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As a writer who has spent a number of years toiling in the digital salt-mines of the video game industry, I often find myself defending my chosen profession. I've been told that game writing isn't a priority, that players don't care about anything as inconsequential as "story" and that a solid script and sharp dialogue aren't nearly as important as graphics and gameplay. Of course, given the state of most video game writing these days, I can't say I particularly blame any detractors.
The fact is that the video game writer is a relatively new species in the industry - and while there are undoubtedly a number games with incredibly strong narratives (BioShock and Portal chief among them), for the most part, game writing often remains mediocre at best and downright shameful at worst…So why is this the case? Look no further than…
THE 5 REASONS VIDEO GAME WRITING SUCKS (AND HOW TO FIX IT)
1.) THE WRITERS: One of the biggest reasons that video game writing tends to fail is clearly due to the writers themselves. That’s not to say that ALL game writers are bad. On the contrary, there are dozens of talented writers working in the industry, with wordsmiths like Drew Karpyshyn, Rhianna Pratchett and Erik Wolpaw crafting meaningful interactive narratives. Yet for every skilled video game writer in the field, it seems there are ten more churning out pure, unfiltered crap. As a result, most interactive titles are written by the kind of hacks you'd find penning Full House fan-fic and scripting color commentary for American Gladiators.
How To Fix It: Developers and publishers simply need to hire more talented video game writers - which isn’t that far fetched considering that even during a recession the industry is raking in record profits. Of course, these days the number of employed full-time video game writers is surprisingly low. Fortunately, as writing becomes more of a priority for developers and publishers, the number of experienced game writers is likely to increase (we’ve already seen an exponential growth in the past few years). In the end of course, a good writer isn't going to make or break a game, but given the state of most interactive narratives, it couldn't hurt either.
2.) LACK OF PRIORITY: Let's face it: character, story and dialogue are all fairly low priorities for most game developers. That's not to say that producers don't think that game writing is important, but rather that they don't seem willing to invest in it. It's a sentiment which I'd argue, is contrary to the way most gamers feel about video game writing. Just look at the majority of game reviews out there, almost all of which rank story as being as vital as any other game element. As long as developers are publishers continue to treat video game writing as an afterthought, game narratives are going to continue to include unnecessary amounts of sloppy writing.
How To Fix It: If gamers and reviewers let developers and publishers know that writing is an important element of an overall gameplay experience, then that's exactly what developers will include. Sure, a game like GTA IV isn't going to sell millions of copies simply because of its script, but if GTA IV didn't have its compelling narrative, snappy dialogue and array of dizzying characters would it necessarily be as fun? If reviewers and gamers let developers know how they feel, then we'll have more games that not only look and play great, but also have immersive and well-written stories.
3.) WRITER INTEGRATION: It’s no coincidence that games like Portal and Mass Effect are lauded for their strong storylines and immersive dialogue. Both Valve and BioWare happen to be studios which fully integrate the writer into the game development process, creating games where the writing meshes seamlessly with gameplay, art and level design to create a compelling interactive experience. Sadly, the Valve and BioWare model is not always used in the industry, with many writers often working as outside contractors and integrated into the process after much of the work has already been done. As a result, storylines and characters are shoehorned into the final product and we end up with game writing that feel as flat and lifeless as a freshly stomped Goomba.
How To Fix It: Applying an integrated writer production model to games is clearly a win-win situation both for developers and gamers. By having writers fully integrated in the development process, writers are able to learn the strengths and limitations of the game, altering their narratives to suit the final product. Conversely, programmers, level editors, producers and artists can also tailor their own work towards creating a gripping interactive experience that works with the story rather than against it. If more developers approach this kind of collaborative process and maintain full-time writers on staff, then we’ll undoubtedly see more games that blow gamers away instead of simply...blowing.
4.) THE MEDIUM: Despite what Hollywood would have us believe, video games are not a medium that is even remotely similar to film or television. True, the mediums do share some common characteristics, but ultimately video games offer the audience an entirely ACTIVE participatory experience, while film and television relies on a PASSIVE audience experience. As a result video game narratives require writers who have an understanding of complex elements such as branching dialogue, non-linear storytelling and character and story elements based entirely on player interactions. Yet the video game industry often thinks that it can simply transplant screenwriters from film and television and expect them to apply the same linear forms of storytelling to video games. Just as you wouldn’t expect a poet to sit down and write a stage play without first understanding the medium, a great film or television writer might not necessarily understand what makes a great game narrative. That’s not to say that film and television writers can’t make great game writers, but rather that they need to fully understand the complex and non-linear nature of the medium they are working in.
