10ReasonsVideoGamesAreThe

HardestThingToWrite
http://www.gamescdkey.com/news/10-reasons-video-games-are-the-
hardest-thing-to-write
Everyonehastheirfavouritequotes.Maybeitsalinefromanemotionallygrippingsceneinyour
favourite movie or that one joke from The Simpsons that could reduce you and your friends to
giggling morons weeks after you first heard it. Perhaps its something you read at school that
managedtocutthroughthetediumofrotelearningandstickwithyou,orthatonetimeywimey
speech.Whateverthesource,itprobablydoesnttakemorethanamomentsthoughtforyouto
remember your favourites and why you like them so much. Trying to remember your favourite
quotes from video games, though? Thats another matter. There are loads of memorable game
quotationsthesortthatyouseeplasteredacrossTshirtsstretchingbacktoOurPrincessisin
anothercastle!andbeyond,butwedontmakereferencetotheselinesbecausetheyrebrilliant
writing.Instead,weusethemasproofofourgamingcredentials;youplayedSuperMarioBrosand
ifsomeonerecognisesthequote,theyknowyoureoldschool.Otherwise,ifagamegetsquoted
itsusuallytopokefunatitmockingsomemangledtranslation,cheesydialogueorterriblevoice
acting.Allofwhichbegsthequestion:why,whenmodernvideogameshaveblockbusterbudgets
and professional actors as standard, do we still lack a shared culture of brilliant video game
dialogue?WhyaregamesaswittyandquotableasPortaltheexceptionratherthantherule?Most
peopleassumeitssecondratewritingthatstoblame,orthatthegameteamdidntreallycare
aboutthestory.Whileitstruethatdepressinglyfewgamewritershavepriorexperience,thereare
alsoabunchofuniquechallengesinvideogamenarrativethatevenveteranstorytellersstruggle
todealwith:
10.HoursOfChatter
Chatter,knownmoregenerallyasincidentaldialogue,isthestuffyouhearfromminorcharacters
asyourepeltingaroundLibertyCityorcheckingoutapassingAsariinMassEffect.Itsprettymuch
crucialinanygamewhereyoucanwanderaroundatyourleisure,becausetheressomethingreally
creepyaboutseeingdozensofpassersbytrompingalonginanoppressivesilence,butwriterslike
totakeadvantageofchattertohelpfleshoutthegameworld.Chattercanexpandonplotdetails
that are too complicated or unwieldy for a cinematic, bring some humour to the game and add
depthtominorcharacters.Unfortunately,dialoguelikethistendstobedreamtupwithoutafull
appreciationofeverythingthatcangowrongonceyoudropthesecharactersintothegame,and
justhowmuchadditionalworkitsgoingtointroduce.Canyouattackorkillthesecharacters?Ifso,
theyll not only need screams and pleas for mercy, youll also have to pen an alternative to the
witty banter youd scripted because one half of your comedy duo is currently trapped under a
Porsche.Didthegameintroducechoiceofgender?Everylinewithamalepronounnowneedsa
female equivalent. You cant say good evening if the game has variable times of day, and you
canttalkaboutaparticularlandmarkifthecharactercancropupanywhere.Oh,andyoullneed
atleastfivevariationsofeachlinesothattheplayerdoesnthearthesamedialogueoverandover.
As the writer,youll need to serve up hundreds of carefullyneuteredpieces of chatter,trying to
avoidrepetitionbutknowingyoucantrisksayinganythingspecific.Youllwritewaymorechatter
thananyothertypeofdialogue,butyoullbeproudofpracticallynoneofit.
9.WheredMyLevelGo?
Evenwhenyoureanintegralpartofthedevelopmentteam,youmightnotalwaysbearoundwhen
some of the hard choices get made. Decisions to cut additional modes, game features or even
entire levels are normally tense conversations between designers, producers and PMs, with
everyone trying to juggle the numbers to avoid having to wield the knife. If youre a dedicated
writer,chancesareyouwonthearthatapartofthegameisunderthreatuntilitsalreadygone.If
youveseenanyformofgamebibleordocumentation,youllprobablyhavetriedtomatchyour
storybeatstothesizeandstructureofthegameyoudontwantsixhourstopasswithnoplot
developments,afterall.Forawriter,theconsequencesofthesecutscanbedisastrous;letssay
level2wasamomentofintrospectioninthedesertwhereyourprotagonistmeetsagrufffather
figure;itstheirconversationthatconvinceshertojoinupwiththerebellion.Thatlevelnolonger
exists,buttheconversationstillneedstohappenatthatpointinthestory,soitllhavebecrammed
inatthestartoflevel3which,unfortunately,openswiththeprotagonistjumpingoutofaplane.
