This is primarily a review of the
IGDA compilation
Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, which I read after attending a writers roundtable at AGC hosted by a member of the
IGDA Game Writer’s SIG. That entity is responsible for the book being reviewed. This is a cautionary tome about creating narrative for games, addressed to the game production team, with particular focus on writers, designers, and the leads that herd those cats. I don’t think it is a great book, but I don’t know of any comparable work, although I know that this area is a growing field, with several new titles coming out. As such, it would probably be a good book to read before undertaking to create any game with narrative content in a team setting. I give it a limited recommendation.
Game Writing is a compilation of fourteen chapters, each by a different author from the IGDA Game Writers SIG. As such, the book does not have the consistent style, for better or
worse, that one would otherwise expect from a book about writing. I would not characterize the writing as inferior, rather the tone varies from chapter to chapter, and it does subtly tweak the reader, making it harder to settle into the book. This is a common weakness of compilations, unless the basis for selection is
superior writing itself.
Game Writing has a mid to low level focus. It does not
dwell in theory, nor does it provide
detailed examples. Instead, this book focuses on practical considerations of the interfaces between the game, the game writer and the game production team, particularly the art and design elements. As such, it is relatively short on examples of technique, but has many examples of the unique considerations that writing in an interactive environment as part of an ongoing team can impose on the writer that do not apply in other kinds of writing.
Game Writing begins with several chapters on narrative and the interaction of narrative and game design, including some technical points on the use of cut scenes and the practical arguments for cut scenes that I found personally enlightening. Throughout the book there is a consistent focus on the consideration the writer must give to production issues when composing narrative for the game. The writers have clearly wandered into a few minefields in their collective experience, and they are eager that others not follow in their footsteps. I’ve taken to mentally subtitling this book, “Game Writing: How Not to Step on Your Dick”. The book is long on what not to do, although it does have positive suggestions as well.
Once it moves out of the basics, Game Writing becomes more specific. It has chapters on localization issues, writing for voice actors, writing for a licensed IP, and writing cut scenes and scripted events, among others. The later chapters are longer on exemplary material, but maintain the same cautionary tone as the earlier parts.
There is a lot of valuable and interesting information in this book, and it is decently presented, with a serious, practical focus. This is not a how-to writing primer; it is a consideration of what is needed from the writer and the team to avoid major rewrites and unexpected demands for team resources to support the story. If you are or expect to be a part of a game development team, particularly as a writer, designer, or lead, this book is probably worth your while, although experienced folks will probably have learned at least some of this stuff the hard way. If you are an armchair designer and/or hobbyist writer such as myself, you may find this useful in reducing the frequency of sounding like a complete fool when talking to people who actually make games in the real world. If you are looking for an interesting read about game writing, I would still recommend
Lee Sheldon’s book, Character Development and Storytelling for Games, rather than this more practically oriented work.