30 Things for Better Game Writing by Steve Ince

Section 1: An Initial Perspective

1. There’s Always Someone Better than You

No matter how good you are there is always going to be a better writer, a better storyteller, a better plotter than you. And even the best aren’t necessarily good at everything. This is why a great novelist won’t necessarily make a great screenwriter or vice-versa.

You may also find that, even if you are a brilliant writer, someone else may be a far better editor and can see things in your work that you, perhaps, are a little blind to. We must all recognise that there are a great number of skills that apply to the process of creating stories and dialogue for games and we can’t necessarily be great at all of them.

You should always try to be the best you can, of course, and always deliver your finest work, but never act like you know it all or you’re likely to come a cropper at some point.

Also, never belittle those who are in the early stages of developing their game writing career – they may rise to positions in which they’re looking to employ writers.

2. And Me

This is definitely true.

This book is not about me telling you how to do things because I feel I have superior skills, it’s about me sharing my knowledge and experience with you in the hope that some of you find something that helps.

I’m fully aware that there are far better game writers, far better narrative designers, far better people than me. This might make you question why I’m writing this book and the simple answer is that I have a lot of knowledge and experience that I want to share. If this helps you become better than me in the process, I’m perfectly happy with that.

Even at my old age I constantly try to improve in many ways but also live with the fact that those better than me will always exist and are likely to increase in number as the years go by.

In a world where people are growing up with an increased awareness and experience of interactive stories and narrative games, far more will develop a natural ability to write for these media.

An awareness of the rapid changes in game and narrative development is not only helpful it keeps me grounded, too.

3. Play Games

It may seem a little self-evident that a game writer (and all people in game development, of course) should play games. But it’s very easy to think that if you know how to write for other media, then writing for games can’t be that difficult. However, if you don’t play games you will not see how the writing sits with the characters, the world and the gameplay mechanics. It will be difficult for you to understand how writing for games differs from all other media in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Some of what you’ve learned from practice and experience in your other writing will directly apply to game writing, but some will have to be adapted for an interactive medium and other parts may have to be re-learned to give you a new perspective.

Even game writers who have played games all their lives – and may well be the reason game writing was so attractive to them – still need to play games regularly. Doing so will keep you level-headed, make you aware of recent developments in interactive narrative across a wide range of genres and inspire you to do the best you can within an exciting medium.

4. Gameplay is Vital!

It’s very easy to look at the writer’s part in the development of a game, especially if it’s a particularly narrative-heavy one like an adventure or a role playing game, and see its importance as greater than it might be. Many other media require a writer to start the creative process but games are very different in this respect.

In games, there is nothing more important than gameplay and it’s important to understand this. Without gameplay you wouldn’t have a game and a writer might as well be writing for those other media.

Clearly, writing is important in game development, just as art, animation, programming and design are, but if none of these elements support the gameplay in the way they should, the gameplay is in danger of being undermined and the player will not enjoy the best experience possible.

Stories, characters, dialogue, etc. should all be developed and written with half a mind on the gameplay at all times. Your well-crafted lines and narrative objectives should never contradict the gameplay mechanics or the gameplay abilities of the characters.

5. The Importance of Fun

Fun in gaming terms can mean a whole range of possible things. We probably all have our own ideas of what constitutes fun and these may range from watching a favourite sports team play every week to pottering around in the garden. Some fun comes from overcoming challenges, like working out how to get the best out of a plant when your flower beds have the wrong kind of soil.

The fun in games is a key element, but we all have different tastes, so one player may love flight sims and hate first person shooters while another player’s preferences may be the other way around. Neither is wrong, of course, so a writer needs to know how players approach fun and experience it for each particular type of game you work on.

Sometimes the “fun” can seem extremely serious if a game’s subject matter has dark themes or content. In these cases, a sense of satisfaction may be a better way to describe the feelings of accomplishment as the player progresses through the game, overcoming obstacles and achieving objectives.

Ultimately, the player must be hooked into the game and enjoy working through the challenges it has to offer. While this might primarily relate to the gameplay, the writing must play its part in supporting the mood or delivering the narrative and character dialogue that not only matches this gameplay but makes the experience even better in the way it does so.

