10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
-
Upload
gamescdkeycom -
Category
Documents
-
view
233 -
download
0
Transcript of 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
1/12
10 Reasons Video Games Are The
Hardest Thing To Write
http://www.gamescdkey.com/news/10-reasons-video-games-are-the-
hardest-thing-to-write
Everyonehastheirfavouritequotes.Maybeitsalinefromanemotionallygrippingsceneinyour
favouritemovie
or
that
one
joke
from
The
Simpsons
that
could
reduce
you
and
your
friends
to
gigglingmoronsweeksafter you firstheard it.Perhaps its something you readat school that
managedtocutthroughthetediumofrotelearningandstickwithyou,orthatonetimeywimey
speech.Whateverthesource,itprobablydoesnttakemorethanamomentsthoughtforyouto
rememberyour favouritesandwhyyou like themsomuch.Tryingtorememberyour favourite
quotes fromvideogames,though?Thatsanothermatter.Thereare loadsofmemorablegame
quotationsthesortthatyouseeplasteredacrossTshirtsstretchingbacktoOurPrincessisin
anothercastle!andbeyond,butwedontmakereferencetotheselinesbecausetheyrebrilliant
writing.Instead,weusethemasproofofourgamingcredentials;youplayedSuperMarioBrosand
ifsomeone
recognises
the
quote,
they
know
youre
old
school.
Otherwise,
ifagame
gets
quoted
itsusuallytopokefunatitmockingsomemangledtranslation,cheesydialogueorterriblevoice
acting.Allofwhichbegsthequestion:why,whenmodernvideogameshaveblockbusterbudgets
and professional actors as standard, dowe still lack a shared culture of brilliant video game
dialogue?WhyaregamesaswittyandquotableasPortaltheexceptionratherthantherule?Most
peopleassumeitssecondratewritingthatstoblame,orthatthegameteamdidntreallycare
aboutthestory.Whileitstruethatdepressinglyfewgamewritershavepriorexperience,thereare
alsoabunchofuniquechallengesinvideogamenarrativethatevenveteranstorytellersstruggle
todealwith:
10. Hours Of Chatter
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
2/12
Chatter,knownmoregenerallyasincidentaldialogue,isthestuffyouhearfromminorcharacters
asyourepeltingaroundLibertyCityorcheckingoutapassingAsariinMassEffect.Itsprettymuch
crucialinanygamewhereyoucanwanderaroundatyourleisure,becausetheressomethingreally
creepyaboutseeingdozensofpassersbytrompingalonginanoppressivesilence,butwriterslike
totakeadvantageofchattertohelpfleshoutthegameworld.Chattercanexpandonplotdetails
thataretoocomplicatedorunwieldyforacinematic,bringsomehumourtothegameandadd
depthtominorcharacters.Unfortunately,dialoguelikethistendstobedreamtupwithoutafull
appreciationofeverythingthatcangowrongonceyoudropthesecharactersintothegame,and
justhowmuchadditionalworkitsgoingtointroduce.Canyouattackorkillthesecharacters?Ifso,
theyllnotonlyneedscreamsandpleasformercy,youllalsohavetopenanalternativetothe
wittybanteryoudscriptedbecauseonehalfofyourcomedyduo iscurrently trappedundera
Porsche.Didthegameintroducechoiceofgender?Everylinewithamalepronounnowneedsa
femaleequivalent.Youcantsaygoodevening ifthegamehasvariabletimesofday,andyou
canttalkaboutaparticularlandmarkifthecharactercancropupanywhere.Oh,andyoullneed
atleastfivevariationsofeachlinesothattheplayerdoesnthearthesamedialogueoverandover.
Asthewriter,youllneedtoserveuphundredsofcarefullyneuteredpiecesofchatter,tryingto
avoidrepetitionbutknowingyoucantrisksayinganythingspecific.Youllwritewaymorechatter
thananyothertypeofdialogue,butyoullbeproudofpracticallynoneofit.
9. Whered My Level Go?
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
3/12
Evenwhenyoureanintegralpartofthedevelopmentteam,youmightnotalwaysbearoundwhen
someof thehardchoicesgetmade.Decisions tocutadditionalmodes,game featuresoreven
entire levels are normally tense conversations between designers, producers and PMs, with
everyonetryingtojugglethenumberstoavoidhavingtowieldtheknife. Ifyoureadedicated
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 gameshappensnotbecause thewriterdoesnt knowhow towrite, itsbecause
chunksoftheirstoryaregettingrippedawayasaresultofthedevelopmentprocess.Scenesare
cutfromfilmandTVtoo,ofcourse,butthereyouhaveateamofeditorsandproducersworking
tosewthestoryswoundclosed.Ingames,thewritersoftenleftalonewithaneedleand,iftheyre
lucky,astick
to
bite
down
on.
