Game Writers: Why Get One and What to Do Next
•Als PPTX, PDF herunterladen•
2 gefällt mir•105 views
With the growing trend to have high level systemic dialogue and story driven video games, Adrian shares his experiences and provides insight into why there is a benefit to work with a professional writer and what it takes to fully utilized them in the development process. Based on Need for Speed – Most Wanted, Black, Crysis 3 and Battlefield 3
Empfohlen
Weitere ähnliche Inhalte
Was ist angesagt?
Was ist angesagt? (20)
Ähnlich wie Game Writers: Why Get One and What to Do Next
Ähnlich wie Game Writers: Why Get One and What to Do Next (20)
Mehr von DevGAMM Conference
Mehr von DevGAMM Conference (20)
Kürzlich hochgeladen
Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)
Game Writers: Why Get One and What to Do Next
- 1. Game Writers: Why Get One and What to Do Next
- 2. • Systemic Dialogue • Barks / Voice Over The Basics
- 3. • Systemic Dialogue • Barks / Voice Over • In-game narrative • Text (world building) • Gameplay direction • Story The Basics
- 4. • Systemic Dialogue • Barks / Voice Over • In-game narrative • Text (world building) • Gameplay direction • Story • Non-interactive • The “movie scenes” The Basics
- 5. Why Get one • Does your project need a writer
- 6. • Does your project need a writer • When to hire a writer Why Get one
- 7. • Does your project need a writer • When to hire a writer • Budget Why Get one cousin Ivan Ivanovich’s, friend’s sister’s mother-in- law’s friend…who loves writing
- 8. Don’t put cousin Ivan Ivanovich’s friend’s sisters mother-in-law’s friend in the cockpit How to writer greatly…
- 9. Why Get one • Get a pro
- 10. Why Get one • Get a pro • Make a plan
- 11. Why Get one • Get a pro • Make a plan • Start early
- 12. Now What • Utilizing the writer
- 13. • Utilizing the writer • What to do Now What
- 14. • Utilizing the writer • What to do • What not to do Now What
- 15. • Utilizing the writer • What to do • What not to do • “Spit-balling” by committee Now What
- 16. • Utilizing the writer • What to do • What not to do • “Spit-balling” by committee • Who benefits Now What
- 17. What areas
- 19. • Design • Audio What areas
- 20. • Design • Audio • Talent Casting What areas
- 21. • Design • Audio • Talent Casting • VO Directing What areas
- 22. • Design • Audio • Talent Casting • VO Directing • Onsite for VO recording & shooting / mocap What areas
- 23. What can go wrong
- 24. • Working with Design Now What
- 25. • Working with Design • Helping with pacing Now What
- 26. • Working with Design • Helping with pacing • Assisting game flow Now What
- 27. • Working with Design • Helping with pacing • Assisting game flow Now What
- 29. Speech Design
- 30. Old School
- 31. Writing, research, speech design
- 32. What was different? • Early onboarding
- 33. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration
- 34. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design
- 35. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design • Researched subject matter
- 36. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design • Researched subject matter • Talent Input
- 37. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design • Researched subject matter • Talent Input • Talent Brief
- 38. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design • Researched subject matter • Talent Input • Talent Brief • VO Directing
- 39. What was different? • Early onboarding • Full team integration • Speech design • Researched subject matter • Talent Input • Talent Brief • VO Directing • Onsite for VO recording
- 41. Writer or Narrative Designer • Game Writer Video game writing differs from writing for arts, due to the non-linear and interactive nature of most video games, and the necessity to work closely with video game designers and voice actors.
- 42. • Game Writer Video game writing differs from writing for arts, due to the non-linear and interactive nature of most video games, and the necessity to work closely with video game designers and voice actors. • Narrative Designer – Narrative designer is a hybrid role of video game design and writing that creates not only the story, but also how it is communicated to players and how the game mechanics work to reinforce that story. the focus of which is to design the narrative elements of a game, and to champion story within the development process. The Narrative designer was first defined by Stephen Dinehart in the 2006 Thank you Wikipedia Writer or Narrative Designer
- 43. Structure • I want it like Game of Thrones
- 44. Structure • I want it like Game of Thrones • Story structure (why film structure and expectations don’t work)
- 46. Methods • In-game • None interactive
- 48. • Do I need it Cut Scene
- 49. • Do I need it • Not always Cut Scene
- 50. • Do I need it • Not always • Lots of titles without them Cut Scene
- 51. • Do I need it • Not always • Lots of titles without them Cut Scene
- 52. Cut Scene
- 53. • No time The Potential
- 54. • No time • No budget The Potential
- 55. • No time • No budget • Huge expectations The Potential
- 56. • 300 page script –> 30 page script Minimizing
- 57. • 300 page script –> 30 page script • No audio on the day Minimizing
- 58. • 300 page script –> 30 page script • No audio on the day • One day shoot Minimizing
- 60. • Systemic Dialogue • Barks / Voice Over • In-game narrative • Text (world building) • Gameplay direction • Story • Non-interactive • The “movie scenes” Writers
- 61. “If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” – Red Adair Thank you! Follow me on Twitter: @vershininadrian
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Show of hands here, how many of you are writers? How many of you worked with writers? How many of you had to fill in and do writing on a project?
