Customer Reviews

Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing

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While there are a ton of books covering the subject of writing for games, I feel the ones put out by this group are of exceptional quality. As another reviewer points out, they are written by professional game writers, and are extremely well-researched and well-edited. While there are some good explorations of high-level topics, I specifically enjoyed that the book delved into details-level tips and tricks that can be used to teach newcomers to the craft the ropes of the business or augment a seasoned pro's experience in an ever-changing industry. Great stuff!

Written and edited by members of the International Game Developers Association, Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing is a no-nonsense guide to the professional craft of writing the story, narrative, dialogue, tutorials, manuals, strategy guides, and anything else that needs to be written for modern-day video games. All contributors are themselves seasoned video game writers; they give the down and dirty on how to break into the business, what it means to be part of a writing team, principles of narrative design, and much, much more. Script samples offer illuminating examples that enhance this absolute "must-have" for anyone contemplating or pursuing a career in video game writing or technical writing, even (or especially) if they already have experience in crafting standard prose.

This is a must-have book for aspiring video game writers. The various script samples, game-writing instructions, and "war stories" of how working professionals made the jump into game writing from other fields provide a handbook of how to get-in and stay-in.

As games get more complex, I imagine the production guides are going to get more and more complex, too. Sticking to books written and edited by the Writer's Special Interest Group from the International Game Development Association (Wendy Despain, Richard Dansky, etc.) is very wise. These *are* the people who know how to do this.