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Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 2: Design...
This is the second part in a multi-part series on branching conversation systems (crossposted at Gamasutra.com). See the Introduction for context. So you’ve decided that a branching conversation system...
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Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 3: Building a...
This is the third part in a multi-part series on branching conversation systems (crossposted at Gamasutra.com). See the Introduction for context. I’ll promise you one thing: It won’t get less exciting...
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Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 4: Key Principles
This is the fourth part in a multi-part series on branching conversation systems (crossposted at Gamasutra.com). See the Introduction for context. You have the tools. You know how to structure a...
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Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 5: Arts and Craft
This is the fifth part in a multi-part series on branching conversation systems (crossposted at Gamasutra.com). See the Introduction for context. Last time, we went over high-level principles you...
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Every Game Is Its Own Medium
In traditional media–films, television, novels, comics, etc.–a creator usually assumes a level of familiarity with his medium of choice on the part of the audience. As a filmmaker, you know your...
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Why It Worked: Saints Row IV and Living Exuberantly
A well-written comedy can get away with just about anything so long as it’s funny. Paper-thin plots, characters that vacillate between personalities, and a dearth of thematic meat are by no means a...
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Coming Up For Air
I haven’t been posting much lately. That will come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen the dates on my last several entries. The good news is, I haven’t been posting because I’ve been exceedingly busy....
View ArticleYes, You Have To Write a Game Plot Summary; and Yes, It Has To Be Good
Some days we discuss high-level theory. Some days we get our hands dirty with realities of the business. If you’re working on an overall story document for your team’s game and you’re not sure how to...
View ArticleOn a Lack of Originality in Science-Fiction and Fantasy Game Settings
Video games are frequently criticized for utilizing the same genres, tropes, and settings time and again. Space marines, Tolkien-derived medieval fantasy full of elves and dwarves, military...
View ArticleStar Wars Roundup
I try to keep these blog posts focused more on content than self-promotion, but I figure I’m allowed the occasional lapse on my own site… I’ve been doing a lot of writing for Star Wars projects...
View ArticleSix Metrics for Better Game Narrative
Understanding your audience will make your writing better. That’s not a statement that should need much explanation, but in brief: Storytelling is communication. It’s about reaching out to strangers...
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New York Comic Con (and Twilight Company preview)
Back to self-promotion for a spell. It’s been a busy few months and I haven’t had a lot of time to add new game writing articles, but I’ve got a few in various stages of completion. More soon, perhaps....
View ArticleCharacter Differentiation in a Cast of Thousands
I’ve totally neglected my game writing posts, of late–I’ve got a number of articles half-composed, with titles like “Writing for Failure” and “Complex Stories and Atomic Narrative Theory.”...
View ArticleThe Family Thing: Why Killing My Wife / Husband / Child / Dog Doesn’t...
We’ve seen it over and over again: Our wife dies in our arms, or our brother is brutally gunned down, or our mother is eaten by monsters. This tragedy provides the impetus for our journey into...
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Gameplay, Challenge, and Narrative Integration in Adventure Games
This post isn’t about adventure games. It only reads that way. For four decades, the adventure game genre has been practically synonymous with “story-driven” video games. In the early 1980s, Infocom...
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New Short Fiction, “Ten Confessions…” Now Available
Just a brief update: My latest short story, “Ten Confessions of Blue Mercury Addicts, by Anna Spencer” appears in the March / April issue of venerable British SF magazine Interzone. You can purchase...
View ArticleEmpathy and Responsibility in Writing
Generally speaking, I try to focus this blog on “how you might write” rather than “what you should be writing.” We’re about craft here, not art–not because one is more important than the other, but...
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“Story Engines” and Content Development
How do you deliver narrative to a player in a content-rich, nonlinear game? This is neither a purely mechanical question (“non-player characters scattered through the open world will offer quests,...
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In Defense of Didacticism
While watching reports and live-tweets come in from the recent East Coast Games Conference, I was intrigued to see a number of speakers independently touch on the same point. Warren Spector advised,...
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Comicpalooza Houston (and Twilight Company in Paperback)
Just a brief update this time around–life and work have been busy, and while I’ve got a few new game writing articles in various stages of production it may be a while before I have a chance to polish...
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