8. Conflicting Deadlines
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
4/12
Ifyouwandereduptoafilmscomposer,handedthemacopyofthescript,andsuggestedthat
they crackonbecause youdonlyhired theorchestrauntil theendof theweek, youdalmost
certainly leavethestudio in intimatepossessionofamusical instrument.The ideathatthefilm
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 takesmonths,and it requires the script tobe finalisedand lockeddown so thatany
changedoesnthavetobehastilyreplicatedbyateamofpeoplewhomightwellhavemovedon
tothenextproject.Hittingadeadlinecanbetough,butthatsnottheproblemwithtryingtolock
downthescriptyoureprobablytryingtoclarifythedetailsofsomethingthatonlypartiallyexists.
If youneed towrite finalised instructions forhow to drive a tank, and that tank hasntbeen
designedyet,howcanyoupossiblyproceed?Onesolutionistousealotofaltsalternativetakes
thatswapoutthekeydetails,likewhichbuttonfiresthetankscannon,andmaybeagenericsafety
linethatworkswhateverthecircumstance.Altscosttimeandmoneytorecord,sowriterscanbe
forcedtofallbackongenericdialogueandvagueinstructionstheselinesareoftenclunkybutat
leasttheyrenotflatoutwrong.Sometimes,thatsascloseasyouregoingtoget.
7. Script Standards
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
5/12
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 itsananarchythatllcomebacktobitethewritersooneror later.Forstarters,somebright
spark(Im lookingatyou,programmers)mighthavedecided itdbesuperefficientjusttoenter
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. Skippable Cutscenes
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
6/12
Theresaspecialcircleofhellreservedforpeoplewhoskiporotherwise ignoreacutsceneand
thencomplaintheydontunderstandwhatsgoingon.Unfortunately,writershappentoworkthere.
Ifyouretheplayer,evenifyoureenjoyingthestory,therearealotofreasonstowanttoskipa
cinematicoralengthyconversation.Itmightbethatyourereplayingthegameandtryingtoget
toaparticularsection,orperhapsyoujust lostsomeprogressafterabadsave.Eitherway,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. Branching Plotlines Failure And Death
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
7/12
RememberthatgreatmomentinAvengersAssemblewhereHulkrepeatedlysmashesLokiintothe
floorbeforedeclaringPunyGod!?Itgotabiglaughinthecinema,butiftheaudiencehadseen
thatsmackdowntwentytimesbecausethenextthingHulkhadtodowasjumpoveraparticularly
obnoxious lavapit, itsdoubtfultheredhavebeenanyone leftaroundfortheshawarmascene.
When a player has to repeatedly sit through the same dialogue, anything youve written
regardlessofhowimpactfuloramusingitwasthefirsttimeisgoingtoleaveasourtaste.Games
writersneedtobecontinuallymindfulofhowandwheretheirdialogueisbeingusedsothatthey
canshape itaccordingly.Makingsuretoputjokesbeforecheckpointsratherthanaftersothat
theyrenotheardadnauseum,andwriting shortversionsof lines thatplay ifanareasvisited
repeatedly,aretricksthathelppreventthescriptfrombecomingobnoxiousandarentthings
that film andTVwritersnormallyhave to thinkabout.On theotherhand, if agame features
branchingplotlinesordialoguetrees,thewriterneedstobeincrediblyvigilanttomakesurethat
vitalinformationisseenatall.Writingbelievabledialogueinbranchinggamesistough,especially
iftheplayersallowedtotraveldownagoodorevilpath.Youvenormallygotjustoneshotat
establishingacharacter,eventhoughtheycouldbetalkingtoalatterdaysaintoramassmurderer,
andyouvenowayofknowingwhich.Keepingtrackofallpossiblechoicestheplayercouldhave
made at that point, and sculpting characters attitudes so it feels like those choices actually
mattered,canbeafulltimejobinandofitself.