Youcanstickafilteroverthedialoguetomakeitsoundlikeitshappeningviaheadset,butyouve
losttheemotionalimpactofthescene.Alotofsuddencharactershifts,oddplotholesandrushed
exposition in games happens not because the writer doesnt know how to write, its because
chunksoftheirstoryaregettingrippedawayasaresultofthedevelopmentprocess.Scenesare
cutfromfilmandTVtoo,ofcourse,butthereyouhaveateamofeditorsandproducersworking
tosewthestoryswoundclosed.Ingames,thewritersoftenleftalonewithaneedleand,iftheyre
lucky,asticktobitedownon.
8.ConflictingDeadlines
If you wandered up to a films composer, handed them a copy of the script, and suggested that
they crack on because youd only hired the orchestra until the end of the week, youd almost
certainly leave the studio in intimate possession of a musical instrument. The idea that the film
would be scored using anything other than a damnnearfinal print would be considered
preposterous.Ingames,thesekindsofcrazydeadlinesarecommon,andtheyoftenhitwritersthe
hardest.Unlikefilms,gamescanlaunchsimultaneouslyinoveradozenlanguages,eachofwhich
needstobefirsttranslated,thenrecorded,theneditedandmixed.Itsasequenceofeventsthat
routinely takes months, and it requires the script to be finalised and locked down so that any
changedoesnthavetobehastilyreplicatedbyateamofpeoplewhomightwellhavemovedon
tothenextproject.Hittingadeadlinecanbetough,butthatsnottheproblemwithtryingtolock
downthescriptyoureprobablytryingtoclarifythedetailsofsomethingthatonlypartiallyexists.
If you need to write finalised instructions for how to drive a tank, and that tank hasnt been
designedyet,howcanyoupossiblyproceed?Onesolutionistousealotofaltsalternativetakes
thatswapoutthekeydetails,likewhichbuttonfiresthetankscannon,andmaybeagenericsafety
linethatworkswhateverthecircumstance.Altscosttimeandmoneytorecord,sowriterscanbe
forcedtofallbackongenericdialogueandvagueinstructionstheselinesareoftenclunkybutat
leasttheyrenotflatoutwrong.Sometimes,thatsascloseasyouregoingtoget.
7.ScriptStandards
Ifyouveevertriedyourhandatwritingascriptorascreenplay,youlllikelyhavebeenbothbaffled
and annoyed by all of the arbitrary rules you have to follow. Margins of particular widths,
capitalised words seemingly at random film, radio, stage and even different types of TV
programmeallhavetheirownuniqueformattingstandards.Therulesaresonumerousandfiddly
thatprofessionaltoolslikeFinalDraftrakeinthemoneyeachyear.Learningthatgameshaveno
unifiedscriptformatting,then,mightsoundlikegloriousfreedomfromthetyrannyoftheTABkey,
but its an anarchy thatllcome back tobite the writer sooner or later. For starters, some bright
spark (Im looking at you, programmers) might have decided itd be superefficient just to enter
dialoguedirectlyintothegameusingascriptingtoolorsomeXML,inwhichcasethereprobably
isntasimplewaytopullitallintooneprintabledocument.HavingbaggedSamuelL.Jacksonfor
yourgame,youdonotwanttobetheonepresentinghimwithamessofcoderiddleddialogueto
read,soyouregoingtobepickingoutthetagsbyhandthenightbeforetherecordingifyourenot
careful.Thatbeingthecase,youmighthavedecidedtokeepyourscriptinamoretraditionalstyle,
particularlyifyoureusedtoformattingtools,buteventhisisariskyapproach.Traditionalscripts
willbuckleundertheweightofallthechatter,altlines,notesandcontextthatneedstobegiven
andactorswontthankyoufordrowningtheminpaper,either.Asthewriter,yourbestbetisto
talktotherecordingstudioasearlyaspossibleandfindouthowtheyliketowork.Eitherway,you
canlookforwardtoalotoftediouscopypastingthatllmakeyoulongfortheclammyembraceof
FinalDraft.
6.SkippableCutscenes
Theres a special circle of hell reserved for people who skip or otherwise ignore a cutscene and
thencomplaintheydontunderstandwhatsgoingon.Unfortunately,writershappentoworkthere.
