16 The Writers Revealing the Art and Science Writing and of the Art Game Revealing , Room by AndrewReiner

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in videogames — Gary whitta Gary — connect 17 . .

The Art of Collaboration

alancing story and gameplay is one of and start doing a whole bunch of research and the most difficult challenges for writ- say, ‘Well, now I’ve got to find some historical B ers. Hideo Kojima obviously makes mystery or some little hook from real history few concessions with the amount of storytell- that sets us off and running.’” ing in the Metal Gear games, but some devel- Naughty Dog also wanted to recreate the opment studios don’t want to leave the player big moments seen in adventure cinema. The hanging for too long without any interaction Uncharted series is often recognized for these with the game. A fair number of games blend sequences, such as the train in Uncharted 2 storytelling seamlessly with gameplay. or the capsizing ship in Uncharted 3. The story- Half-Life 2 allows Gordon Freeman to move telling blends seamlessly with these big events, around the environment as characters con- sometimes ­fooling the player into thinking they verse with him and the plot is introduced. should still be watching the action, but actually BioShock delivers backstory through record- have to ­control it. ing devices that play messages as the player “From a creative standpoint, especially for an explores and engages in combat. action-adventure cinema narrative, a lot of Although The Walking Dead finds success times you do start from this idea of, ‘What are in its slower moments, Whitta recognizes the our big set pieces, what are some of the things importance of player interaction. “When I am that we really want to hang our hat on?’” Hennig enjoying my writing, I have to stop myself says. “It’s not unusual as a writer to say, ‘This because I realize I haven’t actually given the would be awesome, right?’ Actually if you go player anything to do for the last five minutes,” back and look at the Raiders of the Lost Ark he says. “Sometimes [writers] have to go back story transcripts you’ll see Lucas and Spielberg and realize that they are kind of serving multiple doing the same thing. For us, the ante is upped masters at once. They are serving a narrative one more time because not only do we go master who wants to tell a good story, but they through that process of saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be are also serving a gameplay master. The game cool if?’ But then also, because we have the is a storytelling experience, it’s a gameplay team all sitting there ready to work, have to experience, and it’s interactive in some forms say, ‘Yeah it would be cool and let’s commit to and linear in others. The storyline pacing and it, because these things are also going to be gameplay pacing have to exist in harmony.” the hardest things we do.’” Uncharted 2’s train Irrational Games’ Ken Levine wears two hats level was the first one the team worked on and as the creative director and head writer for the last one they finished. The narrative had BioShock Infinite – a hybrid role many writers to adapt to the ebb and flow of that lengthy envy as it reduces the disconnect between development process. the narrative and design pathways. “On the Writers also have to think about how small On the best days, your instinct as a game best days, your instinct as a game designer details could have a huge affect on the game designer and your instinct as a game and your instinct as a game writer should be creation process. If a character puts on a jacket writer should be one and the same, one and the same, which is it should be audi- and lights a cigarette, that small moment could which is it should be audience-­­facing — ence-facing – what is best for the audience,” become a huge time commitment for animators what is best for the audience. Levine says. “That’s the whole philosophy of and artists. Neumann says that dialogue with — ken levine Irrational – the philosophy of not taking control the art team is an important part of the writing away from the player and showing them process. “Sometimes I’ll write something that 10-minute cutscenes. You’re giving the story in my head seems very simple, but then I talk to them without asking them to be non- to an artist about the art and animation and find interactive. Trust me, there are times when out that it is incredibly difficult. Ultimately we Story Inception you write a scene and you’re really happy only have so much time, so much budget, and with it and you put it up and it’s like three we’re going to spend all our time and effort on s a writer for Borderlands 1 and 2, theme was established early in this project’s treatment to the mission design team. “This ­minutes long and you’re like, ‘there is no way the places that deserve it the most.” the Brothers in Arms series, and the life, but the general tone of the story didn’t gel is sort of the first coming together where we this is going to work.’” May says there is a lot of back and forth A forthcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines, until several writers and designers plotted spe- say, ‘Here is where we want to take the story, Striking that perfect balance often comes between the writers and other teams. “It may Gearbox’s Mikey Neumann has used a variety cific missions. “The first time that Borderlands and start thinking about