I think game developers, both in tabletop and in videogames, don’t necessarily need to be good writers, but they do have to be good storytellers. At the very least, an emphasis on storytelling creates a common language. Developers need to understand how a story comes together, and how to work in partnership with the writer, to craft something cohesive and meaningful.
by Monica Valentinelli
When you produce a game, you’re creating the interactive means for players to share a common experience that is often shaped by a story or narrative. The point, or goal, of that interaction will vary by the type of game. In games set in an expansive world like Star Wars, the Forgotten Realms, or Dragon Age, the goals will be present on a macro and micro level. Those goals drive the game design and shape how writers will intersect with the game’s text.
A designer must consider far more boring details than a writer. Game writing is all about the big ideas in a game and how they fit together. That requires detail to ensure everything meshes, but a world or character can tap into a gamer’s imagination to fill in the details.
by Monica Valentinelli
Though there are commonalities that game writers share in their work, there are a lot of routes they can take in order to work in the industry. This column will shed a light on some of those aspects to show what it is game writers do in these varied forms.
Is book publicity necessary? In my mind: yes. Do you need a publicist? It depends! I’ve long felt that authors are small business owners; what publicity means to an author is going to vary widely depending upon the resources available.
Marketing is, and has been, a hot topic for authors these past few years. This two-part article seeks to remove the mysticism from the subject so you can make better decisions about your career.
So let’s get back to that whole laughing at work-for-hire authors or trashing popular books or not understanding what a saleable novel is.
Self-publishing is not the only ticket to winning the proverbial lottery. In some ways, I feel the accessibility of authors online coupled with the availability of publishing news hurts the craft because it’s taking the emphasis off the words on the page.
Are Facebook, Twitter and IM having any effect on the quality or volume of my work? These questions, coupled with a very long list of goals I wanted to accomplish, plagued me like a broken plot.
Writers and marketing. In this digital age, the two words are becoming synonymous, but to what end? Having been on both sides of the fence, this is a difficult post for me to write. This isn’t the sort of thing I care to admit or highlight to people, because writers are a unique breed.
“Time travel, politics, Nazis, communists, drug runners, and the Imperial Japanese. I really like the concept of the novel.”
— David Weber, New York Times bestselling author of the Honor Harrington series
“Ring of Time,” “The DeathCats of Asa’ican and Other Tales of a Space-Vet,” and “Wreaths of Empire” are Andrew M. Seddon’s latest science fiction novels all published by Splashdown Books. He’s currently working on a series of ghost stories.
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