Section 2: The Team and Development

6. Respect the Team

Very few games are developed by a single person these days; even fewer by writers alone. This means the game writer will most likely be part of a team that encompasses a broad skillset with each member of that team working towards delivering the best game they can.

Respecting the team as a whole and the individuals who make up the team is important if everyone is to work together efficiently and smoothly. It’s also vital if you want the other team members to respect you in return and the work that you bring to the project.

Some of a writer’s biggest strengths and skills are in their mind, so it can be difficult to show these in action. The team may not always understand what you have done, particularly if you’re likely to deliver your work in a piecemeal fashion. Explaining your thought processes and what you have in mind for the story and characters helps keep everyone working towards the same vision.

There may be times when creative differences can cause a potential impasse and this is where respect helps everyone move forward. It helps you see the other team members’ points of view and work towards a mutually satisfying solution.

As a word, “compromise” has many negative connotations, but a properly creative compromise should be approached with thoughts on how it benefits the project. Instead of a compromise being viewed as a middle ground that everyone should just deal with, it should be approached more creatively. How can you all work together, define that middle ground and make the best of these parameters?

Only through respect can you hope to do this.

7. Respect the Writer

Respect should always work both ways and the members of the team should respect the writer and the skills and experience they add to a project.

Often a writer is brought onto a game from outside the main team on a short-term contract or freelance basis and may not be integrated into the development in the physical sense of occupying a desk in the same building. Some team members may feel that this doesn’t make the writer a true part of the team, but they should realise that any writer worth their salt will have the good of the project uppermost in their mind. They will want to deliver the best they can to make the game as good as possible and will definitely see themselves as a part of the project’s team.

A writer is normally engaged because the existing team members lack the skills of an experienced, professional writer. This is not a comment on the many other professional qualities the team members bring to the project. But if everyone wishes to maximise the story, characters and dialogue for a game they feel passionately about, they should appreciate and respect the writer’s role.

Although all parties adding to the development of a game should respect one-another, it will only ever happen under the right circumstances. Respect is not something that can be demanded – respect must be earned. Writers and the people they work with should do so in a way that earns them the respect they deserve.

8. Understand Game Design

As a writer it’s easy to think that the work you do has little direct connection to the work of the rest of the team. Even those who do appreciate the way games are made don’t always relate in the most beneficial way.

Understanding game design, specifically, is vital to a writer delivering the work that enhances the player’s interactive experience. From the moment-to-moment gameplay mechanics to the interface that conveys the story and character progressions, knowledge of these design aspects will feed into how you see the narrative and how it should unfold on the actions of the player.

I’m not trying to say that you should become a game designer or understand all the fine details, but an insight into game design will help you appreciate the narrative limitations and structures that various game styles place on the writer. And when you understand the parameters you must work within, you can work with the design team to deliver the narrative in the most creative way possible.
If, for example, you learn there will be no detailed facial expressions or even any voice acting, the way you approach the game’s dialogue will likely be very different to the way you’d do so if those things were incorporated.

9. Learn the Development Process

Some writers like to keep themselves apart from the development process and some writers are kept apart from it by the people they have contact with, particularly if the writing role is a remote working one. But not knowing how the writer fits into the process can be detrimental to the project as a whole.

That’s not to say a writer should know the process in fine detail, because that can be distracting, but knowing the shape of the framework and how the writing is integrated into the development of the game can help your understanding of the big picture and how the characters, narrative and dialogue will fit into this in a cohesive manner.

Only when you learn how the development process works can you appreciate the complex nature of making games and why they often take so long. But you may also be able to work with the team in ways that enable the efficient integration of the writing.

It’s also pretty exciting to see how all these different parts contribute and make it all come together into something rewarding.

10. Learn Key Roles in a Studio

Each studio is different and will likely have different structures in place to cover the management of a game’s development. Partly, this will be due to the size of the studio – a small, ten-person team will be completely different to a huge studio with more than a hundred staff working on multiple games.

However, sometimes internal structures grow as the studio grows and roles are created to fill gaps or manage an area of expertise that may not have existed ten years earlier.