4. Pacing And Length
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
8/12
Theresanoldruleofthumbaboutworkingwithscriptsonepageequalsoneminuteofscreen
time.Itdoesntreallystanduptoscrutiny,butitssymbolicofaworldthathastriedandtested
rulesforhowlongyoullhavetotellyourstoryandwaystomakebestuseofthattime.Looktothe
gamingrulebookandyoullfindthepagesmostlyblank,oroccasionallywrittenintears.Itshard
topredicthowlongyourgamewilltaketocomplete;hugedifferencesinplaytimecananddooccur
becausedifferentplayershavediffering levelsofskill.Assuch, itsalmost impossibletotryand
imposeaframeworkevenasimplethreeactstructureistrickytomapontoagame.Whydoes
this matter? Well, noone wants to write a story that drags on at a glacial pace or feels
unsatisfyingly rushed,of course,butgamersalsohave theannoyinghabitofwanderingoffat
random times toeatand sleep.AsaTVwriter,youcanbe fairly certain thatyouraudience is
advancingthroughthestoryatroughlyanhourperweek.Ifitsamovie,youknowtheyrelikelyto
seethewholethinginasinglesitting.Thisletsyoucontrolyourpacing;bringingbackplotdevices
justwhentheyveslippedtheaudiencesmindforaneffectivesurpriseandspacingyourstoryarcs
evenlyacrossaseason.Aimingforasimilarlevelofcontrol,gameshaveexperimentedwiththeTV
modelartificiallychoppingtheirstoriesintochaptersandincludingrecapstohelpeasegamers
back intotheplot.Really,though,gamingsanewmediumanditneedstolivebyitsownrules.
Gamewritersaregettingbetteratpacing,mostlybytrialanderror,buttheyrealongwayfrom
fillingtherulebook.
3. Story VS Exposition
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
9/12
Wemay,finally,becomingtotheendofaDarkAgeinvideogamesthatperiodinhistorywhere
peopletriedtoweavebasictutorial instructions intotheplot.Forawhile itseemedthatevery
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
foolproofmethod for theaudience toassembleasetof shelves.Clevergamedesigncangive
playersthethrillofworkingoutsolutionswithoutexposition,justlikewegetathrillwhenahero
getsthemselvesoutoftrouble inawaywewerentexpecting.Itnotonlymakestheplayerfeel
smarter, itallowsthewritertoconcentrateontheplotandnotthe instructions.Rest inpeace,
tutorialboot
camp,
you
wont
be
missed.
2. Getting Stuck Derails The Plot
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
10/12
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
11/12
Itssad,buttrue.Therearethosepeoplewholongtolosethemselvesinthehistoriesofancient
fantasyworlds,andthosewhojustwanttopunchdragons.Youmayhavedoneyourbesttopen
what thepublisherdescribedasa thrilling interactiveexperience,but agood chunkof your
audiencewillholdtheperfectlylegitimateviewpointthattheyvesatdowntoplayagame,not
toreadabook.Itcanbeabitterpilltoswallowfairenough,noteveryonesgoingtolikewhat
youvewritten,butifyouwereworkinginfilmorTVyoucouldatleastassumeyouraudiencehad
amild interest inyourworkandwerewillingtogiveyouachanceto impressthem.Writefora
gameandapercentageofyouraudiencestartsoutasactivelyhostiletowardsyoureffortstotella
story;youllhaveanuphillbattlejustconvincingthemtolisten.Peopleoftenmaketheargument
thatgamesdontneedstoriesatall,andthatthemosteffectiveonesaretoldwithoutwords.Yet
to be a successful game writer, towin over the player and craft a story that deepens their
connectiontothegame,asksfarmoreofyouthanturninginascript.Youllneedtofindawayto
workcloselywiththegameteamtohelpbuildworlds;everythingfromthehistoryofthelandscape
tothewayacharacterdressescanbetouchedbythewritertohelptellastoryusingmorethan
justdialogue.TimesarechangingnotableauthorslikeRhiannaPratchettaretalkingopenlyhow
towritegamesasgames,and theireffortsareslowlycoming tobeappreciatedby teamsand
playersalike.Dedicatedgamewritersworkingaspartofteamsare,finally,becomingtherulerather
thantheexception.Writingforgamesisstilldifficult,andyoullbeworkinginthedarkalot,butat
leastyou
wont
be
working
alone.
PC Game CD Keys:
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
RacingGames
CD
Key
http://www.gamescdkey.com/pc
games/rac
game.html
SportGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/sptgame.html
-
8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write
12/12
FTGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/ftggame.html
RTSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rtsgame.html
SLGGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/slggame.html