Good writing

[Mr.Squishy]

I'm going to cut to the chase. I hear a lot about good and bad writing in games these days, however I usually don't play games of this gen (poor me - literally). However, being both a gamer and a writer, I often wonder "now what would be good writing here? Or bad writing there? How and why?" So, I took it upon myself to ask: what makes the writing in a game good (or bad)? Don't be afraid to give some examples either, I would love to see what the escapist can manage in the writing department.
I'd start by giving an example, but I've got a horrible case of writer's block at the moment ._.
Edit: The irony..I intended the opening post to be short and concise with no fumbling...whatever, I'm too lazy to change it

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I think that sometimes games are not edited down enough so that a lot of the dialogue ends up being awkward or rambling on too much. I won't give any examples because I wouldn't want to offend all of the Mass Effect fans who are all over this forum. Maybe also with dialogue some game writers are not able to get the most out of voice actors so their words end up coming across wrong.

Vampire Bloodlines is normally given as a good example of game writing.

Brian Mitsoda had this to say.

RPS: Do you feel that good writing in games gets overlooked, while bad writing gets trashed?

Mitsoda: I feel like bad writing is tolerated, while mediocre writing gets spooned. I don?t think good games necessarily need good writing, but I would really enjoy it if games that sell their story first and foremost did a better job of delivering. Certain studios and writers, I think, get a pass (and work) no matter what they turn out, while a few veterans (like Tim Schafer) continue to turn out excellent work. I think if critics are going to focus on a game?s writing, they should analyze not only the marriage of the narrative to the gameplay, but set some higher standards for what they expect from characters, plot, and dialogue.

A good scene, a good line, and/or a decent character do not make a game?s story great. Bad writing is bad writing ? it might not matter if the game is fun, but don?t score the story higher because the game mechanics were tight or the setting was novel. Ultimately, the writing really isn?t that key to a fantastic game, but for those that do make it a crucial part of their game and hype it as such, those are the games the gaming press should be a lot more critical of. And for those that identify themselves as game writers, critics and fans should absolutely hold feet to flames ad infinitum, myself included.

 

[Irridium]

The Mass Effect series has some good writing. But there are a few problems I have with it. Mainly the fact that I'm forced to work with Cerberus in ME2.

Spoiler

My character has the "Sole Survivor" background, where he survived an attack from Thresher Maws and was one of the very few to survive. In Mass Effect through a side mission you find out that Cerberus is behind it. And yet, in Mass Effect 2, you can't even ask about it. I would assume that if you found the man in charge of the organization that released Thresher Maws on a human colony which decimated his unit and possibly caused him to be the way he is would want some damn answers.

Not to mention the fact that there seems to be no answer as to why a pro-human orginization would release Thresher Maws on a human colony and take survivors and experiment on them. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

The Mass Effect series has some good writing. But there are a few problems I have with it. Mainly the fact that I'm forced to work with Cerberus in ME2.

Spoiler

My character has the "Sole Survivor" background, where he survived an attack from Thresher Maws and was one of the very few to survive. In Mass Effect through a side mission you find out that Cerberus is behind it. And yet, in Mass Effect 2, you can't even ask about it. I would assume that if you found the man in charge of the organization that released Thresher Maws on a human colony which decimated his unit and possibly caused him to be the way he is would want some damn answers.

Not to mention the fact that there seems to be no answer as to why a pro-human orginization would release Thresher Maws on a human colony and take survivors and experiment on them. It just doesn't make sense.

Seeing as I haven't played Mass Effect 1 or 2, would you please care to tell me what made the writing in the game good, or at least what you found to be the best parts of it? =)

 

[The DSM]

Good is new raises questions and you want to find out about it e.g Bioshock.

Bad is unoriginal, boring, badly writen plot e.g Tranformers 2, its not a game, I just wanted to say its bad.

 

[Irridium]

The Mass Effect series has some good writing. But there are a few problems I have with it. Mainly the fact that I'm forced to work with Cerberus in ME2.

Spoiler

My character has the "Sole Survivor" background, where he survived an attack from Thresher Maws and was one of the very few to survive. In Mass Effect through a side mission you find out that Cerberus is behind it. And yet, in Mass Effect 2, you can't even ask about it. I would assume that if you found the man in charge of the organization that released Thresher Maws on a human colony which decimated his unit and possibly caused him to be the way he is would want some damn answers.

Not to mention the fact that there seems to be no answer as to why a pro-human orginization would release Thresher Maws on a human colony and take survivors and experiment on them. It just doesn't make sense.

Seeing as I haven't played Mass Effect 1 or 2, would you please care to tell me what made the writing in the game good, or at least what you found to be the best parts of it? =)

Alright, I will try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.

