Role: Freelance Game & Narrative Designer

Project: Untold Cases: Lot 42

Contract: One Month Fixed Fee ($1500 USD)

Location: Remote

I am a solo indie developer in the UK looking for a freelance Game and Narrative Designer to help build the foundation for my next atmospheric psychological horror game, Untold Cases: Lot 42.

The Game

Untold Cases: Lot 42 is the second chapter in my episodic horror series, the game is a slow-burn murder mystery set in a 1990s trailer park with a strange cast of characters. If you can imagine Fears to Fathom mixing with Firewatch, you're on the right track. You play as the new park manager taking over the grounds. The game relies on a strict 7-day pacing structure where the player manages daily park maintenance, uncovers clues, and monitors night-shift CCTV feeds. But as the week goes on, the mystery killings begin.

What You Will Do

• Gameplay Mechanics & Daily Tasks: Design the specific minute to minute interactions. Outline exactly what the daily property management chores are and how the player mechanically performs them. Because the game relies on immersive HUD less design, these tasks need to be grounded and physical to keep the player engaged before the horror elements ramp up.
• Level Design: Draft a 2D map or grey box layout of the trailer park grounds, defining lot placements, maintenance zones, and CCTV camera blind spots.
• Narrative & Cast: Create character bibles for the park residents including motives, secrets, and assigned lots, and design the overarching murder mystery arc.
• Seven Day Gameplay Loop: Build a daily sequence spreadsheet detailing the three phase daily structure:
  • Day: Specific maintenance chores, character interactions, and radio calls with the supervisor.
  • Evening: Transition events signaling it is time to return to the office.
  • Night: CCTV monitoring shifts and the final landline phone call to end the day.
• NPC Prompts: Outline generalized conversation topics and lore reveals tied to daily tasks. You only provide the structural prompts. I handle all the actual dialogue writing, scripting, and engine integration in Unity.

Contract Details

• Compensation: $1500 USD fixed fee paid across 3 milestone deliveries.
• Timeline: 1 month. The scope is designed to take roughly 40 hours of focused work, making it highly flexible to fit around other freelance gigs.
• Requirements: Experience with indie horror, grounded narrative design, and spatial level planning

How to Apply

Please send your portfolio showcasing your design & narrative work, particularly any indie horror projects, along with a brief introduction.