Yes, video game writing.
I am always looking for alternate ways to tell a story, and I’ve recently become interested in video game writing and interactive fiction. I love reading books, comics, and graphic novels, but I have never played too many video games.
However, I’ve seen enough people play video games to have developed an appreciation for the stories and the dialogue in video games. And I wanted to learn more. Recently, I happened upon a fantastic book by CRC Press for video game writing that I’d like to share with you.
Dramatic Storytelling & Narrative Design: A Writer’s Guide to Video Games and Transmedia, by Ross Berger.
This was a great book and has really set the bar for me on video game writing and why it’s important.
Several key points from this book are:
- Narrative design versus video game writing
- Story structure diagram
- Character and world surveys
- Branching conversation tree
- Definitions of story beats and dramatic devices
I really enjoyed this book because it provided me with a whole new set of skills when writing characters and constructing a robust storyline. I would argue that regardless of the medium the audience wants a great story. To tell that story well, this book goes into a lot of detail with regard to the story beats (Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3) that are outlined below.
Act 1
Inciting incident
Introduction to the protagonist’s purpose
Refuse the Call
Situation Worsens
Accept the Call
Point of No Return
Act 2
Adjustment to New World
Escalating Burdens
Exposure to Weakness
Loss of Trust
Mid-/Low-Point
In the Belly of Jonah’s Whale
Act 3
Redemption
Escalating Burdens
Climax
Reversal
Recognition
Resolution
Denouement
ProsePlanner’s Book Review Rating: Four stars! This book provided a tremendous amount of detail in the craft of video game writing (and narrative design), which I believe is applicable to writing a novel. I hope that this blog post has been interesting and that you’ll take a look at the book. Please let a comment below if you liked it.
