10 reasons video games are the hardest thing to write

8/11/2019 10 Reasons Video Games Are the Hardest Thing to Write

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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


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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?


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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


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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.

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RTSGamesCDKeyhttp://www.gamescdkey.com/pcgames/rtsgame.html

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10 reasons video games are the hardest thing to write

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