- Generally speaking there are three main areas creative writers are involved in
- Almost every major title can benefit or does benefit from working with professional writers If you have a character saying anything, you need a writer I'm not talking technical writer - I mean creative Even in a sports game - commentator
- ----- Meeting Notes (19-11-08 15:59) ----- If you have a character saying anything, you need a writer I'm not talking technical writer - I mean creative Even in a sports game - commentator
- Often times this falls on the audio budget, because it is part of VO Example: A person you know is a hobby pilot. Has watched a lot of movies on flying. Would you let them fly a $50 million jet fighter? Then why would you let a hobby writer sit in the cockpit of your project? You wouldn't’t let someone be a lead engineer on your project if they always wanted to write code but never did. Then why would you let someone writer for you?
- Often times this falls on the audio budget, because it is part of VO Example: A person you know is a hobby pilot. Has watched a lot of movies on flying. Would you let them fly a $50 million jet fighter? Then why would you let a hobby writer sit in the cockpit of your project? You wouldn't’t let someone be a lead engineer on your project if they always wanted to write code but never did. Then why would you let someone writer for you?
- Deferral deal Or at least get them to review the work completed
- Who on team needs to be part of onboarding the writer How will the development cycle impact the writing goals Reverse engineer the timeline for writing… you’ll realize you need one sooner than you thought
- Get them in at preproduction – even if you don’t need them until much later, get them in early so they can see what the early decisions were so you dot need longer ramp up time The sooner the better So much is discussed that never is documented
- Make a plan of who they will be working with Have leads understand one is coming So often teams had no idea I was going to be onsite for meetings
- Have a work space ready for them Not in the middle of a cube farm where nerf wars are a common threat Its fun, but writers love any excuse to stop writing and take part in a nerf battle Have materials ready for review, hopefully weeks prior - Have them meet team leads, so often leads will have ideas that don’t make it to the production bench
- Only a few examples, but the bigger ones: Don’t do everything remotely A lot happens by the water cooler, they need to be onsite Don’t Isolate them from the team Have them updated on team news, ideas come from that A team familiar with the writer is more comfortable speaking with them
- Coming up with high level concepts can be started at team level BUT determined by a key stakeholders It cant always be a committee choice Example: in a room with 7 people – constant circling back to ideas that were closed off.
- Literally the entire team Example: I’ve been in studios where people who normally didn’t get a chance to provide an idea were able to, in doing so, people felt more connected and had a vested interest in the success of the project They felt listened to, valued
- Run the writer through design briefs Have them sit in on design meetings, being aware of design will save you from a lot of rewrites Design changes – the writer needs to be aware of this fluid motion
- Just like design, the audio team has many ideas Audio design changes rapidly also, the writer needs to be aware and up to date on those changes
- The writer should be able to contribute by leading their experience working with talent If they don’t have that experience, then find out why, maybe you need someone with more experience
- As with talent casting, a writer will have experience with working with a VO director or has directed before You might even be able to save some money if your writer can VO direct or assist your in-house staff with that direction
- Again, same benefits apply here as they did for Talent and VO involvement Example: I’ve been on sets where last minute writing or clarifying script questions were needed and saved tens of thousands of dollars by correcting something that would have been recorded or shot out of context
- Again, same benefits apply here as they did for Talent and VO involvement Example: I’ve been on sets where last minute writing or clarifying script questions were needed and saved tens of thousands of dollars by correcting something that would have been recorded or shot out of context
- Help build the action Control the emotion Guiding the player with subtle VO
- Adjusting AI movement in BF 1 – AI to follow road BF3 – Tank limitations – number of tanks on screen – using real world iraq war Crysis 3 – AI waiting, how would they know player coming? Movie example – using sound
- Adjusting AI movement in BF 1 – AI to follow road BF3 – Tank limitations – number of tanks on screen – using real world iraq war Crysis 3 – AI waiting, how would they know player coming? Movie example – using sound
- Example of working at EA Blackbox Sat in a room with a sound designer and an engineer to design speech engine Constant testing Iteration In house recording Talent brought in Play testing Then final
- Benefit of knowing where its starting and where its leading Knowing the flow of what’s not working and what is
- Worked across all disciplines SE, audio, design, art – literally met with almost every lead to understand what they wanted or were hoping for Sometimes they said nothing and that was good
- SE and audio designer in the same room through the entire process
- I did 10 years of volunteer experience with police departments Researched multiple police departments Used the players (market) perception of what is “real”
- Help pick out talent to make sure they sounded like the real people Not characters that were exaggerations
- Making sure the talent understood what we wanted Many youtube clips and reference studio and video
- Sat in on the VO recording and helped direct talent Helped translate the tone, intensity so it would fit gameplay
- Onsite to do last minute writing fixes So often things get lost in meaning or its noticed that lines aren’t working Paying for a writer to be there will save a lot of pain later and money
- Worst thing a writer can hear Don’t regurgitate someone else’s work
- Most of the time… almost every time a 3 act structure from film will not work Why? You’re not making a film Your project is not a medium where a person will sit and watch it with no influence Film’s, TV, books… impact you the way they do because as a writer, we control your journey to a certain point, every time, no deviation, and then we delivery that ending specifically That’s why its difficult, except in few circumstances that works
- Generally… and I know someone out there will tweet bullshit there’s way more, yes there is, but generally speaking there are two typed of delivery methods
- As a writer I say of course you do I love writing them Reality is maybe you don’t Hiring a writer to help you determine what works… they can help find another way to help build your emotion
- No. There are other ways to delivery emotion, game play help etc…
- Old school title but many remember the impact it had on story telling