The type of game being developed will likely throw up differences in structure, too. A high-end action game will have vastly different needs than a small-scale puzzle adventure and the structure will reflect that.

Some typical key roles in game development are: Director, Producer, Project Manager, Narrative Designer, Lead Writer, Lead Designer, Art/Creative Lead, Lead Artist, Lead Animator, Technical Lead, Implementation Lead, QA Lead and Audio Lead.

Some roles will likely overlap or go by other names. It’s handy to know who you, as a writer, will answer to, communicate with and receive feedback from.

11. It’s Never “Just a Game”

If you ever think “it’s just a game” or “only a game” about the projects you might work on, as if they are somehow lower than other forms of entertainment, then writing for games is probably not for you and you may want to question why you want to write in this field.

Games are now a huge creative industry that adds significant revenue to the economy and you must always treat your work and the projects on which you work in the most professional manner possible.

Slip-shod work caused by a negative attitude to games as a whole or a project in particular will always be found out. Not only is it bad practice, it can seriously harm a writer’s professional reputation, something on which our ongoing careers rely very heavily. Weak writing in games has a long history and as long as it continues to appear it affects all game writers. Please understand that games are as important and valid as any form of entertainment.

A poor attitude, of course, doesn’t just apply to game writing. Indeed, why this entry is even here is because of an incident where an animator, working on a project I was involved with, was picked up for some poor work. His response was, “So? It’s only a game.” Needless to say, his time with the company didn’t last much longer.

Taking games seriously and writing to the maximum of your skills and abilities on every project will not only get you remembered, it will be far more rewarding, too.

12. Developer Versus Player – Us and Them

I once had a conversation with a member of the design team on one project in which he was describing a puzzle he’d just created. “This will stump the player,” he said, rather proudly. So I had to explain that our roles as developers weren’t to beat the players but to engage them.

Game development should never be seen as Developer vs Player. We should never see the process as Us and Them. Providing interactive entertainment through puzzles and other gameplay should be seen as a co-operative endeavour where, through the right approach to their creation, the game delivers the right balance of challenge and reward.

Although this may fall into the realm of game design, writing is often closely tied to the design and must support the unspoken “contract” between the developer and player. Clues and information can be subtle or written such that they add to the mystery, but the writer should be careful to avoid potential murky confusion that can arise from too much obscurity.

We don’t want to lead the player by the hand, but we shouldn’t lead him down the wrong path without good reason. Our approach should be that the player is one of “us”, they simply have a very different role than the rest of the team.

13. Appreciate Interactivity

Not all game stories are interactive, either fully or partially, but all of them have to fit into the interactive nature of games. Even a totally non-interactive story with no player agency is moved forward by the actions of the player – solving a complex puzzle, storming the bunker or rescuing the prince for example.

What this means in basic terms is that, unlike in most other media, the writer has no control over the pacing of the story, particularly when some players will progress through the game much faster than others.

When a story itself has interactive elements – from changing the order in which the story unfolds to complex, perhaps branching, outcomes – not only is the pacing affected, the player’s emotional responses to the unfolding narrative become tied in to the way they interact with the game.

The game writer must therefore appreciate interactivity in everything they create for the projects they work on. Nothing happens in a game without input from the player, no matter how varied that might be over a wide range of games.

Interactivity is a vital ingredient of what defines a game.

14. Interactivity in Games

I don’t profess to be an expert in the history of games and gaming, but my personal experience from the late seventies onwards has shown me how interactivity is such a key part of what separates games from other entertainment media. It is also interesting to see how that interactivity has been refined and adapted to fit with advances in technology, particularly with the advent of various touch-screen devices.

Story-based games have grown and evolved, too, and today’s game writer should be aware of that evolution, rising from early text-based adventures to the multi-faceted rich fare we see today.

When compared to the wealth of work we see in other media, it’s easy to think that game writing and narrative are still in the early stages, but writers should realise that the interactive stories we tell have come a very long way already over the years.

Interactivity in games is a powerhouse that enables game writers to explore new ways of storytelling and we all need to embrace this without losing sight of what makes great stories, compelling characters and believable dialogue.

