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 Features
Book Excerpt and Review - Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames
 Book Review
Stars: 4.5 out of 5
Pros
- An essential collection of knowledge on writing for videogames.
- Over a dozen well-known game writers have contributed to the book, making for a multiplicity of interesting and complimentary views.
- Organized and edited by the IGDA, which maintains a high standard of quality for professional-oriented books on game development skills.
Cons
- The book is short –less than 300 pages. There’s a lot of material packed into these pieces, yet one could imagine a more detailed treatment of the topic.
- Readers would benefit from more real-life examples – e.g. a bundled CD-ROM containing full-length sample scripts.
- Could be useful to cover genre-specific writing in more detail – e.g. writing for action games, thrillers, sports games, RPGs, etc.
“Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames,” the first IGDA book to explore both the creative and technical aspects of writing for games is a triumphant collection of essays on the art and science of game writing. Penned by over a dozen prominent game writers, and edited by Chris Bateman (executive panel member of IGDA’s game writing wing), the book covers an array of writing-related topics and reflects a colorful diversity of complementary views.
The topics are all highly relevant to anyone involved in writing for games, and range from the principles of screenwriting to the use of cut scenes, to writing for licensed properties and working with dialogue engines. The net result is a solid presentation of both the conceptual framework underlying videogame narrative, and the specific skills with which compelling narrative must be created and integrated into a game. The book is a must-have for anyone endeavoring to work in this field.
Here’s a look at some of the topics covered in the book.
Game Narrative Basics
The book begins on familiar ground in “Introduction to Game Narrative,” by Richard Dansky, writer of UbiSoft’s Tom Clancy games. Dansky introduces the rudimentary concepts of narrative – e.g. story, character, and setting – and explores narrative as a combination of immersion, reward, and player identification.
He discusses elements of narrative common to many forms of writing – such as story arc, pacing, and characterization – as well as elements unique to gaming, including the use of scripted game events, the need to respect the player’s sense of character ownership, and the potential impact of interactivity – such as the dreaded “skip” button.
In “Writing for Games,” Richard Boon explores several categories of narrative, as well as the most common means for delivering these in an interactive medium. (His definition of “narrative techniques” includes everything from plain text and static images, to recorded dialogue, in-camera events, and cut scenes.) Boon also discusses several types of narrative structure for games, and presents a useful nine-stage template for the game writing process.
”Cut Scenes and Scripted Events,” also by Richard Dansky, examines the use of non-interactive storytelling methods within interactive games. The author discusses the benefits of taking control away from the player – advancing the story, providing a forum for presenting tutorial information, or just showcasing technology – as well as the many dangers, which include disrupting a game’s pacing, potentially drowning a player in information, and of course removing player choice.
Dansky also provides tips for using clear writing and technology choices technology to create manageable cut scenes and scripted game events.
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