The difference between video game writing and novel writing

I've been considering a (hopefully successful and critically acclaimed) career in writing and Manager-of-all-things-creative within interactive media. However, I'm unsure how what experience I have with conventional writing will translate. Many of my teachers back in my school years have gone out of the way to make my parents and I aware that they believe I'm a brilliant writer. However, I've become more interested in writing for interactive media than writing novels and short stories. (Though nonfiction is easier, so I'm maintaining it as an option.)

So to help my decision, I'm asking this question: What is the difference between video game writing and novel writing? Obvious answer is, "A lot. Duh, you IDIOT." What I'm asking in particular is what video games focus on when it comes to writing. I'm well aware of the exceptional status Planescape Torment enjoys, seeing as it's a Choose Your Own Adventure story with gameplay and pictures. Don't use it as an example.

The difference is that videogame writing is meant for videogames, and novel writing is meant for novels.

Okay, being completely serious, pacing and suspense in a videogame is going to be completely different than in a novel, which I discovered while writing a novel adaptation of Ocarina of Time. In the game, there's almost no tension story-wise, because you, the player, are actively involved in getting from one plot point to the next.

Take, for example, when Link returns to the Kokiri Forest to talk to Saria in the Lost Woods. In the game, you just go there. You don't notice there's no tension in the plot because you are playing the game, not watching the events unfold.

This is remarkably dull to write into a novel, however, so I had to create some tension by having him have to navigate the completely silent Lost Woods in the dead of night (in the game you are led by a melody but I dispensed of this), and be captured by the Skull Kids and nearly have his face cut off in a demented ritual.

To put it in technical terms, fictional plots are synchronous and game plots are asynchronous. When you write a book, you know that the reader will progress from chapter 1 to chapter 2, et linearly cetera. When you write for a game, you don't know the sequence the player will follow. The original RP Gs were dungeon crawls, because it's easy to control where players can go in a dungeon.

Extra Credits did an episode on this.

edited 11th May '11 3:26:52 PM by toalordsothe

[[supervillain]] Captain Obvious! My old nemesis! We Meet Again! Only this time, I will be the victor! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!! [[/supervillain]]

Okay, seriously, this is actually a pretty good way to put it - video games have a significantly different form of writing then novels. In fact, I would argue that video games, as interactive fiction, are the most unique of any form of fiction in their writing.

In terms of the original post, however, I'm not certain how much of a difference it makes. Skill at writing should be applicable to any form of writing, for any medium. The details and nature of writing can vary a lot, and it can be difficult if you have actual experience at novel writing and switch to writing for video games. However, I don't think there are any particular basic skills unique to one form but not the other.

I should note that this is more opinion then anything else, as I have never written for a video game in any way.

edited 11th May '11 5:11:46 PM by nrjxll

One difference is that, since each bit of writing in a video game has to stand on its own with no guaranteed context (that is, you don't know what bit of writing will come before or after; you can't write transitions), video game writing can feel very insular and, consequently if it's not done right, stilted.

Think of the classic text-adventure "You're standing at the end of a road. There's a house and a mailbox." It's hard to write a stand-alone description of a location that includes sufficient descriptions of every important object and exit and makes no reference to anything else.

Of course you're not writing text adventures, so the next question is what sort of writing you are referring to. Just in-game dialog, or were you thinking of other things?

One of the biggest differences to my mind is perspective.

In a novel, you can write as close to a character's heart as you like. Books are very much about the way characters feel. A game (or a movie) doesn't give you that level of narration, so you have to express that through body language and dialogue. Since you don't have the same capacity for emotional torque in a game (except for focal events), you have to fill the gaps between pivotal narrative moments with plot-relative gameplay.

Sometimes this is easy. A lot of books, for instance, gloss over the nitty gritty details of fight scenes because exact knowledge of how a battle unfolds isn't relevant. In a game, the same situation gives you license for one or more combat encounters.

Almost by necessity, games have to be more plot-based than character-based.

If you're incredible, you can still invoke a massive emotional reaction though. When Link leaves Kokiri forest and runs away when Saria intercepts him is a fantastic example. I guess you have to be more subtle in how you establish character relationships.

When writing a novel, you control everything the audience experiences, because they only know what your words tell them.

With video games, you have sound and art assets defining what the player sees and hears. You'll have to incorporate that into what you write. You'll also have to deal with the limitations of technology and deadlines; you can't have a cast of snowflakes if you only have six months to deliver your first milestone. You'll also experience severe meddling, not just in the realm of "We don't have the time to do this," but also unilateral alteration of your work without your knowledge or consent (I'm still sore about that one).

I think you should forget the idea. Working on games is a nightmare as any industry vet will tell you.

Videogaming is an interactive medium where the plot is driven by the player's actions (that's at least how it should be). In the novel everything is driven and set by the author.

Well for one thing the actual writing you'll be doing will be in a script, and, depending on how interactive the conversations are, you might have to get into creating conversation trees. Oh, and you might also get into in-story background text, like in books and stuff, but as far as I know that doesn't happen too much outside of western RPGs.

edited 12th May '11 2:12:41 PM by Dec

You mean that's not just a Bethesda Elder Scrolls thing?

edited 12th May '11 2:25:19 PM by annebeeche

What about the audience? Granted, gamers read books too, but I'd wager that there are conventions that would resonate with those versed in games and those that wouldn't.

Just look at Street Fighter. A flat-topped military man with two American flags tattooed to his biceps and throws blades of wind from his forearms goes to Brazil to fight (for some reason) a wild man who turned green from eating chlorophyll and radiates high voltage as a trick he learned from watching electric eels.

Suspension of disbelief will only go so far. In a video game, it's okay because that's what the game is about — getting to that next mission, or giving you the ability to act in unrealistic ways; explanations just bog it all down. With novels, you should probably give some rationale behind what's going on. Not to say that it has to be 100% realistic, but justification (and a little bit of sense) might go a long way.

^^ Nope. I've seen it in Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and World Of Warcraft myself, and I'm pretty sure I've heard of happening in other games as well. It seems to be a standard way to put in Worldbuilding Exposition without forcing people to read it if they don't want to.

If you're only considering a career in writing, it's not worth it. I can't remember who it was, but some author's advice on that was "Writing is a stressful job. Do not write if you want to be a writer, only write if you can't see yourself as anything else."

It's important to remember that some games create effects equivalent to writing without utilizing anything that would normally be called writing. As an example, I present a game that will never be called high art: Zombieland--Bonesnap Boulevard. No plot to speak of, but it's amazing how much characterization is conveyed just through the main character's facial expressions.

I have a question. If I wanted to pitch a new intellectual property to a publisher or developer, in what form would I do it? For Planescape: Torment, Chris Avellone wrote up a 47-page outline and "vision statement." Would I do something like that? Outline the IP in a document, or in a powerpoint presentation?

I...don't think that's a thing you just do. Video game companies have extremely little interest in new IP from unknown entities. Planescape: Torment was not only based on the Planescape AD&D setting, but Chris Avellone had already worked extensively with Interplay, most notably on Fallout 2.

Get a job as a staff writer first to become a known entity.

Argh. But that requires experience. I was hoping to bypass that whole phase through sheer brilliance.

Have you read Sloperama? That'll disabuse you of such notions. It's more focused towards designers than writers, but a lot of the same stuff applies.

For example

edited 6th Jun '11 4:37:14 PM by storyyeller

Don't we all.