About Me

Justin Loar is currently a Lead Mission Designer at Gearbox Software where he has worked for many years on the Borderlands franchise, including Borderlands 3, Borderlands 4, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. His work specializes in technical narrative design including scripted and systemic content, such as gameplay scripting, encounter design, and feature design.

Justin was born in Los Angeles, where he spent his early years practicing music and video editing. While pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology at Texas Christian University, he began developing interactive fiction by writing a number of games using Twine. He would go on to earn a Master of Interactive Technology degree from SMU Guildhall, where he developed a number of mods for games such as Fallout 4, Half-Life 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Portal 2, as well as supervising several student projects. After graduating, he began his design career at Gearbox Software.

Outside of his work, Justin has volunteered as a Board Member for the North American Diplomacy Federation since 2024.

  • Gold Winner, Game Developers Conference Narrative Review for an
     analysis of "That Dragon, Cancer"
  • TEDx Talk: "Beyond Binary: Self-Actualization through Computer Games"
  • TEDx Talk: "Gamification: When Games Come to Life"