The situation is further complicated because until recently, much of video game storytelling has used entirely linear methods of storytelling in the form of ubiquitous Hollywood-style cut scenes. Unfortunately, cut scenes can also hinder gameplay and the transition from player control to scripted video sequence can be jarring. In the end however, merging story with gameplay and finding a happy medium for the medium, remains one of the greatest challenges facing not only writers, but game development as a whole.
How To Fix It: First it needs to be made clear that game writing is a unique skill, and something that not all writers are capable of. As a result the industry’s current method of simply dropping in Hollywood film and television writers and expecting them to churn out triple-A gold, might not be the best solution. Rather game writers need to be supported and nurtured as they allow the medium to evolve. Additionally, the merger between narrative and gameplay is clearly going to require new and innovative ideas beyond the standard cut scene solution. Half-Life for example, was revolutionary in that much of the game’s plot was revealed in-game rather than through cut scenes. Similarly, Mass Effect used cut scenes sparsely, relying instead on the character dialogue wheel as a means of quickly interacting with NPCs and advancing the story. As game technology improves, developers will likely be able to find new and better ways to immerse player interaction in game narratives, but in the meantime it will be up to both clever game designers and game writers to find creative solutions that allows writing to work with the medium rather than against it.
5.) LOW EXPECTATIONS: It seems that when it comes to game writing, expectations among gamers are often so low that when something with only mediocre writing appears it is lauded for its unique narrative. This notion is further propagated by developers and publishers who seem to assume that gamers can't possibly appreciate meaningful narratives, complex characters and unique thematic and philosophical concepts within a video game. As a result we end up with games with overly simplistic stories, by the numbers action-movie plots, cardboard characters and pointless dialogue. In short, expectations are so low we have titles that never really take that next step in elevating game writing.
How To Fix It: Games such as BioShock prove that you can have a unique narrative which presents the player with challenging philosophical themes while also allowing them to kick a little splicer ass. The challenge for developers and game writers alike will be to take more risks in terms of both game content and the writing itself. Sure it's easy and highly profitable for developers to snatch up brainless movie licenses and churn out soulless action titles, but that shouldn’t detract from the idea that games can be as culturally and artistically relevant as a play, novel, film or painting. If developers continue to treat video games as a mindless form of entertainment and profit, then that's exactly what they'll remain. If however, developers are willing to create games which challenge players - not only in terms of gameplay and design, but also in terms of meaningful writing – then video games have the potential not only to entertain, but to enlighten as well. And in the end, that’s the greatest accomplishment any writer – regardless of the medium - can ever hope to achieve.
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I've been attempting to figure out why the game industry gives story, dialogue and characterization such short shrift in development...
I think it stems fairly majorly from points 1 and 4. Game writers have in the past tended towards either being bad writers in general, or just writers that are not good within the gaming medium. Not only that, but, coming from a film-making perspective, many writers and producers believed (and many still do) that writing a game should be a one-way street - they write the game's "script", and then the game and all its content is made according to that. While this works fine for film in its maturity and static nature, is virtually impossible to pull off successfully in game development.
If a writer did attempt to involve himself in the development process, due to their inexperience they would have an expectation that, like film, they should push to keep their artistic integrity and vision intact - regardless of the fact that in game development, the large majority decisions must be made from a purely pragmatic point of view in order for the game to ever be released.
I have seen how developers react to this kind of treatment - already an insular community, they rebel against this person who doesn't know what they're talking about attempting to push them around and make decisions without consulting them or the project timeline.
And nowadays, these developers who have had to deal with stupid or inexperienced writers for years are now leads and producers, and have built up a dislike of writers, and an attitude that they're not really needed or wanted by the games industry.
At least, I think that's how it happened ;)
Anyway, your How To Fix It sections sound good. I guess I feel that developers need to stop and look at their development process a bit more... even though it can be challenging to do so under perpetual deadline pressure. Game writers are evolving into what they need to be, and games can definitely benefit from their input.
To number 3, I would add that a writer should be in on the initial scenario/story concept phase. Even if a writer is integrated, if they're fleshing out an existing skeleton that is inherently broken, things get a bit difficult. If a writer can be in from the ground floor, they can figure out how to not only write the story efficiently, but also may be able to guide zealous action film-addled developers away from cliches and toward something more expansive.
