This practical guide is ideal for anyone interested in learning how to write scripts and stories for video games, particularly movie writers and fiction authors. It is also intended to instruct current video game writers and designers about how to be more effective in collaborating with the developers, programmers, level designers, designers, musicians, concept artists, producers, and directors. It details how important writing a good story is, and provides practical information about designing storylines, creating characters, and writing dialogue. The book offers field-tested techniques for organizing data, formatting documents, and presenting information. It outlines a framework for guiding the creative process, and features spreadsheets, checklists, document templates, and dozens of examples of game scripts. In addition, it teaches the nuts-and-bolts facts about the process of writing a game, along with details on the day-to-day work of a writer, from concept to ship date. Each chapter is accompanied by from-the-trenches interviews with experienced game writers and designers.

Good solid advice and examples

Most of the books that I have bought on game development have been in the areas of programming and design. Even though it isn’t my focus, I enjoyed this book.

A how-to book that actually works

I’m wary of how-to-write books in general, because few that I’ve read have borne any resemblance to my own experience in the fiction industry, and tend to be in the business of selling dreams rather than equipping someone with the skills for a job. But this book is an exception. It really does tell you what you need to know, from the big conceptual picture right down to the nuts and bolts of laying out documents. If you’re already a writer in another medium, this handbook is exactly what you need to know to make the transition to games. I’m a novelist who was asked to write for a game and so I needed to get up to speed fast - and this book did it in spades. It would have been worth the price for the explanation of the jargon alone. It’s also reassuring to see detailed interviews with people you actually know in the industry. I’d recommend this book to any professional writer wanting to expand their skill set.