While driving to work, I heard on NPR that the Writer’s Guild Awards will include a category for Video Game Writing (Script or Story). The spokesman said that the story will drive a lot of video game sales with the current consoles now fighting for titles rather than performance. Those that include a good story will probably sell much better.
The award is a landmark to draw more attention to Video Game writers. Writing in video games brings the graphics and the action into context, whether fictional or attempting to simulate reality.
Related article:
http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/feature-video-game-writers-seek-recognition/71369/?biz=1
4 comments:
This relates somewhat to my post yesterday - good writing will always sell and be important. There will always be a competitive advantage to the person that can weave a good story rather than fill a half hour slot cheaply with reality rubbish.
I also agree with the comment about some excellent writing in video games - just look at Bioshock - that could easily be the basis for an awesome movie.
I think thats a very valid point. There are more and more movies coming out that are based on video games. Primary reason must be story driven, since you cannot control the characters. Unfotunately they are usually rewritten by hollywood writers thus I sympathize with video game writers who see their work butchered into hollywood non-sense.
It's going to be interesting to see how much weight is given to games with voice over scripts. Some games, one that comes to mind is Twilight Princess, have great stories, but not a single word is actually spoken.
In the segmentation we are doing for the gamer matching algorithm, we have found that story is not as important a consideration to some as it is to others. The more competitive online gamers want to continue the action without interruption, whereas more casual console gamers like the story elements for its immersive and directional aspects. Will more professional writing and better storylines compel mainstream gamers to buy more games? Its a good focus for the publishers as getting that group of gamers to buy one more game could have a significant impact on overall sales.
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