Also, as a Steering Committee member of the IGDA Writers SIG and a member of the WGA Videogame Caucus, I am disheartened that you believe that most game writers are simply not very good. You recognize that there are extenuating circumstances and yet, you feel that it's all the writer's fault no matter what is the situation? If you believe that most members of the game writing field are no good and that the ones working in TV /film /comic books /pen'n'paper /novels / etc are not suited for game writing, then where are all these game companies supposed to recruit their talented writers? I think if you do a bit of digging, you'd find that game writers are writing comic books, pen'n'paper RPGs, non-fiction books, novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, and TV shows. I say this even though I have only written for games because I feel that if you're a good writer, then you can definitely learn how to write for other media and succeed... Just because somebody is a well-known poet or whatever, this doesn't mean that the person can never be good at any other kind of writing.
If you can afford to hire a full-time writer, you can afford to hire (half of a) programmer. Which is going to add more value? Which would you rather have on your team? I write extensively for our current title voluntarily (ie, on top of my contractual obligations), but I think I'd probably go for the programmer if it was my call. And even then, the writer's only in the running for aesthetic reasons - I can't see a way to justify it for business reasons.
And that's the crux of it, IMO. Until someone can demonstrate, in a manner a businessperson can easily grasp, that paying for a professional writer will generate good returns, I don't see game writing moving forward. And that goes double for hiring a professional writer for the entire development cycle.
Yes, games with good writing often sell well, but I don't think it's a coincidence that when those two things intersect, there's almost always a third common factor: the developer has a string of successes under their belt and maybe doesn't face quite as much financial pressure as their peers. As a consequence, it's not entirely straightforward to determine how much of say Mass Effect's success was down to its writing, and how much was down to incredible amounts of polish and tuning and experience so on. There are examples of developers that have put out well-written games without being in this situation, but I think it's telling that the first one that pops to mind is Troika.
When we reach the point where the industry's so well off that everyone can afford the luxury of a writer, or someone comes up with a solid business case for spending money on writing, then I'm sure game writing will truly take off, because I doubt there are many creative types in the industry who wouldn't like to see the quality of writing improve. In the meantime, the large majority of developers who live or die on the success of each title are just going to get an intern to do the writing and hire another programmer.
I agree with you completely...The problem with integrating writers into game design is the mentality many writers seem to have as being the sole instigators of a project. Screenwriters in particular, offer the blue print for what a film or television show will ultimately be and at the end of the day that screenplay remains the core of the final product. It's up to a director, producer and crew to bring that vision to life, but the process itself always starts with the screenplay. Conversely, with video games the process always STARTS with conceptual game design (which is as it should be). As a result the writer is forced to play second fiddle to the game's designer. Personally, as a writer I feel that game design should ALWAYS trump writing (or any other aspect of the game for that matter - if it's not fun to play and doesn't offer a compelling gameplay experience then it will fail, no matter how great the interface, graphics, audio, writing etc.). The problem is that many writers actively resent the process of having their "vision" take a back seat to design. Writers in this sense, need to adjust their mentality to compensate, which is no easy feat....
In regards to SANDE CHEN's comments...
First off let me just say that I'm a huge fan of the WRITERS CABAL and both you and your partner in crime, Anne Toole. In my defense, I did state that their are many talented writers (such as yourself) working in the field today, but to your suggestion that game writers aren't all that bad I'd respectfully offer this rebuttal: show me the proof. If you look at simple statistics right now I think the amount of poorly written games FAR outnumbers the amount of brilliantly written games (and that goes for everything from casual indie games to triple-A titles). True, the game development process is partly to blame, but I do indeed also blame the writers. That being said, it is a relatively young medium, so perhaps it's unrealistic of me to expect ground breaking works from writers who are still finding their footing and discovering what does and doesn't work...And you're right, a good writer is a good writer...period. But as I'm sure a talented wordsmith like yourself can attest too there's also a process involved, and that process involves understanding the medium that you're writing in. Writing a screenplay is very much a different process than writing a novel. That's not to say a screenwriter couldn't write a novel (many in fact, do) just that it requires an understanding of that medium's structure, style, use of dialogue and prose, etc. A writer has to understand the medium they're working in and in the case of video games I don't think all that many writers really do understand the medium. Few of the game writers I've met for example, (and bear in mind this is just my own personal experience) put that much effort into understanding the principles of game design. That's because most of them tend to come from a film and television background. If you can speak the same language as programmers, level designers and artists you can integrate your own ideas as a writer far more easily into the process...I think education is the key and events like GDC are allowing more and more writers to gain new insights into understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the medium...In the meantime, although the number of talented game writers is increasing exponentially (as I mentioned in my article), I still stand by my assertion that there are far more bad game writers working today than are good ones...