I believe their best writing is shown in the characters. In Mass Effect 1 for instance, the main villain, Saren, has motives that are unknown at the beginning. It seems he just hates humans. But as the game goes on, you find his motives are far more complex, you see why he chooses to do what he did, why he does what he does. It all adds up to be one of my favorite villains. The main plot was also done very well. But if I go into that there would be lots of spoilers. You companions are also very interesting. Most people don't like them, but they have their own backstory, motives, ect. and are fully realized characters.

In Mass Effect 2 the best parts of the writing are your squadmates. They are deep, complex creations. And you get more of their backstory through their loyalty missions, which are also the best in the game. The plot however has a few snags, but overall it is also done well.

I guess what I'm basically saying is that Bioware's best writing is in the characters.

Oh, and I also believe that KOTOR 2 has really great writing. Well, except for the end, but other then that it is well done.

Jade Empire is also a game with fantastic writing.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[high_castle]

I think good writing transcends medium. If what a character says has the power to move you--be that awe or rage or sorrow--than the writer's doing his or her job. Mass Effect (the first one) was a great example because there came several moments where characters said lines that just left me staring at the television screen in wonder. It felt real. Good writing can create immersion, while bad writing can break it. Dragon Age is another example of good writing coupled with great voice acting. From the word go, you're thrust into a world that feels very real, complete with characters who act and speak like real people. There are lines that will make you laugh, and some that can make you cry. I hesitate over giving plot details because I don't want to spoil the emotional impact, but there are many moments throughout the game that had my chest in knots. That's good writing.

 

[Generator]

Good writing in games is generally very different than good writing in any other medium. I think that in games, good writing (and good direction, for that matter) come down to whether or not it accomplished what it set out to do. It can be especially difficult to immerse a player in the story of a game because that's usually not what a player's main reason of being there is for; they want to play a game, whereas with a movie, book, etc., they come in to see the events unfold. It seems especially hard for a game to be funny, as I don't think I've seen too many games that have literally made me laugh out loud, mostly due to the fact that I wasn't ready to laugh.

Basically, you buy a game for the fun of playing it, but truly great writing succeeds in that it draws you in more than for just the gameplay. It's a game that you finish, rather than play on occasions because there's nothing else to do, because you're so interested that you need to see what happens next. In this way, good writing can even save a game from being utterly terrible, whereas in other mediums, it is absolutely necessary for the writing to not be terrible.

 

[Gladion]

It's hard to tell which writing is good and which is bad. Gamers are certainly easier to be satisfied than movie fans or even people who read many books. They just don't know any better writing, so they'll be satisfied with a story that features a villain who has some motives for his action besides "world domination".

Though stories in mainstream gaming have step-by-step become more complex, around the time God of War came out, I think.

I suppose the biggest problem with story telling in games is that it's not being done very often. If you tell your story through cutscenes, notes scattered around the world or something, you don't need the game aspect to tell your story.
I hate to say this, but I think the game Warcraft III had one of the best characterisations ever in a game, and I'm talking about the undead campaign. Through the gameplay, you really get the feel of what the undead horde is like - a devouring, infesting behemoth that grows with every fallen enemy, infecting everything around it, destroying all the woods - their buildings not really 'built' but summoned from another world. The soldiers feeding on corpses to heal themselves, units being stronger at night, tank-like wagons that shoot body parts.
You get the idea - THAT is good writing in games. Telling your story through gameplay.

 

[ioxles]

There are different methods of game writing that are implemented.

If you would like to see the paragons of game literature please refer to the following:

Deus Ex

Fallout 1 + 2

Dark Fall

Psychonauts

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (free game at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game.shtml )

The Starship Titanic (also by Douglas Adams)

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These are the first ones to come to mind when I think about good writing in games, there are many more but I find less so amongst the newer ones.

 

[ioxles]

To expand on my previous post, good writing in games is in many ways essential and is really a misnomer, as nothing is isolated in games good writing is only a part of which the many essentials form a game.

A game can exist with only one of the features that make it so, that is the flexibility and brilliance of the medium, but, if something is included in a game and done badly; it could and will destroy the game.

Take your pick really, a bad interface or gui, bad game mechanics, an unnecessary annoying minigame, a broken control mechanism. Bad writing forms just one part of it.

To aim at one particular, take Bethesda's Oblivion. Bad narrative sequencing creates schizophrenic npc's that leap between accents. A broken animation/control/interaction system makes you feel like a floating camera monster (if only it had Dark Messiahs......). The Uncanny Valley effect mires the ambience and the dysfunctional dialogue system complete the ruination of what is and could be so much more.