15. Interactivity in Life

People love games because of their interactivity and I firmly believe this is because we enjoy interacting in our everyday lives. Anyone who has been forced to isolate, for whatever reason, knows how much they miss friends and family. Interaction is an important part of our lives. And for those who are highly introvert and shun real-world interaction, games can be a powerful substitute.

For writers, interaction is a valuable resource. Understanding how we interact with others and how people in general interact with each other teaches us a lot about the way our created characters should behave. It gives us insights into how they might be developed and enriched.

Interaction isn’t limited to talking, of course, it covers a wide range of actions, gestures and body language, from friendly embraces to facial expressions to the way someone might help an old person with their shopping. The interactivity in which we engage during our lives is what makes us all a part of the human race, but the variety of interaction is what makes us individuals. It will help our characters come across as individuals, too.

Our game writing will always be better when it embraces our humanity and the differences contained within.

16. Networking

Many people become extremely nervous at the thought of any kind of networking, seeing it as blowing one’s own trumpet when they may have a natural tendency toward modesty. Yet this is a kind of interactivity we must get involved in to some degree if we are to succeed in our field.

For those writers who work completely freelance – rather than holding in-house position – any opportunity for networking and interacting with others in the games industry should be seen as important to their ongoing career.

Games conferences and industry events are not only places to keep up with current gaming trends, they are attended by other industry professionals, too. For those who are genuinely worried about such things, it can be helpful to attend smaller events to begin with in order not to be overwhelmed.

However, a writer should always ensure they don’t try to impress others too intensely. Giving the hard sell to show off yourself and your abilities can come across as desperate if handled in a nervous way, which is never an ideal illustration of your professionalism. Sometimes it’s about being patient and letting the opportunity arise in a natural way.

Networking isn’t always about mixing with people from other disciplines of the games industry. Opportunities to network with other game writers can be tremendously valuable and an enormous boost to your confidence. All the writers I’ve had the pleasure to meet have been friendly and approachable and game writers of any level should never be afraid to ask questions of others because they’ve probably been in the same place themselves at one point. And even the smallest piece of advice can be gold if it helps improve your game writing.

17. Interactive and Non-Interactive

Games should always be interactive. The player should press buttons to shoot or climb or talk to characters or solve puzzles, etc. They should interact and make choices, whether they are gameplay or narrative choices.

In board games and table-top RPGs, the players interact in similar ways – moving counters, rolling dice, making decisions for their characters. They play these games through their actions.

Other media – films, TV, books (not counting Fighting Fantasy style books) – are very non-interactive and have built up their best qualities precisely because of this and the way they allow their creators to deliver quality stories.

Recently there have been a number of titles that their creators class as games – in that they use a game engine to portray the world and, sometimes, characters – yet which offer very little in terms of true interaction. Story is fed to the player based on sets of automated triggers positioned in key places in the environments.

For a writer who likes more control over the revealing of the story this may well appeal. But you must still understand how this style of game story works and the way the audience engages with the content without it simply becoming a stroll in the woods. Learn the style and limitations of this form and how to use them to the greatest advantage.

18. Other Media are Not Passive

Interactivity is a powerful aspect of games that can make them stand apart from other media, but it can also lead to the thought that the latter are therefore passive. This is both a very negative view of other forms of storytelling and quite wrong.

While other media may not be interactive in the way that games are, they always strive to be highly engaging, particularly in the way they make the reader/viewer/listener empathise with the characters, connect with the drama and create a desire to see the story through to completion.

This high degree of involvement can be very powerful because it makes us connect in an entirely different way to the more up-front interaction of games – we engage with our emotions.

That’s not to say our emotions are not a part of why we love playing games, but sometimes the range of emotions can be rather limited in comparison.

What this means for game writing is that those who wish to tell engaging, interactive narratives can learn valuable lessons from these other media. Dismissing them as passive can be a serious misjudgement and lead to missing very valuable learning resources.

Care must be taken, though, to learn these lessons and apply them to games in a way that makes the most of the interactivity.

19. Learn How Interactivity Affects Story

Interactivity can affect story both directly and indirectly.

