Are Video Game Writers in Demand? Is it a good path to follow?

megazordprime

So after almost 2 years of being unsure of what path I should take to get into the industry, I decided that I want to focus on designing levels and writing for video games (Specifically story, characters, and game mechanics). I want to finally get my feet wet after 2 years of inactivity since graduating and I wanted to know how much in demand are video writers in the industry. I hardly see anything on the subject and if I do, its an article that usually doesn't cover much. Is there a way to focus on both without having to give up on the other?

Ninjas

If I were you, I would start by making some Renpy or Gamemaker games. If your writing really is brilliant, then you will probably get some recognition eventually!

JValencia

Neil Druckmann and Steve Gaynor briefly went over this topic in a Tone Control podcast. Check out Episode 2, as they spend a segment talking about how to make it as a writer in games:

https://www.idlethumbs.net/tonecontrol

ambershee

In my experience, most game writers are people who are already established writers outside of the industry and have subsequently moved inwards. I don't think there'll be much demand for more junior writing staff in most projects, though some games with a lot of narrative content (i.e quest dialogue) may distribute less important writing work to specific designers.

MagicSugar

Updating this thread with additional resource links (c/o a Tell Tale Games writer) for anyone else searching info re: writing for games:

"Writing for videogames" http://www.bayareascreenwriters.org/writing-for-videogames/#more-582

"Finding a Writing Job in Videogames" http://www.bayareascreenwriters.org/finding-a-writing-job-in-videogames/#more-480

"Narrative Design fo Company of Heores" http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129954/narrative_design_for_company_of_.php?print=1

unit187

megazordprime wrote: »

writing for video games (Specifically story, characters, and game mechanics)

Hold on here. What do writing and game mechanics have in common? It's like two different worlds here.

lotet

unit187 wrote: »

Hold on here. What do writing and game mechanics have in common? It's like two different worlds here.

yeah I know! knowing how games work when you write for them, who needs that!?

EDIT: ok, assuming your right, and he is just confused, this makes me look like a douche...buuut...they actually do have a lot in common. hmm, now Im confused:poly105:

BagelHero

This sounds more like you want to be a Game designer, actually, not a writer. Especially after mentioning you want to design levels.
So, uh...

???

(You may need to further narrow down what you want to do. Do you want to write narrative, dialog and quests etc in detail? or do you want to draw out the overarching plot and focus on how that conveys urgency and gameplay mechanics to the player?)

unit187

lotet wrote: »

yeah I know! knowing how games work when you write for them, who needs that!?

EDIT: ok, assuming your right, and he is just confused, this makes me look like a douche...buuut...they actually do have a lot in common. hmm, now Im confused:poly105:

When we are talking about writing in games, we are talking about things like story, quests, dialogue, narrative, character development. When we are talking about game mechanics, we are talking about designing games and sitting in Excel spreadsheets doing math magic all day long.

xvampire

megazordprime wrote: »

So after almost 2 years of being unsure of what path I should take to get into the industry, I decided that I want to focus on designing levels and writing for video games (Specifically story, characters, and game mechanics). I want to finally get my feet wet after 2 years of inactivity since graduating and I wanted to know how much in demand are video writers in the industry. I hardly see anything on the subject and if I do, its an article that usually doesn't cover much. Is there a way to focus on both without having to give up on the other?

Video game writer? depends on the style you want ,


Sam Lake, ( max payne, alan wake, quantum break)



well there are also tons of non AAA indie games that has great story and writing
Kan Gao - to the moon , the game made mostly with rpg maker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Moon

lotet

unit187 wrote: »

When we are talking about writing in games, we are talking about things like story, quests, dialogue, narrative, character development. When we are talking about game mechanics, we are talking about designing games and sitting in Excel spreadsheets doing math magic all day long.

I know
but saying you dont at least need a basic knowledge about game design when writing for them is not true at all.

TrevorJ

I agree with lotet, I find the best game writers are writers who can understand that writing a single paragraph in a certain way can make the difference between a day of work to get into a game, and a weeks worth of work.

Fogbrain

Since games these days rely so heavily on story, lately we really haven't been blessed with good writing for a long time. So yes, games are in dire need of good writers I feel, so it helps to just write to be a good general writer and once some traction in the career is made, you reach out to games.