the ideas that we have late in a game’s development cycle. Naughty not be readily apparent where you can put X of scriptwriting and creative processes. For crystallized in my head as to what kind of story for gameplay and to see if there are ways that Dog’s Amy Hennig, a veteran scribe who has type of gameplay into the main path, so we’ll him, the game dictates what approach is used. it was came from Scooter’s line, ‘He messed up these things can come together,’” May says. worked on the Uncharted and Legacy of Kain sit and brainstorm a little bit and find a way “It’s not like someone comes in and is like, ‘This my mama’s girly parts,’” Neumann remembers. When the team agrees on direction, May series, says the story has to be the most flex- to make sense of it. It’s a super collaborative is the game and here is the script,’” he says. “It “So many people were involved with the plot begins his historical research for the story and ible part of game creation. process and it usually takes a couple of weeks is actually really drawn out and collaborative, and what we were doing with the game; I sort the mission designers work on a game proto- “You have to try to make some best-guess to go through the entire thing, move missions but probably one of the most fun processes in of gave it context and humor and silliness.” type while conducting design research. After assumptions about your story and kind of around, move plot points around, and go back the game industry and game production.” Other writers, like Ubisoft’s Corey May, that, the creative director oversees a “blueprint figure out what the arc of it is, and then pin and forth, bargaining and compromising. I am Game scripts change over the course of a lead writer of Assassin’s Creed I, II, and III, meeting” with the writers, game designers, and some things to the wall and say, ‘Well we’re really lucky in the sense that I’ve been working development cycle, and numerous challenges advocate a process where story and design level designers in attendance. This high-level going to do this,’ and then that sets people off with most of these guys for a really, really long arise for the development team. Budgets, time are integrated from the project’s inception. meeting walks through the game and breaks it with tasks,” Hennig says. “Maybe you don’t time now, so we know each other pretty well, constraints, and unforeseen curveballs like a For each of the Assassin’s Creed games, into different arcs. know exactly where you’re headed with that we have a shorthand. It sounds like it should designer introducing a new gameplay concept May involved himself with the projects from May compares the Assassin’s Creed series’ idea, but then you, as the writer, again having be chaotic, but it’s not. It actually works out or an artist adding a new defect to the charac- “day zero,” making sure he and the creative design to television shows, but where these to be the most flexible discipline on the team, really well and it’s really fun.” ter’s features complicate the writing process – director worked together on high-level ideas shows have multiple episodes, Assassin’s say, ‘Well, I’m committing to this and this is a A game writer’s role usually diminishes toward which can, in some cases, last for the majority for the stories. Creed has sequences. “Our games are always part of our story and our game flow.’” the tail end of a project, but their work isn’t of a lengthy development cycle. “We come up with something that we pass divided up into sequences, so we’ll generally For Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog wanted to necessarily done. Focus shifts to enhancing “We have a motto at Gearbox that good back and forth,” he says. “It can be anywhere have the concept of arcs, but not necessar- do something radically different from a tropical communication and readability to the player. ideas can come from anyone,” Neumann says. from one to three pages and it’s just a very ily acts, because I don’t know if all games jungle. The team settled on a snowy setting “At this point, we should be done with the big, “We stick to that.” For some studios, a script ­general overview of what the story is going ­necessarily fit into an act one, act two, act early in development. “We didn’t know where emotional narrative stuff,” May says. “It’s more fuels the gameplay. For others, it’s the other to be about, where we are going to go, what three structure,” he says. “We will sit there in the snow we were going, or why, or what logistical housekeeping, polishing, small things way around. some of the major plot points are, and a lot and we’ll map out the sequences each with a sort of myth or historical mystery we could tie like that. We need to make it very clear what the Borderlands was born when game designer of the big moments.” ­discrete beginning, middle, and end – an end around that, but we put that pin on the board mission objective is, or, a mission objective has Matt Armstrong submitted an idea for a mix Once Ubisoft has the overall narrative arc that concludes in such a way that it pulls you and said, ‘Okay we’re committing to snow,’” changed slightly and the dialogue refers to the between Diablo and Halo. The wasteland and the characters outlined, they pitch the into the next sequence.” Hennig remembers. “Then my job is to then go old one, so this is what we have to change.” 18 connect 19 The Complications of Branching Narrative