Ifyouretheplayer,evenifyoureenjoyingthestory,therearealotofreasonstowanttoskipa
cinematicoralengthyconversation.Itmightbethatyourereplayingthegameandtryingtoget
to a particular section, or perhaps you just lost some progress after a bad save. Either way, you
dontparticularlyrelishhavingtositthroughitallagain.Makingyourcinematicsskippablemaybe
asmartdesignchoice,then,butitalsoincursthewrathofthewriter.Thisisntnecessarilybecause
youredealingwithapretentiousdiva,althoughthatsentirelypossiblerather,iftheydknown
aheadoftimethatyoucouldskipthecinematic,asmartwriterwouldhaveplannedforthatand
writtensomedialoguetohelpkeepimpatientplayersontrack.Mostwritersarealltooawareof
thatpeculiarbreedofgamerwhoshardwiredtohammerbuttonsandignoreanythingthatisnt
gameplay,evenif(orperhapsbecause)theyreenjoyingthegame.Itsforthatreasonthatthefirst
lineofdialogueonceplayresumesisnormallyasummationofwhatyoujustsawthiscanfeela
bitclunky,butitsoneofthemanysituationsyouhavetoconsiderwhentryingtotellastoryina
mediumwheretheplayersusedtogoingattheirownspeed.
5.BranchingPlotlines,FailureAndDeath
RememberthatgreatmomentinAvengersAssemblewhereHulkrepeatedlysmashesLokiintothe
floorbeforedeclaringPunyGod!?Itgotabiglaughinthecinema,butiftheaudiencehadseen
thatsmackdowntwentytimesbecausethenextthingHulkhadtodowasjumpoveraparticularly
obnoxious lava pit, its doubtful thered have been anyone left around for the shawarma scene.
When a player has to repeatedly sit through the same dialogue, anything youve written
regardlessofhowimpactfuloramusingitwasthefirsttimeisgoingtoleaveasourtaste.Games
writersneedtobecontinuallymindfulofhowandwheretheirdialogueisbeingusedsothatthey
can shape it accordingly. Making sure to put jokes before checkpoints rather than after so that
theyre not heard ad nauseum, and writing short versions of lines that play if an areas visited
repeatedly, are tricks that help prevent the script from becoming obnoxious and arent things
that film and TV writers normally have to think about. On the other hand, if a game features
branchingplotlinesordialoguetrees,thewriterneedstobeincrediblyvigilanttomakesurethat
vitalinformationisseenatall.Writingbelievabledialogueinbranchinggamesistough,especially
if the players allowed to travel down a good or evil path. Youve normally got just one shot at
establishingacharacter,eventhoughtheycouldbetalkingtoalatterdaysaintoramassmurderer,
andyouvenowayofknowingwhich.Keepingtrackofallpossiblechoicestheplayercouldhave
made at that point, and sculpting characters attitudes so it feels like those choices actually
mattered,canbeafulltimejobinandofitself.
4.PacingAndLength
Theresanoldruleofthumbaboutworkingwithscriptsonepageequalsoneminuteofscreen
time.Itdoesntreallystanduptoscrutiny,butitssymbolicofaworldthathastriedandtested
rulesforhowlongyoullhavetotellyourstoryandwaystomakebestuseofthattime.Looktothe
gamingrulebookandyoullfindthepagesmostlyblank,oroccasionallywrittenintears.Itshard
topredicthowlongyourgamewilltaketocomplete;hugedifferencesinplaytimecananddooccur
because different players have differing levels of skill. As such, its almost impossible to try and
imposeaframeworkevenasimplethreeactstructureistrickytomapontoagame.Whydoes
this matter? Well, noone wants to write a story that drags on at a glacial pace or feels
unsatisfyingly rushed, of course, but gamers also have the annoying habit of wandering off at
random times to eat and sleep. As a TV writer, you can be fairly certain that your audience is
advancingthroughthestoryatroughlyanhourperweek.Ifitsamovie,youknowtheyrelikelyto
seethewholethinginasinglesitting.Thisletsyoucontrolyourpacing;bringingbackplotdevices
justwhentheyveslippedtheaudiencesmindforaneffectivesurpriseandspacingyourstoryarcs
evenlyacrossaseason.Aimingforasimilarlevelofcontrol,gameshaveexperimentedwiththeTV
modelartificiallychoppingtheirstoriesintochaptersandincludingrecapstohelpeasegamers
backintotheplot.Really,though,gamingsanewmediumanditneedstolivebyitsownrules.
Gamewritersaregettingbetteratpacing,mostlybytrialanderror,buttheyrealongwayfrom
fillingtherulebook.
