…and does that drool mean she’s catatonic or passionate?
The Writer’s Role and the Job of Creating a Narrative in Game Writing
It’s a common perception that fiction writers make up story, character and write dialogue.
While this is true, it’s important for the project team to understand the writer is in charge of maintaining the integrity of the overall vision.
The creative director, developer, video game publishing execs may form the vision, but regardless the writer’s primary job is to maintain the integrity of whatever the agreed upon premise is.
All narratives (movies, novels, graphic novels and video games) encompass this framework:
Theme, story/plot, subtext.
The framework is always present it’s the execution that makes it degrees of excellent or awful.
The framework is always present regardless if the story is in one, two or multiple parts, and regardless if it is linear (told in order) or non-linear or branching (Pulp Fiction for example).
- Once the premise is agreed upon the writer begins to piece the narrative framework together. This is pulled together from a number of widely varying sources of research and ideas.
- It is common for new and unconsidered subtext to develop within the story. Finding ways to play off these allows for a richer narrative.
- Character dynamics, the way they interact, what they say, how they say it,what they don’t say develops each character,fills in themes, back story and reflects sub text.
Some characters can help drive the story as well as provide the additional flavour of theme and subtext.
Other characters may just hold one or two functions within the narrative.
Creating complex characters requires the writer to have research and observation skills and a finely-tuned sense of empathy.
- Once the framework is in place the writer always has to check every additional idea, alteration, shift and deletion against the narrative framework.
To apply any suggested changes from anyone the writer must cross check against every element in the framework to ensure nothing breaks when the change is made.
Writers are generally very skilled at finding compromises to allow the desired changes while maintaining the framework.
Changes, additions, shifts and deletions will fracture the story if the writer is not first allowed to do their cross check.
Sometimes seemingly small changes can fracture the story. Alternately sometimes large changes, swapping scene/event order for example may not do damage to the story at all.
In my experience in video game writing, it’s a very common pitfall that when the writer does not accept a person’s idea/change without edits or compromises project members can misunderstand this as being a personal slight to their idea.
It’s important to understand that it is not a personal slight, or rejection of the person’s creative input. The writer’s paramount job is to maintain the integrity of the story.
Therefore the writer should always take the ideas into account and offer alternate solutions in order to avoid these misunderstandings. Team members should try and appreciate that they may not see what the writer is seeing and trust the writer’s proven skill set.
I hope this helps anyone interested in the details of what a writer does.
Filed under: Film, Games, Observation