An indirect interaction relates to the gameplay and the choices the player makes through their gameplay actions, their style of gameplay or the order in which they take on missions. The story may then be affected as a knock-on result of these actions and choices. For instance, you may have achieved your goal but it resulted in too many civilian casualties.

In the case of indirect interaction, the writer must work closely with the game design team in order to understand key gameplay outcomes that may affect various story elements.

A direct interaction comes about when the player is making specific story-related decisions. Did a character you spoke to lie? To what or where does a clue point? Do I support my boss or go it alone?

There are some who think that a directly interactive story is simply about giving the player story choices at every twist and turn. This can create an ever-branching narrative that runs away with itself and lead to an enormous number of possible endings. A writer can quickly become overwhelmed if they don’t keep some kind of control over this, which can be achieved through a sensible management of the way choices are made and the consequences that follow.

Narratives could branch then come together again. Sections of the story (and gameplay) could happen in any order, giving the player control over that. A wide range of branching could lead to a limited number of endings but with subtly different flavours.

When you understand how interactivity affects the story, you are able to build genuine engaging stories that deliver a quality experience.

20. Story Should Complement Gameplay

It may seem that this is pretty obvious, but sometimes we have to make such statements in order to be sure we keep as much as possible in mind when writing for games. Even the things we know, understand and use in our work on a daily basis benefit from a little repetition. It also helps us establish common ground when discussing game writing.

In spite of this statement, I’m sure we’ve all played games where the story seems “bolted on”, which can be really frustrating for anyone playing a game who cares about the story as well as the gameplay. Equally, it can be distracting for those who care only about the gameplay – why have a story at all if it’s not integrated properly?

This problem usually arises from the story being something of an after-thought and the writer being brought in very late in the development process. Even the most talented writer in the world can only do so much in a situation like this.

Another reason, though, might be that the writer and design team don’t work together as well as they should. Creative differences can arise for all sorts of reasons but professionals should find a way to work through these differences for the good of the project.

A story that works with the gameplay – through the characters, forward momentum and shared game and story objectives – gives a full and rewarding experience to the player.

It’s not a difficult concept to grasp – a writer should be brought onto a game project as early as possible and the writer should then work with the team, keeping gameplay uppermost in mind as they develop the story.

21. Understand Interactive Dialogue

Dialogue works best in a game when conversations are fully interactive, although few games really embrace this.

Too often we see the player character interact with a non-player-character (NPC) and the latter simply gives up information too easily, often without being specifically asked and usually in a kind of small monologue.

In situations of this kind, there is no drama between the characters because the player doesn’t have to work for the information on offer. Without such drama, conversations become dull and the player will develop no interest in what the characters have to say, particularly if the conversations are long ones.

Sometimes the situation is even worse and the player character simply has to approach near to an NPC for that person to begin talking. They can also give up information no one would really reveal to a stranger, such as, “The King hasn’t been seen for weeks.” Such actions undermine character believability.

When the player decides the direction of a conversation through questions and subject choices and the conversation expands or contracts based on the information revealed, they become much more invested in the conversation and the characters involved.

Conversations should be as much a part of a game’s interaction as all aspects of the gameplay mechanics in order to maximise the experience it delivers. Learn how interactive dialogue works through the playing of games that employ this dynamic approach to conversations. If appropriate, try to get the team to incorporate it into the current game.

Section 3: Within the Development Process

22. The Role of the Writer

The writer’s role from project to project will vary greatly, simply because the styles of games differ so much, along with the way they use story and character. Writers must be able to adapt to this variety and deliver what the development team requires.

But whatever the style of project we are asked to work on, we always write for an audience of one.

We write our game narratives with the individual player in mind, no matter how many copies of a game are sold. Each player, with his or her hands on the controller, is our audience and we should be aware of this throughout our writing tasks.

Perhaps unexpectedly, this also applies to massively multiplayer games because each player makes their own interactive choices, even in a co-operative or team game. No other players are selecting those actions or choices on their behalf.

Films and TV, over the years, have shown us that it’s great to enjoy a viewing experience with others, but the screenwriters and film makers know that they must connect to each individual viewer or those people will not feel the emotions required to get the most out of the film or show.

