SXSW: Writing for the Next Generation of Games

by Kevin Kelly { Mar 26th 2007 at 10:12PM }

Overheard this year at SXSW: "They need to hire more writers and better voice actors in games, and less coders ... because the games look cool but the stories are atrocious!" This pretty much echoes a sentiment that keeps growing within the industry. In fact, Aliza Gold -- who moderated this panel -- opened it by saying, "I'm here not because I'm a game writer, but because I want to play better games."

She wants to play games that take place in a wider variety of worlds, and/or games that appeal to a wider variety of emotions. The great thing is, this can all be accomplished through good writing. However, according to the writers on the panel, far too often publishers develop a game, do all of the coding, level-building, design the gameplay, and then after the fact, they plunk a writer down and tell them to make a story for it all. By then, it's far too late. You'll either end up with a game filled with talking heads (or objects), or you'll be reading a ton of on-screen text.

What many people don't initially take into account is that writing for games is entirely different than writing for movies, and that's how many developers and companies approach it. Aliza pointed to a very interesting piece with Ira Glass where he talks about a great story through audio or video, and approaching it as storytelling. Glass is pretty knowledgeable on the subject, having hosted and contributed to This American Life on the radio for many years. If you aren't making the story and the experience integral to the gameplay, then you're just playing Tetris. Phoenix Wright is a great example of this ... the gameplay isn't groundbreaking or innovative, but the clever writing puts you directly in the story and in effect becomes the game.

According to the David Cook, the last thing you ever want to write into a game document is "And then the player does this ..." At that point, you've failed as a writer. What you have to do is write down what would make the player want to do whatever it is you're trying to have them do. You have to figure out how to get the story across by having the player "do" something. Not just get information from a talking head in a corner somewhere. Writing should inform game design, and game design should inspire writing. Too often game developers build a game, and then hire writers to come in and fill it out. This doesn't work because it doesn't drive the story at all, you're left with a bunch of talking heads. "Narrative designers".

Writing decisions are a lot like being an art director ... you dress the set, but don't have a lot of control. You want to be involved and care about the narrative. You have to teach the player what the meaningful objectives are. Think more about yourself as a designer, not just a "writer". If you're interested in trying to break into writing for games, the panel recommends first studying writing seriously, like creative writing, screenwriting, playwriting ... but to also realize that when writing for games, you turn a creative corner and take it a step further by being immersed in the game design.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jamez @ Mar 26th 2007 10:41PM

This is absolutely true, and one of the reasons games like Halo (and halo2, if you must go there) and Gears of War have done so well. Not only do they implement the finest technology, innovation, etc, but they have awesome storylines that are made before and during the game-making process, not after. This is why certain studios always have winning games and others don't. I totally agree that there need to be writers who work on games, but they are just as important as coders, not less. If you can make the greatest story for a game, but your team can't code a brick, you're still as screwed as the other way around. At least this way you'll have a playable game.

chris @ Mar 26th 2007 11:12PM

I totally agree with Jamez and the people featured in the article. The storyline has to be tied into the gameplay. It has to feel as though the gamer has some sort of influence on the world or its surroundings.

But this is also important not just for FPSs, but for games typically thought to have story, even RPGs.

Hezekiah @ Mar 26th 2007 11:22PM

I am writing some serial fiction based in the Guild Wars world. One of the things I have found very challenging is that what makes a game fun is not necessarily what makes a good story. Honestly, if I wrote most of what actually happened in the game, the story would be painfully boring. It's plenty of fun to play, but it would be terrible to read about engaging and taking down mob after mob.

At the very least, I've come to the conclusion that Compelling, interesting action makes games fun. Compelling, interesting characters make stories fun.

The whole process has given me new respect for games that actually tell a story that keeps me engaged. And really, there aren't many of them.

Rubang B @ Mar 26th 2007 11:23PM

I agree! I'm sick of playing games with "tacked on storylines" that have nothing to do with my actions. I would like to, at least once in my life, give a shit about the protagonist in a video game, similar to the many shits I have given about protagonists in books, movies, plays, and songs.

James Collette @ Mar 26th 2007 11:32PM

A critical RPG with a heck of a storyline?

How about Fallout or the Baldur's Gate series'? Those storylines had you gripped into the game. Probably why they are still so looked upon these days.

