I give you the next volley of questions put to me by my students at The University of Texas at Dallas about fields related to Interactive Story and Transmedia. Part 1 is below. The focus this time is on design and dev.
4. What exactly does the process of writing interactive narrative for video games involve?
Entire textbooks have been dedicated to that question. A quickish read is Jeff Howard's Quests. One short answer that I like to give to this doozie requires an understanding of the word gameplay. You see, it used to be that some claimed "games were stories you play." These people were of the Narratologist camp. (So be careful with that word.) Others laughed and said that games were "fundamentally just systems that could have some story in them." These people were of the Ludologist camp. The Game vs. Story debate raged for decades until games evolved and caught up with what many game designers have always really wanted to have which is something in the middle and in my opinion best indicated by the compound word game-play. So it's not about just writing anymore. Its about creating scenario (not to be confused with simulation) and providing agency to the player though the gameplay. In other words you don't just write the story, you create an environment in which the player can create "their" story. Skyrim is a great example of this evolution. One video that illustrates this really well is HERE. Of course this is just one possible way of creating gameplay. Take the (non-crpg) heavy story games like the Telltale Games entries "Tales of Monkey Island" or "Back to the Future." These LINEAR stories were written and the game formed around them while always asking the question "how can we make this fun for the player to play this story?"
5. Is there a head designer who comes up with the ideas and gives assignments to the people working under him?
Yes and no. Usually the ideal is a Creative Director who imparts the vision of the "story" to the team who is creating the level design from that gameplay standpoint I mentioned, and that individual does the actual writing. This is common in a linear progression game like the "Bioshock" series. In non-linear games like the aforementioned "Elder Scrolls" series or basically any MMO, there are teams of writers who are each usually given story "hooks" from which to write the thousands of lines of text and dialogue to be experienced in the game. Why not listen to Ken Levine's take below?
6. Are writers high in demand in the video game or other media industries? Is there a lot of competition involved?
Good game designers are in high demand the exact same way that good novelists are in high demand. Producers are in the business of producing. They want good talent because it makes everybody richer and there is always room for one more great writer! Story seeds start with these people and game design documents are often written largely by them (if at all) and supplemented by others as a team effort. That said, every game idea starts with an idea person and that person is effectively a game designer. High profile designers can often get funding without an idea at all. Take the recently over-funded Kickstarter done by Tim Schafer and Double Fine not too long ago which promises to be awesome because they make awesome - or at least that popular notion was enough to get them funded! Game designer Jesse Schell wrote one of my favorite textbooks which I have used called "The Art of Game Design". In it he says basically that Ideas are a dime a dozen, but all it takes is one great idea to be worth a million dollars. In that regard there is a lot of competition - but in my opinion it's usually among the second tier writers scrabbling around to try to prove their worth over other second tier writers. A cynical view perhaps, but not an entirely incorrect one I believe. Regardless, only one in ten games makes money and the others lose money - but the one in ten does well enough that it doesn't matter! Thats showbiz. Coincidentally it works the same way in Hollywood, and always has pretty much.
7. What steps should I take to develop a background in interactive narrative?
Write! Write! Write! When you aren't writing, read! When you aren't reading, play games (of all types!) with lots of story and take note of the tricks of the trade. When not doing that, watch lots of podcasts and let's plays and tap into the gamer culture at large to get a feel for the pulse of the greater gamer culture. Eventually though what you just have to do is take a running jump over the edge and start making games. There's tons of tools for doing it, UDK is free now, Aurora Toolset has been around for a decade, and I'm a big Gamemaker Pro fan for beginners, especially since it came to steam. Heck you can create a minecraft scenario with relative ease now and that's arguably a "game" with absolutely ZERO story. The Yogscast has proved that you can be successful doing this! Just check out their posh Bristol office which they funded through YouTube fame and a bit of Kickstarter awesome themselves. Knowing your tools is just the tip of the design iceburg. I'm not saying designers should program, but they should certainly understand the tools of the trade (in as much that a school administrator should know how to teach even if they don't do it anymore, for example).
8. If the video game industry falls through, what do you think would be the best alternative to game design for interactive narrative? (Or... What would you say is the best minor to accompany a UTD ATEC major for interactive narrative?)
When I get this question I always ask for clarity. What does it mean to you if it 'falls through' for you? I mean I would look into Alternate Reality Games and Transmedia first, but if "you" think that game design is something that will be limited just to video games, then I think I'd let game designer and Carnegie Mellon colleague Jesse Schell answer that question for me. Even if you watch no other video - watch this one below! As for what minor to take, I'd go with Humanities or something within it. In fact my Ph.D is in 'Humanities, Aesthetic Studies' and I wouldn't have it any other way. I was an English/Art double major with education certification and my Masters of Education is in 'Gifted and Talented Studies' believe it or not. I have a great understanding of models of education as well as models of story, as well as models of game design - and its all because I chose not to narrow my focus too much! To others though the answer is CS or eMac, or well... any of dozens of related fields because that's sort of the point of Emerging Media and Transmedia isn't it?
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