So there's this Space Marine
We explore the gaming creative process and its difficulties evolving compared to literature, TV and film.
This isn’t entirely their fault though, they’re not writers and their only frame of reference are films and TV which isn’t where you should be learning to write from because there is a lot of crap out there. They’re a good source of inspiration and such but literature is the better source, save a few TV shows and films...let’s say the West Wing or something.
Other scenario is they actually get someone in to write the script after they have their plot and characters and the writer is charged with making sense of the thing. They are constrained by game mechanics, what the team want and where the plot has to go. This could turn out positively or negatively, only time will tell.
Is he the real deal?
In a perfect world we want the writing and plot to be an integral part of the game design process and cater for everyone. Difficult as that may be, people like Fable’s Peter Molyneux and Heavy Rain’s David Cage are at least raising the bar in their games, even though it may have its flaws. But hey, that’s part of the process. In time we can at least pray that studios will see the light and attempt to remedy these problems by hiring professional writers and having their roles be just as important as the level designers.
So, back to our game; the dialogue is written, the scenes animated and all other elements of the process are complete such as voice acting and scripting. Everyone is happy and collectively skip through a meadow. The game is made and released. The game however is crap, unoriginal mechanics, characters, plot, setting and everything else; a carbon copy of a more popular game. Then you have someone picking holes with your story and dialogue and the company wondered where it all went wrong. If you were one of the design team you tell yourself it’s OK because you’re not a writer, and if you’re a professional you blame the constraints. Don’t worry, you’ll get it right next time.
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