hen a game gives the player the permutation of the scene that can happen,” Whitta says that this type of writing isn’t choice of determining who joins Whitta says. “I remember when [Telltale] easy. “I wrote a scene in Walking Dead’s W them on missions, who their love handed me the script for episode one of fourth episode that had so many different interest will be, and who will live and die, The Walking Dead. It was like 600 pages. permutations and could play out so many the writer needs to keep track of all of the I nearly had a heart attack because there is ­different ways that I had to go lay down for different threads that stem from these deci- so much stuff!” five minutes in a dark room because it gave sions. The Mass Effect series expands its Maintaining consistent tones through a me a migraine just figuring out how it would narrative web by allowing players to select ­conversation thread can be problematic, all work,” he remembers. “You have to read whether they are male or female. Entirely especially if emotion is expressed by the every different version of it and make sure ­different interactions and stories are tied to player character or the NPC. In games like that when the player plays through their ver- both choices. Skyrim, the narrative flow can be jarring when sion of that reality that the characters all make “With The Walking Dead, I’ll finish a scene an NPC who is angered by one question the sense and that the character doesn’t then say and then go back and write it seven other player character asks suddenly reverts back something that contradicts something they times, taking into account every possible to a calm state to field the next question. said right before.”

i don't like people saying stories should or shouldn’t be like this. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is, was it effective? — AMY hennig

Still an Evolving Art

hile all of the writers we talked to take can still lead to interesting narrative and Like the spider scene in Limbo. You could ­different approaches to their craft, s­uccessful games.” write that on paper, but who cares? It’s not an W when we asked them how game Experimentation has led to unique experi- interesting scene on paper. It’s how it’s pre- writing could improve, their responses were ences, like Journey telling a story without any sented visually. How little that game explains remarkably similar – all pointing to being given words or dialogue and Heavy Rain imitating is a strength of that game. You can imprint so the freedom to experiment and for teams to the everyday occurrences of life to strengthen much upon it. It kind of looks like a Rorschach find their own right way to do things. the bond between the player character and and it kind of is a Rorschach. Emotionally, it’s “In general, we’re getting better at it. I think his family. Writers like Jonathan Blow are turn- a very primal quest. It’s a very simple quest, we’re getting better talent in the industry and ing game storytelling into an art with world and then it becomes about the experience of I think we’re individually getting better at what reflections hidden in a tale that initially comes each room. It tells a very effective story.” we do, we’re becoming better writers,” Hennig across as a playful spin on Mario chasing a Other franchises have stuck to their guns for says. “The thing I try to avoid is this idea that princess. From Bully to Grand Theft Auto, decades. The Legend of Zelda series shuns there is one goal, one mountaintop that we’re Rockstar Games’ Dan Houser invites players the modern-day enhancements of voiceovers, Blending Into A Bigger Universe all trying to shoot for and I hate the idea of to enter worlds brimming with intelligently making Link an eternally silent protagonist, there being some homogenous answer to this. written characters, savvy political parody, and and Final Fantasy wouldn’t be Final Fantasy if t isn’t just in-game scripts that writers With the assistance of Hasbro, High Moon was Some companies seek consistency by I don’t like dogma. I don’t like people saying hilarious pop culture callouts. the antagonist didn’t transform into some kind have to keep straight. Licensed prod- given the freedom to create a new beginning having the same writer from a comic book, stories should or shouldn’t be like this. At the “I think you see every now and then a game of multi-storied beast. I ucts pose just as much challenge. for this universe. movie, or television show work on the game end of the day, the only thing that matters is, like Limbo that expresses a story without There was a time when a game’s story could The game’s lore needs to sync up with the For Aliens: Colonial Marines, a game 20th script. South Park creators Trey Parker and ‘was it effective?’” feeling the need to hold you by the hand,” only be found on the pages of a manual tucked motion picture, comic book, or novel. The Century Fox decided to be a canonical sequel Matt Stone are the head writers for Obsidian’s May is wary of publishers trying to imple- Levine says. “I think we're still learning to trust inside of its box. We also lived through an era tone has to match, and parameters are often to the Aliens films, Neumann says scriptwriting upcoming RPG, South Park: The Stick of ment a structured system across all of its gamers with our story rather than sitting them when developers and publishers wouldn’t fix in place to prevent writers from exploring was a different process from day one because Truth. The benefit of this approach is that the titles. “I am very against the idea that there down on our knees and ‘All right gamer, this translation errors from games ported from specific ideas. they had to factor in where ­characters were writing should be indistinguishable between is a magic formula or a single right way to do is what’s happening now.’ That's a very posi- Japan. Today, a story is just as important as When High Moon Studios approached in the universe, and what characters could or the game and the television show. But given it,” he says. “If that were true, there would be tive thing. I still think anyone can sit back and gameplay. The writer plays just as vital of a Hasbro with ideas for its Fall of Cybertron couldn’t be used. Parker and Stone’s hectic schedules when the a developer or a publisher out there that was write a 2,000 page document that explains role in a game’s creation as a programmer or game, it learned that Hasbro wanted to reboot “It is the game I’ve worked on where the show is in season, their time for working on worth tens of billions of dollars because they everything about your universe...but it’s not designer. Video games have enjoyed a creative all of Transformers’ fiction. Nearly 28 years of story matters the most by a staggering the game is limited so the development team were knocking it out of the park every single important. The only thing that is important is renaissance since their inception, and if a lore was about to change. Rather than keeping margin,” he says. “We had to have such a may not have the flexibility to alter the narra- time. My hope is that what you discover is what is on the retinas and the eardrums of the writer like Whitta truly believes game writing High Moon at bay, Hasbro saw video games well hammered out plan in place before we tive in service to the gameplay as frequently that everyone does it differently and yet all gamer and how it hits those things, because is turning a new leaf like film did in the ‘20s, as a delivery system for this new initiative. started writing.” as studios with full-time writers on staff do. of these different methods and approaches that is how they respond to it emotionally. we have much to look forward to. 20 connect 21