In regards to MATT WOODWARD's comments...
This very same discussion came up last year in an article here on Gamasutra from Adam Maxwell who argued that money earmarked for a writer could be better spent hiring a programmer.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17902
Later on, Variety polled a number of writers, producers and filmmakers working in Hollywood to get their take on Mr. Maxwell's views.
http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/04/writers-executi.html
I'd simply argue that your suggestion that writing isn't as inherently "valuable" as other occupations in the games industry proves how little the industry values having talented writers as a whole. This mentality isn't surprising though and in fact pervades Hollywood as well. Jack Warner (founder of Warner Bros. studios in the 1930s) famously quipped that writers were "nothing but schmucks with underwoods" (in reference to the famous typewriters used at the times) and even today there's often a conflict between writers and the production elements of Hollywood (as manifested in the WGA strike of 2007-2008). The fact is writers have occasionally been marginalized by the entertainment industry (including video games) simply because of the nature of writing itself. Think about it: a person sits in front of a key board or blank page for god knows how long and then cranks something out. It's almost impossible to commodify what they've just done and with the exception of journalists and greeting card copywriters who are often paid by the word, how does a screenwriter explain to an accountant exactly what their finished work is worth? Programming and art you can measure by looking at the code and the body of work that's presented, but writing is often a case of trial and error and constantly discarding and polishing and as a result is very difficult to measure. Additionally, as a medium it's not visual in the least. A game producer can look at a piece of concept art and tell within 2 seconds whether or not they like it. Conversely, it could take them at least an hour to read through a character background document (and not many game producers have that luxury of time). As a result, it's simply easier to neglect the writer or pass them off as being "unnecessary" rather than invest the time and resources to integrate them into the process in order to create a more evocative gaming experience.
And I'd also argue that there is indeed a direct correlation between having strong writing and larger profits within the video game industry. "Mass Effect" would NOT have been a financially successful venture had the writing been sub-par. It was writing that drove the heart of that game and it remains one of the few cases where I'd argue that the writing was just as integral as the polished gameplay. I know the head writer on "Mass Effect", Drew Karpyshyn, personally, and he is an unbelievably talented writer. Had the writing he helped develop fallen short, I believe that gameplay alone would not have been enough to translate into strong sales. That's not to say that every game needs to have a full team of writers on staff (as BioWare does), only that if a game has a "story" as part of the overall experience (i.e. to augment gameplay), then having writers who are capable of delivering a meaningful story can only lead to increased sales...
Don't get me wrong, I fully agree with your opinions on the value of writing in games, from a subjective "quality of game" viewpoint at least. My problem is that I don't think writing is as /demonstrably/ valuable as other occupations right now. It's not about being able to quantify comparative output qualities or quantities, it's about a lack of useful data concerning the effect of writing on the bottom line.
Imagine a conversation between a designer and a key hiring-related manager:
Designer: We should really hire a writer. Good writing is important.
Manager: My 14 year old son is right in the middle of our target demographic* and he gets angry if he can't skip cutscenes.
Designer: I think you'll find that a lot of players really value a well-written game. A writer will improve our sales.
Manager: Prove it. Because I can prove that adding another programmer will pay off.
Designer: Oh.
I don't think correlation is going to be good enough in most cases - and I can't think of any examples or studies that strongly support causation. Until you can convince the people in charge of hiring decisions that it's worth "diverting" scarce funds towards getting better writers, I don't see that anything's going to change any time soon.
*The product is an M-rated GTA clone, obviously.
Also, as a more general statement, I feel like the sheer amount of franchise titles plays a lot into the overwhelming presence of sub-par stories. Just because a game is franchised does not give the writer an excuse to get away with a crappy story. This is not the fault of writers, as I know many times the story line of a franchised video game is predetermined by producers and others with much more pull than a simple writer. Doesn't change the fact that I wish they took it as an opportunity to extend the franchise, rather than just latch on to whatever popularity the product has.
Of course, I agree that to succeed as a game writer, one should understand the game development process. That's one of the first items of advice I dispense to screenwriters looking to break into the field.
And yes, there are badly written games, just like there are a multitude of badly written books and other media. With a book, I guess you can blame the writer, but in a collaborative medium, such as a film or game development, who's to blame? You can blame the producer or creative director if there was someone pulling the strings or maybe it should be viewed as a collective fail.