Game writers must understand this, too, and use this in pursuit of delivering quality in the role they undertake.

23. The Most Important Person in Game Development

If we pose this as a question, many people will likely have different ideas about what role this person may have in the development process. And while everyone in a game project is important, there is one person who is more important that all others.

For those who may be thinking that I’m trying to blow my own trumpet, this person is not the writer.

The most important person in game development is the player!

Without the player there is no game played. So games should always be created with the player in mind. Even if you’re simply creating an interactive story with no gameplay – a text adventure if you will – you still need to take the player into deep consideration. (I Use the word “player” here for want of a better term.)

You could say that this is true for all media – the audience (viewer, reader, player, etc.) is the most important person and I think that’s perfectly fair. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed.

In games, the player must understand what’s going on, what they need to do and be able to work out how to achieve their objectives. They will then gain the most satisfaction from their experience. The development team must deliver the game in a way that best achieves that.

The writer must work to deliver the best story they can within the constraints of the game’s style but also with similar clarity of purpose for the player.

24. The Role of the Player

In many ways, the player can be thought of as the protagonist. And it applies whether you write for first person or third person games; whether there is a player character visible or not.

A game’s story doesn’t move forward without the actions of the player, which gives the player a protagonist’s connectivity to the twists and turns of the plot, the conflict with other characters and the motivation to overcome obstacles along the way.

Yes, the stories and the choices they contain may well be pre-defined, written and recorded, but if they are crafted in the right ways the suspension of disbelief will encourage the player to feel that they are in the middle of saving the world or instrumental in solving the murder mystery.

Unlike a film or TV show, where the story and actions of the protagonist are delivered to the viewer, the writer must ensure that the story is every bit as exciting and engaging as those other media at the same time as delivering it through the way the player interacts with the game.

The fundamentals of storytelling are the same in all media, but games take a different mind-set to embrace the interactivity, the full role of the player and how that person fits into the telling of your tale.

25. Thinking Like a Player

If you play and enjoy plenty of games, especially a great variety of them, you should have no trouble thinking like a player. You are a player, after all. Sometimes, though, in the throes of creativity we can fail to remember this. Our minds may think differently when we’re trying to put together exciting stories with rich characters.

Many creative people are very good at working on multiple projects in parallel to one-another and compartmentalise their minds in order to do so. For a writer, the style and characters from one project won’t work in others because they simply don’t belong in those worlds.

However, if a compartment barrier exists between the creative aspect of your mind and the part devoted to playing games, it needs to become more fluid.

Your game-playing experiences can then feed into the way you approach your game writing. Your gameplay likes, dislikes, frustrations and achievements should then guide your writing hand in a positive manner.

Of course, we also need to be careful that this doesn’t lead us into the trap of copying the way other game stories are written. While our game playing experience needs to feed into the way we think like a player when writing, we must always strive to ensure our writing is original and of a high quality.

26. Keep the Player Interested

We must write characters the player will want to play.

Player characters like Lara Croft, Master Chief, Geralt, etc. didn’t get to be popular by accident – they were created and written with the player in mind. The very best characters you could ever come up with might count for nothing if they are not fun to play and interesting to follow.

You might argue that great, playable characters fall into the realm of game design, but that’s only partly true. If you want the characters’ story to connect to the gameplay in a cohesive manner, the writing of them must overlap their design throughout the whole development process.

Just as screenwriters must write characters the viewer will want to watch, game writers should help make game characters vibrant by giving life to them beyond their gameplay attributes alone.

Finding the right balance is tricky, of course. A writer shouldn’t “steal” the character away from its gameplay. If the attributes and associated mechanics are those of a cold-hearted assassin, the writer’s task is to make the character interesting while supporting that style of gameplay.

If the writing reinforces the character properties and enhances the experience in the process, the player’s actions in driving the game towards its goal will become so much more rewarding.

27. Keep the Player Involved

Ideally, we will write stories and worlds in which the player feels alive and remains involved at all times.

