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  • Video Game Section

    I've mentioned it in passing but think it could be a great addition to the forums, would anyone else like to see a Games section? Every year maybe a couple of truly great films come out, if that. Compare that to games where each year is filled with undeniable classics. Anyone here who's played Max Payne 3 knows what I'm talking about. There's so much to learn about story from games and I think it's about time we stop ignoring it. It's a perfect blend of Film and Television. So sound off, do y'all think it would be worthwhile?

  • #2
    Re: Video Game Section

    I think it's a great idea. Something new to argue about that hasn't already been covered ad nauseum. Seriously, though...there's almost nothing out there on the basics of writing for video games, and the market is a solid alternative for writers that don't feel like tilting at the Hollywood windmill.
    "Forget it, Jake. It's Hollywood."

    My YouTube channel.

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    • #3
      Re: Video Game Section

      You're right it beats the hell out of covering the same stuff all the time. But we should be having more discussion about it, any writer trying to make a name should see where games are going.

      Unfortunately I was expecting more people than the two us to welcome the suggestion.

      Comment


      • #4
        Video Game Section

        Originally posted by TheConnorNoden View Post
        It's a perfect blend of Film and Television. So sound off, do y'all think it would be worthwhile?
        Originally posted by Ire View Post
        C4. C5 C6 C7 C8

        And so ends my review.

        I just sunk their battleship.

        Feels good to get that off my chest.
        If there is enough interest, (it's a big business in Canada), but I think that the focus at DD is upon films and screenwriting, rather than video games. And, Hollywood tends to goof up its films either by spinning a screenplay out of a video game or trying to drum up interest in a video game with another comic book adventure. One might as well suggest a Comic Book or Graphic Novel forum at DD.

        "Perfect blend of Film and Television"?
        JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

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        • #5
          Re: Video Game Section

          I'm just using my Gretzky-esque power to see where the puck's going to end up, and in 10 years every writer will be fighting to work on games. It's a medium that's evolving so rapidly and arguably has more creative freedom. It's not an issue now but eventually it will be an adapt or die situation.

          The reason I say it's a blend of film and TV is that it can have the action and pacing of a film but with the depth and duration of a TV series. Uncharted 3 for example, better than most action films from the last decade.

          P.S. I'd like a comic section but one step at a time.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Video Game Section

            I always find it kind of strange when people say that many games have great writing. No they don't. Games generally have terrible writing, but it's fine, because their main goal is to have a great gameplay experience instead of great story experience.

            The exceptions to the aforementioned rule are extremely rare. I would say that the first Mass Effect has some very fine writing in terms of story, character and dialogue. It could be adapted into a very good movie. But the great majority of AAA games have writing that ranges from awful to average.

            Halo series, GTA series, Bioshock series, Half Life series, Metal Gear Solid series, and other popular picks for "They should turn this into a movie!" all have fairly poor writing. Weak stories with weak characters and weak dialogue. Yes, for GAMES they are much better than the usual fare, but still, the writing is pretty weak by movie standards.

            I recall that the 90's point-and-click adventure games often had some genuinely good writing in them. But that genre has been pretty dead for the last 10 years.

            I guess that people are so taken over by the interactive qualities of games, that the writing seems better than it actually it. You *experience* the writing personally, instead of just watching it happen to other people on the screen.

            I do agree that more and more good writers are going work in the game industry in the future. So there is hope for better.

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            • #7
              Re: Video Game Section

              Originally posted by Signal30 View Post
              Seriously, though...there's almost nothing out there on the basics of writing for video games.
              I'm no gamer, but just out of curiosity, what is out there, in terms of the best resources for learning to write for games?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Video Game Section

                Didn't John Milius write Homefront? I'm not a big videogame guy, but I seem to remember his name popping up during the ad campaign a few years back.
                "Write every day. Don't quit. The rest is all bullshit." - Brian Koppelman

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                • #9
                  Re: Video Game Section

                  Originally posted by mge457 View Post
                  Didn't John Milius write Homefront? I'm not a big videogame guy, but I seem to remember his name popping up during the ad campaign a few years back.
                  He was a story consultant, but didn't actually write it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Video Game Section

                    Originally posted by tuukka View Post
                    I always find it kind of strange when people say that many games have great writing. No they don't. Games generally have terrible writing, but it's fine, because their main goal is to have a great gameplay experience instead of great story experience.

                    The exceptions to the aforementioned rule are extremely rare. I would say that the first Mass Effect has some very fine writing in terms of story, character and dialogue. It could be adapted into a very good movie. But the great majority of AAA games have writing that ranges from awful to average.

                    Halo series, GTA series, Bioshock series, Half Life series, Metal Gear Solid series, and other popular picks for "They should turn this into a movie!" all have fairly poor writing. Weak stories with weak characters and weak dialogue. Yes, for GAMES they are much better than the usual fare, but still, the writing is pretty weak by movie standards.

                    I recall that the 90's point-and-click adventure games often had some genuinely good writing in them. But that genre has been pretty dead for the last 10 years.

                    I guess that people are so taken over by the interactive qualities of games, that the writing seems better than it actually it. You *experience* the writing personally, instead of just watching it happen to other people on the screen.

                    I do agree that more and more good writers are going work in the game industry in the future. So there is hope for better.
                    You think Bioshock and the Half Life series have poor writing? I do not have the words to convey my incredulity at that statement.

                    ETA: Game writing forum would be awesome.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Video Game Section

                      Love the idea.
                      Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Video Game Section

                        This is more like it Imagine a whole clean slate of games we can dissect, I'd barely have time to do anything else

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                        • #13
                          Re: Video Game Section

                          Originally posted by Anagram View Post
                          You think Bioshock and the Half Life series have poor writing? I do not have the words to convey my incredulity at that statement.
                          Yes. Both game series excel in gameplay, level design, visual design and atmosphere, but they also have lackluster stories, characters and dialogue. I think it would be quite hard to make an argument that they have good writing in the traditional sense of the word.

                          They have good "game writing" in the sense that the gaming experience in expertly defined. But that type of writing is not comparable to movies or TV in the slightest.

                          Sure, they have better writing than most games. Because most games have absolutely god-awful writing.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Video Game Section

                            Originally posted by tuukka View Post
                            Yes. Both game series excel in gameplay, level design, visual design and atmosphere, but they also have lackluster stories, characters and dialogue. I think it would be quite hard to make an argument that they have good writing in the traditional sense of the word.

                            They have good "game writing" in the sense that the gaming experience in expertly defined. But that type of writing is not comparable to movies or TV in the slightest.

                            Sure, they have better writing than most games. Because most games have absolutely god-awful writing.
                            That's your opinion, but I completely disagree. Especially with the characters and dialogue in Bioshock. Check out some of Andrew Ryan's speeches in Bioshock 1. He's a complex believable character and whoever wrote that story knew what they were doing. That whole world was fascinating.

                            And though the Uncharted series are purposefully over the top, it would be silly to deny that the writing was good enough to make us care for the characters. The relationships are complex and layered, especially Nate and Victor, or Nate and Elena.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Video Game Section

                              Ironically a debate about video game writing has broken out on a thread "suggesting" the creation of a section, where people can discuss video game writing..

                              I like the idea of a video game section, not just for writing itself, but also for the business.

                              Everyone on here knows, or will know, how to go about finding a job in Hollywood. Not everyone will of course, but we know the steps we need to take.

                              When it comes to "breaking into" the video game writing world, I personally have no clue where to begin.

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