Do We Need Game Writers?
The short answer is, “yes.” It depends on what kind of game you’re making, really, but since I talk about traditional MMORPGs on this blog (EverQuest, World of Warcraft, etc.), I can’t think of a case in which having a great writer would be optional — whether that writer is also a game designer or is specifically a writer. The point of this post is to link to two articles: the first asserting that we don’t need game writers, and the second proving that the first article is completely wrong. Case in point: Portal was elevated from being a very good game to one of the best games of all time due to its story.
If you hadn’t mentioned Portal, I would have.
Expecting great programmers or great game designers to also be great writers is stretching things.
I would call random attention to the credentials of the designer who said this — Auto Assault? We’re taking advice from Auto Assault now? Didn’t that game, uh, fail miserably?
All I get from his point is that a stupid writer is not a good add to a team. This does not rule out “good writers”, which are a great add to a game design team. I can see how he might want to avoid stupid ones, though. I’m also not surprised that a game designer (who also writes) thinks that the world needs more game designers (who also write). Or at least more jobs for them.
I’ve always considered designers and writers to be one and the same when it comes to MMOs. I’ve never imagined designers as people who just create what they’re told to create, but have talked to a few during beta phases that take pleasure in writing and then designing their own stories into the game itself.
The rebuttal did a good job of making the case for writers. Writers are creative individuals with a great handle on language, idiom, nuance, character, dialogue, pacing, and story. Their palette of skills is no less important than that of the artists, programmers, or sound technicians.
Now, depending on the size of the design shop and the budget, yes, one individual may have to wear multiple hats, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of the role.
One key element from both articles that is often missed:
The writer needs to know his medium.
When I take a story I wrote in text and try to put it to comic book, I often have to change story elements to play to the medium’s strengths. If I were to try to make a screenplay from it, I’d again have to rewrite entire events- often making the story unfold quite differently- to make the best use of the medium I’m dealing with. These changes can be substantial.
A good book writer won’t be a successful game writer unless he understands the medium and writes to its strengths. Once he does, he’ll pick up much the same jargon that a game designer does. He may even start slipping into game design roles… exploring the impact of a game mechanic has on the flow of the epic (even a “good” game mechanic poorly placed can work against the overall effect). Of course, at some point some people just start lumping these people into “game design” because… well, writers don’t do that sort of stuff, right?
That’s not right, either. I could read a programming language long before I could fluently write in it. Similarly, I can understand the impact of different game mechanics on a story before I could comfortably come up with new creative game mechanics myself.
Yes, absolutely! There will always be the game ideas that come out of nothing, or even are socially driven - but there will always be a need for game writer masterminds who make wonderful games like Portal.
Yep. The original argument seemed to be based on taking some random writer who doesn’t play video games and trying to get a good game out of them. That would be stupid.
For example, R.A. Salvatore is a great fantasy novel writer. Can he write well for games? Yes… Why? He’s a hardcore MMO player with multiple max level characters in games like WoW, EQ, and others, and he’s been learning more and more about game design.
Would I expect Michael Moorcock to be good at writing for games? No… Why? Because I don’t think he plays video games.
A game writer is as different from a movie writer as a game artist is from a canvas artist. Many of the same things apply, but you can’t expect one to do well in the other field.
Agreed that writers are needed. It’s pretty ironic to hear that coming from someone that worked on Auto Assault, a game that could have greatly benefited from some good writing and a strong storyline to tie everything together, rather than the half-empty sandbox full of bland missions we ended up with.
How many times have you thought, “this game would have sucked if not for the story”? Conversely, how many times have you thought “this game would have been awesome if only it didn’t have a story”?
I agree with Adam Maxwell — to a degree. I think he just tripped over himself. I posted my translation of what he was saying at http://writerscabal.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/good-writers-make-better-game-designers/ — maybe you agree?
[...] role of writers in the entertainment software industry. Ron Toland offers a rebuttal. Ryan Shwayder comments, followed by Steve Danuser and Aaron Miller. I don’t have a lot to say on the subject except [...]