LRoy

You can also check out this podcast on writing for games

http://gim.acanaday.com/?p=80

SuperFranky

Fogbrain wrote: »

Since games these days rely so heavily on story, lately we really haven't been blessed with good writing for a long time. So yes, games are in dire need of good writers I feel, so it helps to just write to be a good general writer and once some traction in the career is made, you reach out to games.

If you want good writing you gotta look past AAA blockbusters this year. Imho the best storytelling this year was in Styx: The Master of Shadows, relatively unknown stealth action game. It's pretty great.

Fogbrain

SuperFranky wrote: »

If you want good writing you gotta look past AAA blockbusters this year. Imho the best storytelling this year was in Styx: The Master of Shadows, relatively unknown stealth action game. It's pretty great.

Oh absolutely, its hard to look at anything AAA these days without cynicism. I'm eager to get my hands on Styx when I can because it just looks criminally underrated.

JacqueChoi

I'm actually getting a friend of mine in contact with writers for tips on getting in (She has a degree in english, and has been working at a publishing house for a few years).


First and foremost, you have to be really good. And you have to have a huge portfolio of samples.

A few of the writers I work with actually started in Game Journalism, and made their connections that way.

My advice is write a LOT. There are great writing forums that are similar to Polycount.



Most importantly, write dialogue/dialect. Not essays.

Write what people actually 'say', don't write what is grammatically correct (unless you are writing for a Star Trek game, and need to write lines for Spock).



Write!! WRITE!!!!


GO WRITE NOW DAMNIT!



Actually you can even practice what some of first tasks writers have to do. "Barks".



Imagine you are writing for a stealth game, and you need to write the various NPC dialogue that conveys 'Alertness', gives indication they are aware, and has indication they are moving towards the noise they just heard, and sounding the other NPC's in the vicinity.

Then give a resolution Bark (oh, it must have been my imagination)

Then an 'Alert' (I FOUND HIM! HES HERE).

Give 10 types of context Barks:
- HES UP ON THE LEDGE
- HE WENT INTO THE SEWER
- HE WENT UP THAT LADDER

Then give 3 'Attack' Barks (YOURE DEAD MEAT)


Ground the dialogue into a dialect of some kind (ancient Greece, Ireland, Sci Fi America), and make it obvious it is from that world.



Make around 10 variations of those barks so the NPC's don't keep saying the same things over and over again.



Then redo the entire exercise with:
- Old veteran
- Young Spry soldier wanting to prove his worth
- Un-confident Person
- Sturdy leader

eld

JacqueChoi wrote: »

...Then redo them all as the opposite sex

I think we may want to break this cycle when inspiring next generation of game writers

Steve Schulze

Your best bet if you want to try your hand at game writing, scripting (as in code) and design to see if it's your thing and worth the difficult path to pursue it is probably to grab one of the RPGs that came with a campaign builder and knock out some campaigns. Dragon Age: Origins had a good one.

Alternatively, if you want to keep it simpler, you could look into TWINE and make some choose your own adventure typed games.

JacqueChoi

eld wrote: »

I think we may want to break this cycle when inspiring next generation of game writers

Very true.

Axe that last part!

megazordprime

WOW. I posted this a year ago and I didn't expect this thread to continue. To answer your question earlier, I want to write the story for games. I think its called a Scenario Writer. I've seen them in the credits of my favorite games. I used to write scripts for a game when I was a teenager and that's something I've been wanting to do again for a long time. I just wasn't sure if it was a "correct" path to follow since when searching things about game developement/design, you don't see so much topics on writing story for games (or I'm looking in the wrong places.) I've really been interested in Japanese Visual Novels as of late (Danganronpa, Fate/Stay Night, Umineko, Steins;Gate comes to mind) and I see myself doing something like that. My long term goal is to make something like this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omocat/omori

lotet

megazordprime wrote: »

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omocat/omori

Well then, just learn gamemaker, RPG maker or some other simple engine and get going!
stuff like that is a lot easier to do then to break into AAA and do writing there.

if you want to focus on more indi style stuff there are no excuses! just start producing, make something

megazordprime

Forgive me for necroing, is there like a site like this one but for game writers>