Where Does The Writer Fit In?

Basic elements in the writer's domain all happen in gameplay - dialogue, plot, character development. Most games even have the basics of narrative (a beginning, middle and end with rising action and climax), but most games today also get made without the involvement of someone having the job title "writer."

The video game industry is still very young compared to other storytelling businesses like book publishing, film and television. The position and duties of game writers are still emerging in the field. Some background and explanation may be in order.

Games without writers

There are two basic ways that the writing elements get done on a game when there isn't a writer involved. Either game designers (sometimes with the title designer-writer) take on the writing duties for a game, or writing tasks are spread out throughout the entire development team, including programmers, designers and artists.

This can happen for many of reasons, including:

• Tight budgets - one more person on the team really might break the bank.
• Tight deadlines - the search for a good writer (fulltime or contract) may seem to take too much time.
• Project management issues - a game is a complicated thing to bring into being. Publishers or developers may fear having too many creative visions involved, or worry about being able to effectively work with a contract writer.
• Non-narrative games - sometimes a game has so few story-elements that hiring an external writer seems excessive.
• Sour experience - developers may have used a script writer on a previous project, but the result had to be redone in-house. (more on this below)
• Lack of knowledge - the developer doesn't know how to find a game writer, that there are writers who specialize in writing for games, or that writers can enhance even non-narrative games.
• Lack of confidence - some developers don't think writers know enough about the requirements of game writing (or the project) to be worth the expense, so he puts a writer's hat on someone already involved.
• Star power - writers are sometimes seen as a luxury expense, particularly if they're thinking of big-name writers from other industries.
• Hiring managers - writing may not be considered a separate task, and is included with design duties.
• Piorities - some developers don't value writing as an integral part of game creation, or see design, programming or art as much more important.
• Ubiquity - everybody can write. many developers don't see writing as a unique skill set worth paying for

These are obsticals to both in-house writing jobs as well as contract work. Most of these issues have been overcome for game music and voice recording talent, so there is a precident for changing some of these misconceptions.

Games with writers

In very rare cases, developers may have a game writer on staff. Where there is no staff writer, writing can come from external/contract game writers, and sometimes a technical writer will assist with documentation and manuals. These job openings are not plentiful, and as you can see from the list above there are some basic education issues to be addressed by writers in the field. (For instance, educating developers on how to find a writer, how a writer can enhance any game, and what the costs are.)

Due to some of the hesitation about hiring writers, most get their jobs through networking and contacts within the industry. Reputation and references are important, since missing deadlines, providing incomplete work or "diva behavior" can kill a project.

Bad impressions

A few developers have experimented with using writers but feel they have been burned for one of the following reasons:

1. The writer charged a lot, but only delivered general materials, and not everything that was required for the game (happens when they go for a 'big name' writer, usually).
2. The writer did not learn any of the issues related to writing for games, and provided material in a linear non-interactive form leaving no option but (expensive) cut scenes for implementation.
3. The writer tried to place narrative needs above the needs of the project and failed to co-operate with the team.
4. The writer worked as an outside consultant and never became an integral part of the game creation team.

For all these reasons and more, some developers have shied away from working with game writers. However, there are many other developers who have worked with games writers and have come away with positive impressions - usually going back to that writer for more and more projects in the future.

Fitting in

The vast majority of developers have not worked (or even thought about working) with a game writer. It's a new idea and new experience for them, so the responsibilities fall on the writer for starting a relationship, nourishing that relationship, managing expectations and bridging knowledge gaps. With game writing still in its infancy as a specialization, none of these responsibilities can be overlooked.

Fortunately, the facts are on the writer's side.

Professional writers meet deadlines, know how to work with a team, and provide all required materials. Many writers enjoy games and there is growing interest in specializing in the field of game writing. Professionals with that focus are educated in the game field and capable of providing an interactive narrative experience.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that a writer's services are expensive. In reality, the required writing costs for a typical game project are usually about 0.5% of the total project costs.

As communicators, it shouldn't be beyond our ability to change the misconceptions, provide good working experiences for developers, and gradually change the status of the game writer in the industry today.