gone through 16 iterations and eight dedicated feedback sessions.
It also introduces another important professional skill: learning how to receive feedback, evaluate it and decide how it should influence your work.
The bootcamp is led by Kelly Bender, a narrative designer and game writer with 16 years of experience across game development and entertainment writing.
Lead instructor Kelly Bender brings 16 years of experience across game development and entertainment writing.
His credits include work connected to Assassin's Creed Odyssey, The Walking Dead: Survivors, Age of Mythology: Retold and numerous other AAA, AA and mobile projects.
The wider instructor lineup brings experience from studios including Riot Games, Blizzard, BioWare, Eidos, Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Standing Stone Games, with specialist sessions exploring how narrative connects with areas such as level design, quests, combat, animation and recruitment.
That cross-disciplinary element is particularly relevant because professional game writers rarely work in isolation.
Creating strong work is only half the challenge.
You also need to present it.
The later stages of the bootcamp shift towards portfolio and career development, helping participants take the material they've created and turn it into a structured case study.
That includes learning how to decide what portfolio reviewers need to see, organise information to retain attention, create supporting visuals and build the finished piece into a portfolio website.
There's even an option for free portfolio hosting for participants who don't already have their own site.
The programme also covers CVs, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, alongside three game writer tests based on real studio hiring processes and live one-to-one interview practice.
By the end, the goal isn't simply to be able to say you've completed a game writing course.
You'll have spent months developing and iterating on a substantial narrative project covering multiple areas of game writing and narrative design.
You'll then have turned that work into a portfolio case study designed to clearly demonstrate what you contributed, how you approached the project and how you responded to feedback throughout development.
For aspiring game writers, that's an important distinction.
Studios don't just need to know that you want to write games.
Your portfolio needs to show them that you can.
Begins: September 26, 2026
Enrolment closes: September 25, 2026
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