Game writing gives content writers a closer experience that helps them understand the gamers' perspective. Let's know why game writing is becoming popular amongst writers.
The video game industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. The latest figures state that it is larger than the movies and music industries combined. According to Statista, the average age of the gamer is 35 years; 27% gamers are 50 or older, which is why they are willing to shuck out big bucks for their favorite games.
Game writing is also becoming very famous among content writers as it gives them a closer experience that helps them understand the gamers' perspective. Game writing is the art of writing scripts and narratives for games. The video game industry presents writers with many opportunities. Stories play a vital role in video games. Especially in RPGs or Role Playing Games.
Writers and storytellers have many career options, and the gaming industry also provides them with a golden opportunity. Games like God of War and Mass Effect make us realize the significance of the story in a video game. And the industry has one of the most loyal communities in the world.
Contributing to the gaming industry is not an easy task, a huge responsibility is placed on the shoulders of the game writers, as they write the story, and the story controls the vibe of the entire game. There are games where the story is not as important, like first-person shooters, but still, being a game writer is a tough job.
Many people like the idea of being game writers, and if you are truly dedicated to the field, it is a great career opportunity. But I would not recommend this to everyone. Every writer is not fit to be a game writer. You should only consider this if you genuinely enjoy playing games, and have experienced them first hand, and have a passion for writing.
The three major pillars of game writing are -
Plot: It is the actual storyline of the game. It is what happens in the game.
Characters: Character writing is the aspect of game writing which focuses on the lives of characters and their struggles. It gives them a personality and makes them relatable to the people playing the game. Good games have really strong characters. And it is the part which gives us a valid explanation for the villains being that way, and that heroes are not just generic do-gooders.
Lore: Lore is everything that makes the world real and vibrant. It is kind of like our folklores, which state that the world existed long before our characters got there. You can see that in the item descriptions in Dark Souls or the books in Skyrim. Lore has nothing to do with the plot of the game, it exists outside of whatever the characters are supposed to be doing.
Game writing is not limited to writing the story. It is everything from level design to combat mechanics to the literal appearance of the characters. Game designers need to figure out the right way to implement that knowledge, and it is a job easier said than done. Making a good game requires a lot of hard work and dedication.
Some things to keep in mind, if you are aspiring to be a game writer -
Game writing is different when compared with writing a script for a movie or a TV show. Game writing is a vast field in itself, it gives writers a variety of choices to choose from. Game writing is time consuming yet a flexible task. It needs to be kept in mind that all the game stories must stay interesting from beginning to end. Gameplay should always be on top of the list of priorities for the game development team.
Game writing has different types, such as:
Pitch Writing: The pitch writer specializes in writing pictures for the video games to the publishers.
Narrative design: The narrative designer is a combined role of game design and writing, which creates the story and how it is communicated to the players and how the game mechanics will reinforce that story.
Scriptwriting: The scriptwriter focuses on the dialogue set by the characters and the voice-over artist. These are written in flow charts to illustrate the various dialogues, resulting from both decisions and indecision.
The game writers need to be very careful and clear about the genre of the game. The entire team should complement one another. If the team has an internal conflict, the project will suffer greatly. While writing for games, the basic rule is to write for the ear and not for the eye. Many sentences will look great on the paper, but that doesn't mean that those lines will perfectly suit the gameplay scene.
Conflicts in the game make the story more compelling and make the plot stronger. So, you want to handle this part very carefully. And you need to be very clear about the conflicts. Man versus self is a type of conflict where the hero is at war with his flaws, tensions, failures, or phobias. Man versus his past conflicts with the past and the hero is trying to escape the bad memories. Conflict can be anything, but as a writer, it is your job to make things equally simple and exciting.
Game writing is complicated as there are many variables to account for. While writing, the writer also needs to avoid creating stereotypical characters because nobody wants to play a predictable character. Also, the writers should not eliminate the innocent characters to give the player a reason to go on a quest. The game characters in the games are mostly traveling, but they travel to do something important and meaningful. The plot should focus on:
Every game story should have some sort of conflict.
After combining the conflicts and the stakes, we will have the main Hero who will encounter a form of danger.
As a result of the conflicts and mistakes, there will be tension in our story.
Be very clear about when this conflict will occur.
Game writers should be prepared to speak in gamer’s language and get familiar with the various structures game writing requires. Game writers are the part of the game development team and so that they need to collaborate with the other members properly. One cannot just jump into the game writing field without having any experience.
So Yes, Game writing is becoming popular among the content writers as it allows the writer to grow and experience the virtual world. It provides the game writers with great opportunities as the gaming industry is still in the boom. And a little bit of passion and hard work can take you to great heights. If you think it excites you, start working on it today. Now is the best time to make your mark.
Bhavik is a founder and CEO of Write Right, Estorytellers, Taletel, and Dad of Ad. Author of The Unproposed Guy, The Weak Point Dealer, Will You Walks A Mile and The C to T of Content Marketing.
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