3.StoryVSExposition
Wemay,finally,becomingtotheendofaDarkAgeinvideogamesthatperiodinhistorywhere
people tried to weave basic tutorial instructions into the plot. For a while it seemed that every
grizzledsoldierorupandcomingninjastartedthedaywiththeirsuperiorsputtingthemthrough
somesortofinitiationritualorcombatreadinesstrainingthatinvolvedwalking,pressingbuttons
andjumpingoverabunchofbarrels.Itsnotjustlaboriousgameplay,itsaterribleopeningtoa
story that youd promised was going to be an exciting actionadventure. Fortunately, game
designershavewiseduptothiswhilegamesstillhavetutorials,theytendtobetightlyguarded
rollercoasters(makingyourwaythroughanexplodingbaseorshipisafavourite)wheredialogue
isusedtosetuptheplotratherthanteachyouthebuttons.Itsstillexposition,butthenarrative
doesntgetboggeddownbyinstructions.Sadly,therestofthegamenormallydoesntgetoffso
easily.Partofwhatmakesgamedialoguesoclunkyandunconvincingisthatitsriddledwithallthe
expositionthatplaguesfilmandTV,butgamesneedtogoonestepfurthertheydontjusthave
totelltheaudiencewhatshappening,theyhavetotellthemwhatneedstohappennextandhow
togoaboutdoingit.ItsasifJackBauersmissionbriefingshadtobebothgrippingdramaANDa
foolproof method for the audience to assemble a set of shelves. Clever game design can give
playersthethrillofworkingoutsolutionswithoutexposition,justlikewegetathrillwhenahero
gets themselves out of trouble in a waywe werent expecting. It not only makes the player feel
smarter, it allows the writer to concentrate on the plot and not the instructions. Rest in peace,
tutorialbootcamp,youwontbemissed.
2.GettingStuckDerailsThePlot
Freeingtheplayerfromhandholdingandinstructionsisaboldapproach,butithasitsrisks.Players
mayfindcharactersconstantlysquawkingcluesintotheirearannoying,butitsnothingcompared
to the infuriation theyll feel if they get stuck, becausethats when all the badthings happen at
once.Inotherformsofmedia,thestorycontinueswithorwithouttheaudience.Itsnotcrucialfor
them to understand absolutely everything thats happening all of the time; theycan miss a hint
that reveals the bad guys identity or the exact reason someone wants whats in the briefcase
becausethereareotheraspectsofthestorytokeepthemengaged,evenifitsjustenjoyingthe
action,untiltheycatchuptotheplot.Games,bycontrast,cangrindtoahaltifsomethingsmissed.
If the players stuck because they didnt catch a door being unlocked, forgot about an obscure
inventoryitem,orjustfindthingstootoughtheyregoingtogetirritatedprettyquicklynowadays,
with a few notable exceptions, we expect games to let us win. Frustrated, the player will break
immersionwiththegameandstopcaringaboutyourstory.Iftheyquitplayingaltogether,itmight
beawhilebeforetheyreturntothegameandevenlongerbeforetheyrebackinthegrooveand
readytoreengagewiththeplot.Asthewriter,theresnotmuchyoucandootherthanpushfor
aningametranscriptofinstructionsanddialoguesomethingfortheplayertorefertoiftheydo
getstuck.Sometimes,youlljusthavetoacceptthatpeoplearentgoingtowanttohearyourstory
notwhentheyrebusyfallinginacidforthetwentiethtime.
1.SomePeopleJustDontCare
Itssad,buttrue.Therearethosepeoplewholongtolosethemselvesinthehistoriesofancient
fantasyworlds,andthosewhojustwanttopunchdragons.Youmayhavedoneyourbesttopen
what the publisher described as a thrilling interactive experience, but a good chunk of your
audiencewillholdtheperfectlylegitimateviewpointthattheyvesatdowntoplayagame,not
toreadabook.Itcanbeabitterpilltoswallowfairenough,noteveryonesgoingtolikewhat
youvewritten,butifyouwereworkinginfilmorTVyoucouldatleastassumeyouraudiencehad
a mild interest in your work and were willing to give you a chance to impress them. Write for a
gameandapercentageofyouraudiencestartsoutasactivelyhostiletowardsyoureffortstotella
story;youllhaveanuphillbattlejustconvincingthemtolisten.Peopleoftenmaketheargument
thatgamesdontneedstoriesatall,andthatthemosteffectiveonesaretoldwithoutwords.Yet
to be a successful game writer, to win over the player and craft a story that deepens their
connectiontothegame,asksfarmoreofyouthanturninginascript.Youllneedtofindawayto
workcloselywiththegameteamtohelpbuildworlds;everythingfromthehistoryofthelandscape
tothewayacharacterdressescanbetouchedbythewritertohelptellastoryusingmorethan
justdialogue.TimesarechangingnotableauthorslikeRhiannaPratchettaretalkingopenlyhow
to write games as games, and their efforts are slowly coming to be appreciated by teams and
playersalike.Dedicatedgamewritersworkingaspartofteamsare,finally,becomingtherulerather
thantheexception.Writingforgamesisstilldifficult,andyoullbeworkinginthedarkalot,butat
leastyouwontbeworkingalone.
PCGameCDKeys:
EAGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/publisher/ea.html
RPGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rpggame.html
ACTGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/actgame.html
FPSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/fpsgame.html
AdventureGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/avggame.html
RacingGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/racgame.html
SportGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/sptgame.html
FTGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/ftggame.html
RTSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rtsgame.html
SLGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/slggame.html