And many writers may also want to take into account games within hidden storylines like Half-life 2 amd F.E.A.R. Even though you had practically no idea what was going on, it still captivated audiences. That is something you have to take into account if you want to really make a hit for any system.

*eyes Yuji Naka*

Yeah, I'm watching you. Pay attention. You'll be quizzed later on this stuff.

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 26th 2007 11:54PM

Tacked on stories suck, but if I can't even play the game to get engaged by the story does that matter? The story doesn't have to be good just engaging and relevant.

Rubang B @ Mar 27th 2007 12:09AM

I don't think anybody's saying a good story can save a crappy game. I hope nobody's saying that. Nothing is more important than the actual gameplay. But the story and everything else should be integrated into the gameplay as early in the development process as possible, for maximum awesome-game-ness.

Charron @ Mar 27th 2007 12:25AM

This is kinda interesting because, in one parallel universe, I see myself working in video game development. The reason is, I have a good handful of stories for games that have been floating around in my head (I'm sure every gamer's got them). There's also the whole desire to work in a creative software field, but nevermind that. Most of my stories don't really have a whole lot of unique gameplay elements behind them; only one has any sort of developed level at all, and that's just the overworld. Most are really just glorified Zelda clones.

But with all the gameplay clones out there, I kinda figured this was how it's been done; write some (occasionally lousy) story and just mimic existing gameplay to fit it. I honestly had no idea I was actually ahead of the curve compared to the average studio.

Ikthog @ Mar 27th 2007 12:37AM

Part of the problem is that the people who start game companies and are in charge of determining what games get made aren't usually the people who are going to come up with really compelling, original stories that are ALSO great games.

Nothing against those people, but the tastes of the average programmer or game producer probably aren't going to push the medium forward. Neither are, say, out-of-work SF/fantasy novelists. What we need is a breed of writers who understand both storytelling and gameplay, and who understand how to weave the two together so you are in fact playing the story, not reading or watching it. We can all think of good examples of this, they are just few and far between.

The typical model for the game industry is something like production companies making B movies -- come up with a scant premise, figure out how many action/sex/fight scenes you need to sell the DVD, and then hire a writer to fill in the gaps between action scenes. Few other entertainment or artistic media work like this -- usually a writer comes up with an idea, often a complete story, and then sells it to a studio or publisher, and only afterward does the mechanism for creating the final product kick in, all based closely around the work they purchased.

When is the last time someone pitched a game concept to an eager developer looking for a game to produce, the way screenplays and manuscripts are pitched? It just doesn't work that way, and that's one of the key reasons why we have the games we have today. If the game industry worked like this, we'd see a much more interesting and diverse crop of games.

chris @ Mar 27th 2007 12:55AM

Ah, Charron.... hindsight is always 20/20 eh?

OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Mar 27th 2007 3:04AM

I seriously hope nobody's deluded enough to think Halo and Gears of War have GOOD storylines. That's like saying Katamari Damacy has a good storyline. Sure, it's intriguing enough to get you through the game, but it's not GOOD by any stretch of the imagination.

But like Ikthog says, the only way we're going to progress is by getting someone who is both sides of the coin. Someone who knows enough games to know how to tie a story into the game, and someone who writes enough to realize whether or not what they've just written is crap.

When you get just a writer, like Orson Scott Card, you end up with Advent Rising, where events happened no matter what you did. When you get just a game dev, like Hideo Kojima, you get all kinds of fun things you can do to change the plot or the missions, but your story is a convoluted mess.

A hybrid of the two is what's needed, and unfortunately, I don't see anybody going in that direction.

Rubang B @ Mar 27th 2007 3:24AM

@OhJustSomeRandom, exactly. What we need is the Howard Roark of interactive media storytelling to shake up the industry.

Service_Games @ Mar 27th 2007 8:19AM

AMEN! Great article, and I completely agree.

SG

Charron @ Mar 27th 2007 8:57AM

@chris- so true, but at least I'm still young enough to have some foresight as well. :)

Abscissa (Cranky Kong) @ Mar 27th 2007 4:20PM

I've gotten really tired of people trying to turn games into a storytelling medium.

Is it a problem that many games have tacked-on stories/dialog/voice-acting? Of course. But usually, the better solution is to just rip them out, not place more emphasis on them.