Regarding game writers -- firstly, who are the game writers? (Never mind the journalists who call themselves game writers) Do game writers who come from television and film call themselves game writers, or TV writers, or screenwriters? They probably don't differentiate. Seeing as there is a bit of a crossover 'tween media, I'd say they just call themselves writers. And since 1 in 4 people, I've heard, consider themselves to be writers (even the producer's 14-year-old son), that's a huge population. I sincerely hope that not all of them suck at writing, but in any case, an evaluation is purely subjective.
The first thing you should do is challenge the statement that game writing tends to be poor. Ten years ago, maybe. But today, most top-selling games pour enormous resources into this area. And the results really do show: the games are really well written, and work well in combination with the interactivity. If I were your average producer, I'd read the first couple paragraphs of your article and wonder why the money I spent on the writer wasn't going anywhere.
You suggested that writing in games is secondary to visuals and material gameplay. I disagree: I think writing is critical, and I believe that an in-depth analysis would validate this.
Keep it simple: you basically want to say that more money needs to be invested in the writing. I agree. But you don't bring any information or analysis to the table that would support this. Instead you argue, for example, that gamers have low expectations (#5). This sounds like an argument against investment. Instead, you should be working to prove that gamers do care. I think they care. I think there is a strong case to be made.
I'm sure I have greatly tried your patience already, but if you will allow one more point: most gamers believe that BioWare (you mention Drew Karpyshyn) and Valve (you mention Erik Wolpaw) produce well-written games. But most writers recognize that these games are hack jobs, not quite on par with solid genre work (which we see in Bioshock or Gears of War for example), and certainly not up to the literary standards we find in Psychonauts or Metal Gear.
If you want to take the analysis seriously, you'll have to consider why critically-celebrated writing does not always sell well. (To say nothing of Hollywood-style engaging writing vs. avant-garde-style thought provoking writing....)
In regards to SANDE CHEN'S comments:
In terms of game writers understanding the medium, I agree completely. This is something that requires not only a change in the way writers think, but is also a bit of an uphill battle simply in terms of the technology itself. I came into the industry from a background in book publishing without much technical know-how as far as game development was concerned (a position which I suspect a lot of game writers know all too well). As such, the first few times I sat in on meetings with lead programmers and level designers I was completely out of my element. Eventually, I learned as much as I could in terms of how my writing could be best utilized given the technology of game development but as I'm sure you know, it's an incredible amount of work simply learning the in's and outs - something which makes the job of being a game writer even more challenging. In purely technological terms being a novelist or screenwriter simply requires a working knowledge of a pen and paper (or more likely, a word processing and screenwriting program). That's not to say writers aren't up to the technological challenge of game development, just that there's a steep technological learning curve involved for writers who don't have a background in programming or game design. It's this more than anything that I think makes learning the medium such a difficult proposition for writers looking to break into the industry.
As for bad writing itself, you argue a good point. There are indeed, plenty of terrible movies, novels, television shows and plays written (and released to the general public) on a daily basis. However, I stand by my assertion that when you actually break down the numbers, in terms of the amount of video games produced each year, the majority of them are not particularly well written. As I pointed out in my article, that does have a lot to do with the industry itself, and I think it's important to note that in I blame the writers as only ONE factor for this (I certainly won't place all of the blame on our shoulders).
As for who game writers are, that's a question worth exploring because I think even game writers themselves are trying to figure out how they fit into the process of game development. Some are indeed coming from film and television, some are game professionals experimenting with writing, and some are blazing the way and establishing themselves as their own unique niche. Unlike writers in mediums like film or television however, there doesn't seem to be an archetype game writers can easily fit into. Staff television writers for example, know almost exactly what's expected of them from the showrunner and producer, and any feature screenwriter worth their salt knows how to write a treatment and first draft that will get noticed. Game writers on the other hand, face projects that range in size, scope and complexity with no two projects ever the same. The sheer number of genres, styles and quality of gameplay means that one day you could be writing lines of dialogue for a match-three puzzle game and the next developing character concepts for an FPS. Writing for any other medium has much more defined limitations (most publishers won't accept novels beyond 100,000 words from first time writers, the average network television show has to fit within the allotted 22 to 45 minutes of time, the average screenplay is usually no more than 120 pages). Video games don't follow such structures making it difficult for the writer to establish an identity for themselves and to easily explain to anyone what exactly it is they do. That's not necessarily a bad thing though and in fact, it's because of the scope and variety found within the medium that makes writing for games so exciting. I guess what I'm getting at is that game writers (as I pointed out in my article) are still trying to learn how they fit into the process and as a result defining their identity is still a tough proposition. That being said, I do agree, a good writer is a good writer, regardless of the medium....
