Game Narrative Kaleidoscope Podcast Episode 4: Josh Scherr
Mar 18, 2026
Josh Scherr, a narrative designer and writer formerly at Naughty Dog and now running Cautionary Tales, talks about reactive dialogue in games. He explores using names over time, balancing scripted moments with procedural systems, and when silence or combat barks best serve storytelling. Conversation touches on hint design, avoiding accidental humor, and how animation and sound shape character.
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Making Enemies Say Real Names
- Josh Scherr describes designing enemy dialogue in The Last of Us Part II so enemies call out real names during combat to humanize them.
- The system aimed to remind players they were killing people with lives, not faceless drones, fitting the game's themes of revenge and dehumanization.
Design Dialogue As Reassemblable Chunks
- Break conversations into small spoken chunks that can be recorded separately and reassembled to sound natural.
- Focus on the essence of what characters want to say, then design modular lines that preserve flow when procedurally combined.
Introduce Names Gradually To Shape Player Emotion
- Introduce names gradually to control player emotion: start without names so players feel freer, then add names later to force reflection.
- Tie introduction to progression (e.g., after X combat encounters) so timing matches player experience.