How to Build Stories That Last: Lessons from Narrative Designer Whitney Beltrán
August 17, 2026
By Kaidro
For Whitney Beltrán, a career in game development wasn't a straight line. From environmental policy and the Peace Corps to mythology, tabletop RPGs, and eventually game development, each experience helped shape her approach to storytelling.
Today, Whitney works as a narrative designer and quest developer, bringing her background in mythology and Jungian psychology into the worlds she helps create.
Why Mythology Matters
Whitney has long been fascinated by one question: Why do certain stories survive for hundreds or even thousands of years?
For her, myths are more than old stories. They are ways of understanding ourselves and the cultures we belong to. That perspective has become a core part of her work as a narrative designer.
Advice for Aspiring Creators
Whitney encourages creators to plant seeds by working on different projects and building opportunities rather than relying on a single path. She also recommends being a "magpie," collecting knowledge from different subjects and experiences. Most importantly, start creating. Tools like Twine, Ren'Py, and itch.io make it possible to begin without needing a large team or expensive setup. Her message is simple: make something, share it, and keep going.
Today, Whitney is working at CD Projekt Red on Cyberpunk 2 while continuing to develop her own fiction and visual novel projects.
