Getting into Game Writing Part 3

So you’ve identified the kind of games you want to work on, and learned all you can about those. You’ve told everyone you want to write, and are willing to work on projects, so long as you’re not exploited. Now what?

Here, Pan critiques some of my writing.

This week’s blog is a touch scattered as there are a number of steps to take.

First, have writing samples ready on a webpage, in easy to read web-format. People are more likely to check out a webpage than open attachments in their email. Go to professional conferences like GDC and tradeshows like E3. You can usually get a floor pass for much less than the full price – you don’t need to go to panels, unless you have a lot of spare cash lying around. Most conferences have student discounts, and you can try to volunteer in exchange for access. Go up to every booth on the show floor and tell them you’re interested in writing. Have your resume ready. Take their submission policies. Ask if they have writers on staff who might be at the show and would be willing to talk to you. Or narrative designers, creative designers, or a creative director. Express willingness to take writing tests.

A note about writing samples: short stories are okay if that’s all you have. But screenplays are better, because entry level writers tend to be judged on their dialogue. You will likely be doing a lot more dialogue than prose in the job, and a screenplay highlights that. There are even better samples than a screenplay, but we’ll get into that later.

Always be open to feedback. If you take a test for a studio and they ask for a rewrite, that is an EXCELLENT sign. It means they’re interested. Figure out how to embrace their feedback and work it into your test intelligently. Never be defensive or resistant – creative professionals simply can’t afford that kind of preciousness. Take all feedback with the idea that someone is trying to help you make your work better. Even if you disagree with the feedback, take another look at that part of your narrative – maybe something isn’t working. Perhaps their suggestion was meant to fix something that is broken. What isn’t working? Why did they agro that area?

If anyone asks you to critique their game, be honest and straightforward, including things you thought they did poorly. Professionals appreciate frank feedback – but still word it professionally. So “I loved everything about your game! No criticisms!” is probably not the best answer. But “U suck hardcore, bro. LOL!” probably isn’t either. If you can point out things that bothered you, areas you thought could be stronger, bits that you had trouble buying into, or where you got confused, that’s great. Be ready for the follow up question: “Okay, how would you have fixed that?”

All of the above pointers require that you do research. If you’re applying at a studio, play their games. But go farther – read developer blogs and interviews. Peruse threads on reddit and other places to see what other people love or hate about the game. This is not so that you can parrot the opinions of others in an interview. It’s just to give you more context, a more rounded view of the games this developer makes.

Never turn down work. (Except as noted above in the “don’t be exploited” section.) If you are offered a job as a QA analyst at a studio, take it. Even more importantly, never turn down writing work. So if you have a choice between QA analyst at Big-Important-Stable-Games, or writer at Jimmy’s-fly-by-night-probably-be-out-of-business-next-week studio — take the job at Jimmy’s. The chance to work as a game writer does not come along often and you have to take the risk – and the job – when it comes.

These are all the preliminary steps, and things to remember in terms of attitude and demeanor. Next week, the real meat of what one does to get into game writing!

 

-BTK