AGDC 2007: "We're The Real Writers."

[Russ Pitts]

AGDC 2007: "We're The Real Writers."

"There are a million excuses for not writing well," he said. "[But] there's nothing expensive about good writing compared to bad writing. There's no bottleneck. It's not like the PS3 has a better vocabulary."

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[John Funk]

You were almost a Russ Sandwich!




Well, are we talking about clunky plot, clunky dialogue, or both? Because either way, I agree with him.

 

[Narcogen]

Wow. I guess playwrights and scriptwriters ought to forget the hero's journey and three-act structure as well. After all, there have been far more other dramatic works that use this structure than there have been videogames.

I note the complete absence of any other valid suggestions for how to structure a narrative that is conducive to a videogame. Slice-of-life? A love triangle?

When there are enough *well done* hero journeys that you can honestly be tired of them, then give up. We're not there yet. Someone with that dim a view of game writing should be aware of that, too.

 

[LxDarko]

His views are very interesting. I don't agree that writers have to give up the Hero's Journey or 3 Act structure, but it would be nice if they were used differently every once in a while.

For example the Hero's Journey structure with respect to video games has almost always been used to tell the story a knight in shining armor. The guy who saves the world.

That same structure could be used to tell the story of a character that wants to completely destroy it but we are always the hero and worst is when the we play a would be villain that is no different than a hero.

I can't speak for others but I'm tired of saving the world, the princess, the holy relic, and the neighbor down street. I've been doing it since I was 4 years old and it's the reason for me why after 17 years of gaming games bore me and I now prefer movies and books.

I want to play the Revan that brought war to the Old Republic, the Dagoth Ur that made the gods of Morrowind fearful and despair, the Jack of Blades that brought death and destruction to Albion for no reason other than it's what best served his goals.

I'm tired of reading, watching, and playing the story of the heroes who defeat these characters. It is said that everyone has a story, so why can't we explore the story of the villain because right now writers seem to have the story of a hero down to a science.

 

[Alex Karls]

I can't say that I think we have the story of the hero down to a science. I do agree with Grossman in that we need better writing in video games, but at the same time I'm skeptical of his suggestions. One of the last books I read was his recently released novel, and it's of a level of quality that makes me question how useful his advice will be. Still, I like advice from all quarters, so what the hell!

LxDarko, how did you like the villainy offered through Revan in KOTOR? I thought it was somewhat hammy and poorly told myself. More useful for the fact that it was being done than the fact of what it actually was.