In regards to STEVE BRESLIN's comments:
You definitely argue some good points. That being said, I don't really agree with your assertion that most publishers pour huge amounts of resources into writing. Sure there are indeed staff writers at many developers, but in terms of the bottom line, I'd imagine that game writing as a whole rates fairly low on the general accounting list (at least it does for most of the game writers I know, they certainly aren't getting rich working on many projects). And I agree that game writing has come along way (particularly in the past ten years) but as a medium it is still in its infancy. I've yet to be moved by a game the way I have from a novel, play, film or even television show. That's not to say games aren't emotional, simply that I don't think they've achieved the same level of depth and complexity as writing found in other mediums. Take "Far Cry 2" for example, here's a game that has the opportunity to provide a solid action experience, while also offering an interesting polemic on the current state of Africa (a subject just begging for an interesting narrative that explores everything from war and famine and post-colonial meddling to oil and the spread of HIV). But what does it do, instead? It offers a fairly middling story that only "hints" at larger thematic issues. For a game, the Jackal's anti-establishment message is interesting, but it's not particularly well done. Films like "Syriana" or "The Constant Gardener" on the other hand, offer compelling action sequences while also delving into unique thematic narratives. I was actually a little offended that "Far Cry 2" didn't take this extra step to create a narrative that has something to say (despite the action based nature of the FPS genre). This goes ditto for the subplot of Dom's search for Maria in "Gears of War 2". Was it emotionally evocative? For a game, almost certainly. But it was still no more dramatic or particularly engaging than anything you'd find in a second rate made for TV movie. In fact, it all felt a little forced and contrived. Yet critics lauded that particular subplot (and a few key scenes) for the strong writing simply because they have such low expectations of game writing. I guess what I'm getting at is that I want game writers to step up to plate and deliver something that has the potential to rival what Hollywood is producing on the big and small screen, and frankly, I just don't see that happening....yet, that is...Because for all my pessimism, I do think that exciting things are happening with game narratives, and that very soon a game will come along and and revolutionize the way we tell stories in games, just as "Citizen Kane" did for film or "Watchmen" for comics...For now though, I haven't seen anything approaching that level of narrative...
As for my assertion that game writing is secondary to visual and material gameplay, that's not entirely correct. I argued that writing is secondary to GAMEPLAY only. And I stand by that belief. A game is a participatory experience that is played, not simply watched. As such it is gameplay (not the story) that is always driving the medium forward. Again, if gameplay is weak, no player will bother to pick it up, no matter how savvy the writing is. That being said, I do feel that while writing is of secondary importance next to gameplay, a great story is just as important as other elements such as visuals, user interface etc. Ultimately though, were talking about a medium that is PLAYED, rather than simply observed, and as such I really do feel that it is gameplay remains the ultimate element that can make or break a title.
As for having hard data to support the need for game writers, I agree with your assessment that the best way to show that writing is important is by getting gamers to show that they WANT strong, intelligent, emotionally evocative writing in their games. That's a tough sell, but I think more and more gamers are demonstrating this, not only in terms of sales, but with critical response. More and more reviews pinpoint writing as one of the core elements of a game and since publishers and developers put a heavy reliance on game review scores (perhaps almost to an unhealthy degree) if a weak story drags down an overall review score, developers and publishers will start to realize that this may possibly influencing sales. To that end, I propose more game journalists and critics make note of story as a key aspect of a game's overall experience.
And I agree with your final point that critically-celebrated writing does not always sell well. But I think that's an element of a larger systemic issue with writing as a whole. The fact is that NOBODY (myself included) really knows what does and doesn't sell well. If we did, we'd have nothing but masterpieces in all mediums and genres. The fact is there are countless novels that receive critical acclaim, but little mainstream recognition from the general public while poorly written pieces of tripe like "Twilight" sell millions. Filmmakers, television producers, book publishers and yes, even game developers, don't know what will or will not strike a chord with audiences. But I think in terms of game writing (and game development as a whole) if a writer is willing to stay true to a core thematic element, has a unique voice and ultimately creates a narrative that they themselves would want to experience as a gamer, then success (usually) can't be far behind...