Video Game Storytelling by Evan Skolnick

Author:Evan Skolnick [Skolnick, Evan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-385-34583-5
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 2014-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

Why Game Writing Usually Sucks

Reviewers of video games, jaded and blunt, make no bones about their low expectations for narrative quality in the products they critique for a living. Clunky story structure, uneven pacing, cliché-ridden characters, and painful dialogue are expected norms, almost unworthy of comment. In fact, it’s only when a game manages to miraculously rise above this low quality bar and present plot, character, and dialogue on par with, say, a direct-to-disc movie that reviewers and players might sit up and take notice.

And on the very rare occasion that a game story truly rivals the best of any other medium—stirring the player’s emotions and leaving an impression that lasts for weeks, months, or even years—the question hangs pregnant in the air: Why can’t more games be like this?

Why, indeed? Well, there are a multitude of missteps awaiting a game’s producers, directors, and leads that can ultimately evoke eye-rollingly poor narrative. These traps, ranging from the painfully obvious to the insidiously subtle, are often not recognized until too late, if at all.

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