Those created for screenplays and novels are expected to support the characters and ideas in ways that are believable, consistent and don’t interrupt the suspension of disbelief. Sometimes those worlds need to be big and bold, like our ideas, but at others a much simpler approach will help the story by giving it a clearer focus. Having the characters fit neatly within these worlds is an important part of engaging the viewer or reader, even when they might be at odds with that world.

Game worlds are even more important. The player actively explores the game world as they work through the numerous options open to them and this world must keep them feeling involved.

However, game worlds aren’t there simply for the characters to exist within, they are worlds in which the player takes part in combat, investigation, puzzle solving and so forth. Good stories support and enhance these elements and give a richer experience to the player, involving them more completely.

Equally, the player must feel that the world has a consistency that makes sense in relation to the story and the gameplay. No one wants a surprise thrust upon them that kills them unfairly or have to get past an obstacle that relies on a mechanic they didn’t even know existed.

The same goes for the stories and worlds you create – be as unusual as you like but deliver a consistency that enables the player to feel like a vibrant part of your world. Make sure the twists and turns, no matter how unexpected, are consistent with the game’s world and keep the player involved.

28. Different Genres Have Different Story Needs

In case you’re unaware, genre in games means something different than in other media. Game genres are things like first person shooters, real time strategy games, point and click adventures, racing games, etc. The style of gameplay is the main differentiating factor, here, which is to be expected in a medium that exists because of it.

Naturally, when gameplay varies so much it often leads to different story approaches and how that narrative might be delivered to the player. Stories that support the style of game will offer the most complete interactive experience.

A first person shooter, for example, may be mission based and as a result the main story beats may be shown at the completion of each mission, with smaller beats occurring at key points during the mission.

With a point and click adventure, though, the story is normally so tied into the ongoing gameplay, usually through some kind of investigation, that it is delivered to the player in an almost constant stream. This is done through a combination of character interaction, exploring the environment and piecing together clues and information.

Clearly, understanding the story needs and delivery for each game you work on is a vital part of the game writing process and a writer must make their work fit these needs. Don’t deliver a story that doesn’t fit the genre.

29. Character Emphasis Varies With Genre

We can think of the characters as one of two types – the player character and the non-player characters, which are always very different beasts.

In many first person games, the nature of the player character is less defined than those that use third person, primarily because it is felt the player will see themselves as the character. Defining the character’s traits may well act against the player’s desire to feel in control. That’s not always the case, though, as games like Half-Life defined the player character pretty well.

In third person games, the player sees the character they play and it becomes easier to give them traits and a personality different to that of the player. The degree to which this will work will still be down to the expectations of the genre, with high action games offering fewer opportunities to explore the player character than a story-driven investigation.

NPCs have different roles in different genres. In many action games or strategy games, NPCs may well be nameless characters designed to give the world a busy feel or exist as simple “cannon fodder”, although I’m not a fan of these really generic characters.

However, if the game relies on the interactions between the player character and the NPCs, the latter may well be fleshed out with names, a small back-story and may even have their own agenda during any conversations or the things they do.

Look at the genre you are working in and work out the character needs and styles that apply.

30. Dialogue Should Vary With Genre

The level of quality in writing dialogue should never vary, of course, but different genres have different needs where the amount of dialogue and style is concerned.

Dialogue in an action game shouldn’t slow down the action unnecessarily. Brisk and to the point always works best here. At the same time, we should always be mindful of the characters and make sure our tight lines don’t end up sounding the same for each of them.

A game with lots of character interaction that involves some kind of investigation will, by its very nature, generate a requirement for plenty of dialogue. But this shouldn’t be seen as an excuse to overload the game with far more lines than necessary. Of course you should explore the nature of each NPC but this can and should be done in the answers they give to questions from the player character. Rambling or pointless responses may be okay now and again if they are intriguing or humorous, but the player is likely to lose interest if every character is like this.

Some games have no need for dialogue and the writer, who may be brought in to establish the shape of the story and work on other writing tasks, should never try to force it in where it’s not needed.

The above is a simplification of things, but it shows that dialogue writing will vary quite a lot. It’s up to the individual writer to work out the needs of the game they are working on and the genre in which it fits.

This is a preview of my book 201 Things for Better Game Writing, which you can purchase online.